Celebrating 8 official years of being a mom! To my beloved "Boo."

Eight years ago today, God bestowed upon me the honor of being a mother for the first time.  Not a day goes by that I do not cherish that gift.

When Dustin and I were first married, I had no desire to be a mother.  I didn't grow up necessarily wanting to be a mother.  Not that I didn't pretend to be a mother to my baby dolls as a child but in reality, the desire was never truly there.  I had no illusion about how easy it was to raise a child.  I knew it was going to be hard work and when I was young, that simply didn't appeal to me.  I was a very difficult child.  I came from a hard place and thus I was a hard child to raise.  There was no reason to desire raising a child like myself. My parents poured a lot of time, tears, and attention into me and it was never easy.  However, Dustin and I agreed that we would at least have one child because he so desired to be a father.  It's funny how time changes everything.  I remember the point in our marriage when we decided that WE wanted children, not just Dustin.  It was a visit to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo among a few other events that helped triggered my desire.  I remember having a conversation with Dustin indicating that visiting the zoo was getting a bit dull with just the two of us and that it might be time to consider adding a child so we could renew our interest in the zoo again.  It's really quite silly but no less true.  And so our journey began . . .

Fast forward eight years, and here we are, the proud parents of a bouncing eight year old boy (yep, he's still very bouncy) on his way to manhood along with four other equally important, equally wanted, equally prayed for children.  Being a mother, I can imagine no greater honor on this Earth next to being a wife.

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO MY GERIK!  My compassionate spirit, my creative genius, my math whiz, and look out ladies, he's a looker (I am NOT biased!  Just telling it like it is).

I thought my 9:30 am appointment on February 23, 2006 with Dr. Rumsey was to schedule my induction but at 11:30 am, I was giving birth to my son via c-section.  Gerik was breech at 40 weeks 1 day in my belly . . . little stinker!!  He still giggles and tells everyone about how he was butt down instead of head down.

Moments like these make it so worth while.

My baby "Boo"

Six Months Ours

Today is our six month anniversary of Jordy's adoption!  Time flies whether we like it or not.  So much has happened in six months.  This week I've been thinking about everything we've managed to fit in and it's hard to believe.

1.  Three visits to the dentist (one just today for our six month cleaning).
2.  Two pediatrician visits including vaccinations both times.
3.  Six trips to Chicago including visits with Surgeon, Neurologist, Physical Therapists, and Upper Limb Ortho Specialist.
4.  Two lab draws plus two drop off labs and a round of antibiotics.
5.  Two surgeries . . . one minor, one major.
6.  Visit to Social Security office in Fort Wayne to make him official.
7.  Five holidays:  Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

It's been a whirlwind and Jordy never ceases to amaze people with his ability to adapt.  His language skills shock everyone he meets.  His vocabulary is better than some four year old children raised in the US.  He has had the unfortunate pleasure to be stuck in a cast for 7 weeks, then placed into a confining pillow, and he hasn't complained.  Rather, he's adapted each and every time he's been placed under different restrictions. All the while, he's smiling and loving life, loving his siblings, loving food, loving snow, and just being himself. Not much else to say except that I love that in his very limited time here in the US, Jordy has proven that he is destined for great things!  Ain't no mountain high enough to keep him from his happiness and goals.

Quick update before my normal photo parade.  We visited Shriners on Friday the 7th and Jordy was given the O-K to start applying weight on his surgically repaired hip and leg.  Yahoo!  It was getting challenging keeping him from using it anyways.  They have ordered him an abductor brace which he will wear for the next 3-6 months.  The long term goal is to drive Jordy's femoral head deep into the hip socket which will promote healthy bone growth and hopefully we can prevent future dislocation of his hip.  No other surgeries will be attempted for at least 6 months.  At some point very near, Jordy will begin formal physical therapy but we are holding off just a bit longer and opting to work on leg strength at home.  The issue now goes beyond using his newly repaired hip but rather training him to weight bear and use his right leg.  He's never had to and while there are some leg length issues in regards to his right knee's inability to fully extend, the capability is still there.  Many prayers are appreciated here in convincing Jordy of his abilities.  He could absolutely walk now if he's willing to put forth the work.  Walking could even help his right hip that needs surgery.  Time will tell . . .

Thank you Apple for this wonderful thing called FaceTime!  Because of this marvelous creation, we can spend time talking with one of Jordy's caretakers and our new found friends in China during Chinese New Year!

While I don't know a lick of Chinese and they know very little English, with a little help from Google Translate (the next best invention since FaceTime and sliced bread), we managed to talk for over an hour.

She's such a beautiful person inside and out and I love talking and learning new things from her.

Oh darn, there is a lot of snow outside and it's bitter cold.  What ever shall we do?

Year two for Gerik playing basketball and he's having a lot of fun!

He's got quite the creative streak.  Here is one of his many inventions.

Caydra's first year playing basketball.  She's doing great and has finally realized that there are more players than just the person that scores on the floor!

Between snow storms, we even managed to make it to our YMCA to climb the rock wall.  Gerik, like his mother, is not a fan of heights.  He made it pretty far considering!  I can proudly say that I did make it to the top.

Natalie gave a valiant effort considering her legs simply weren't long enough to climb at times.

Caydra worked the hardest and made it the least amount but her sheer determination put me to shame.

Snow!

While it may not always be convenient to have tons of snow, I'm enjoying it.  Snow means slowing down and I'm not going to lie, it's been fantastic!

One of our first snows with the sunrise.

In marches our 16.2" of snow.

Thankfully, the first day it snowed, the temps were decent enough that everyone had fun!

County Road 500 N at the beginning of the huge storm.

State Road 9 at the beginning of big storm.

State Road 30 at the beginning of the big storm.

Subzero and blowing!  Yippee.

Hard to catch the cool swirling of the snow with a camera.

Dog is just loving the subzero temps and blowing snow.  Crazy critter!

Love the sky!

Dog wanted in the backdoor yesterday.  Ain't happening!

Eerie and yet beautiful at the same time.

What a cool view!

I tried to make it to work and had my drive all shoveled out.

Didn't make it to work because the plows didn't make it to us until 3pm in the afternoon.  Not their fault.  They've done great with all this snow.  Just didn't want to throw 5 kids in the van if I wasn't going to make it off of our own road.

It's so quiet out here I could nap.  And you think I'm kidding!