Report Cards

Benjamin got his second report card today. It was one of those moments where you hold your breath as you begin to look and then you slowly let it out as you see that your child's teacher thinks your child is as great as you think he is. The areas that he needed to work on all got "improving" marks and he had so many satisfactory and very satisfactory marks. We are proud. He's a smart and fun little boy. Just the way he should be! We are so blessed!

Karate

So today Benjamin tried something new....karate. He had told us emphatically that he didn't want to play t-ball again this year. "It's boring" were the exact words. He's not old enough for coach pitch so we offered soccer for the spring. He was very excited about this until we got a pamphlet in the mail from The Little Gym. They teach karate. He had his trial class today and loved it. We got him all set up and committed for the next few months. I was amazed watching him listen to two black belt instructors and then do what they demonstrated. I had previously told him that he would probably not get to do any activities on the equipment, or break any wood, or kick anything but he was thrilled that I was wrong about it all. He used the equipment, he kicked a target, and he will get to break wood at the end of the course. WOW!! The best part was that they have to promise after each class not to use the karate they learn on their family, friends, or pets. That was our rule too! Maybe I'll try my hand at putting some pictures on here. That'll be huge for me...but maybe!

Small steps

Hi! Benjamin is feeling so much better from the last time I blogged. His ears are healing!
I wanted to ask for your prayers as I know you are so faithful to pray. We have no news about our baby, but we did get some good news. One of the places we applied to for an adoption grant has contacted us for more detailed information. This means that we have at least moved on to the next level of the process so we are currently completing the paperwork. Please pray that God's favor will fall on us because we could use the financial assistance. God is good and it makes my heart race thinking that we are that much closer to seeing this dream come true!!!!

"My ears Hurt"

Not the words you want to hear from your little guy while eating dinner. But, truth be told, I wasn't surprised after watching him endure the head cold he had last week. So, at 6:15 tonight we walked into the pediatrician's office where Benjamin was asked which ear hurt more. He said the left one so the doctor looked in the right one. We were told it was "a little red" so Benjamin proceeded to say, "then this one (pointing to his left) is really red". We all chuckled at that and sure enough he was spot on. So, double ear infection but amoxicillin is great and he should be better soon. Poor guy. But we avoided the screaming through the night (I HOPE:) because my very expressive son told us how he felt. WOW!! God is so good that our insurance is doing a promotion this month and all generic drugs have no copay. Free meds!!!! Praise God in all things!!!

2009

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe it's 2009. It seems just like yesterday that we were all waiting for the world to end when 1999 became 2000. We've come a long way baby!!! We quietly rang in the new year last night in Tennessee. We watched Carolina play and win and then we watched Times Square go crazy. Big night! I went to bed so thankful for a great year of change and anticipating a new year with many changes coming. I can confidently say that our family will be one larger in the year 2009. No, we haven't gotten "that" phone call yet, but I know that this baby is coming. It's strange sometimes thinking about being a new mom again but realizing how different that will be than when we had Benjamin. No recovery from a C-Section so more involvement from the very beginning. Benjamin says things like, "when the baby is here I'll teach him to..." He's very excited and initiates conversations about the baby on his own. I love that because God is preparing his little heart to not only love a new baby but also to become the big brother. He has always been very independent but we see now that he is stretching his wings to fly more and more. He will be 5 in 3 months......sniff, sniff.
It will be a very happy 2009!