Ahh, the weekends!
Hard not to love ’em!
On Saturday mornings Blake and I sleep until we are needed – which is usually 6 a.m. when Sadie barks to be let outside!
But that is still sleeping in for us – and I LOVE it!
Saturdays start with a big breakfast.
One of my favorite meals to prepare is breakfast.
We usually have homemade waffles, sausage and berries on Saturdays.
Starting our weekend around the kitchen table is the BEST!
We have a hard time pulling ourselves away from that table!
Date night the night before was all about the littles this week.
Discussions of some behaviors that need attention.
Shopping for some things that are needed for Tate’s therapy.
Shopping for just the right new socks for Eliza in hopes that she will wear them.
We got into Tate’s birthday money envelope (from last year!) and bought him an exercise ball, a balance bike, and a helmet!
Tate had a physical therapy evaluation on Thursday morning that the pediatrician had arranged after checking Tate over at his five year check-up.
The therapist wants Tate to practice on this bike often to try to strengthen his core and his legs.
Tate has significant balance and strength problems and falls often.
I will also be using the exercise ball to do things with Tate to build strength.
It will be like our own little gym class!
The therapist is trying to get insurance approval for Tate to attend therapy once a week with her too!
We are hopeful!
So…about that helmet.
The one we bought would not go over Tate’s shunt that is in his head.
Then we remembered Lane’s helmet and tried that one on Tate because it was different.
It worked perfect!
So we gave Lane Tate’s new one instead and took Lane’s old one for Tate.
Are you all following this?!
Tate wanted to go out and ride his bike so Blake adjusted the helmet to fit Tate’s head and strapped it under his chin.
And then it happened.
A literal FLOOD of sobs.
You all.
We could not calm him down!
I was holding Tate, talking to him, rocking him, and then it hit me.
I asked him, “Did the helmet remind you of something?”
And Tate practically screamed, “YES! Mom, yes! It minds me of something!”
I asked, “What? What does it remind you of?”
And Tate said, “It minds me of THE HELMET! Mama, THE HELMET!!”
What in the world?
We could not get any farther with what Tate was remembering, but wonder if they made him wear a helmet in China?
Because of his shunt and how much he falls?
Whatever the memory was, it had shook him to his core.
He took a long nap, and was doing much better afterward.
Maybe his Mama should have taken a nap too?
I would like to add that he is LOVING that balance bike!
He falls off of it some – but usually only to his knees – and he is getting better at it everyday.
Eliza got a new helmet on date night too!
She is just too adorable for words.
The socks were a win too!
So thankful!!
Saturdays are usually big work days.
Taking care of a farm, whether it is full of animals or not, is a big job!
The guys got after it, and whipped this place into shape.
The farm is GORGEOUS right now!
Minus about two billion gnats, I mean.
For me, Saturday usually means kitchen duty!
But you all know by now that is my favorite place to be!
This Saturday I had food to make for three different places, besides keeping my “dinner party of nine” well fed!
I had good intentions about taking photos!
But then reality happened!
On Saturdays the youngest three go in between helping someone and playing.
They are JOY!
One of the things Blake and I are starting to purpose is to give Eliza time to play.
ALONE.
She plays alone SO well.
And she NEEDS it!
Her partner in crime does not play well at ALL.
He just likes to be social.
So we are giving Eliza some play time alone and then teaching Tate how he can do the same!
Saturday this went VERY well!
I will be purposing it through the week too!
Blake and I also teamed up and gave five haircuts on Saturday afternoon.
We had a church event to attend Saturday night.
On the way home – there was THIS.
Sorry, sorry….another sky photo!
Sunday morning the ministry His Little Feet was running both of our church services.
OH MY GOODNESS.
Why I wore make-up to church I still have no idea.
These children….and their stories.
Such brokenness….yet they were filled with COMPLETE JOY.
Blake and I were a mess.
Then I found out that pretty much everyone that was there on Sunday was a mess.
Tears everywhere.
What POWER this ministry has!
Our hearts were stirred….more than they already are….to our core.
After lunch Blake and I decided to either get on a plane and head back to China, or to go and visit our favorite people.
I am sure you know what we chose!
Although if there was a way – we would have been on that plane!
We took a snack dinner and enjoyed the rest of the weekend loving on our grands.
On the way home, to finish the weekend the best way possible, we drove by that beautiful little house on top of that ridge that we love so very much.
No, we do not know if this beautiful little place has sold yet or not!
So, about our move.
We have a third (3rd!!!) showing on this Thursday and this time they are bringing a contractor.
That is encouraging!!
I would like to mention, because of many questions that we have had, that we do not know why our buyers walked away.
There was nothing on the inspection report that would have warranted that.
The inspection looked very good for a 144 year old home!!
We were pleased!
I also would like to mention again why we are trying to move.
Physically, because our big kiddos are growing up and not home much now, and because of the season we are in with our littles now, this farm is just too much to take care of.
Also, because of two international adoptions in the last three years, plus all of the medical expenses that we have had, things are starting to get tricky financially the longer we are here.
Eliza needs another surgery.
We have a $3500 deductible per person in our family, and then our insurance pays 80 percent after that.
Eliza also needs a sleep study and probably her tonsils and adenoids taken out to remedy obstructive sleep apnea.
I just want to be clear – we knew when we started our adoption paperwork for Tate that the days on our farm would be numbered – but we could not do anything about it until Tate was home.
We never tried to imagine what God’s plans would be for the sale of this farm – and we are very diligently trusting Him and trying to do our very best in the waiting!!
We are excited to see how it all will happen!
We also are looking forward to living a “downsized life” very much…and have some burdens as to what that looks like for our family.
If you all – our prayer warriors as we waited on the Lord to bring Eliza and then Tate home – would go to prayer for us again – as we wait on the Lord to start this next chapter of our lives – we would be ever so grateful!
He hears our prayers!
He writes the BEST stories!
And we love Him SO much!!
