I really like, all this drugs!

Paige had her second of three cortisone shots in her back today. She isn't quite this groggy when she is done, but she is still fairly entertaining.  Maybe next time I should ask them to double her dose and bust out the camera.

Crazy little climbing squirrels

After the kickball disaster, we signed Levi and Noah up for a football skills class at the Gilbert Rec Center.  At the first class, they spotted the rock wall and were itching to try it.  So after their second class, I gave them a chance.  I figured they would go 10 feet, freak out, and be done.

Noah got about halfway up on his first try before he looked down, realized how high he was, and suddenly he just couldn't go any higher.  But after a few tries, he got past the halfway point and made it all the way to the top.

Levi, the crazy little squirrel, went shooting right to the top on his first try.  Then without even batting an eye, leapt off the top to be caught by his harness.  Then repeated the feat five more times.  He said he wanted to do it six times cause he was six years old.

I think they probably climbed for an hour.  At only $2.50 each for a day pass, I think we will be headed here again in the future.

A long wait

One year ago today, on September 13th, we saw the face of our daughter for the very first time. It was an amazing moment when I saw her picture and knew that she was to be ours and we were to be hers. Oh what a good and glorious day when we first laid eyes on our Tufah.

Thank you God for the road that was laid before us, even as bumpy as it may have felt. Thank you for the amazing gift you have given us in Sophie Joy Tufah. Thank you God that she is home at last, right where we knew she belonged, the moment we first laid eyes on her.

One, too, fwee... bwast-owff!

Pweepaiwing my jet pwane..

My hat?  Check!

Eawphones?  Check!

Kitchen aipwon?  Check!

Weady to go!

Dad, I'm a jet pwane man!

And downt fowget my stinky mittens!

We tried string last weekend

After quite a bit of convincing, I managed to convince him to let me tie a string on it.

It kept falling off.  On about the 10th attempt, I finally got a nice tight knot in it.  He refused to pull on it.  Then he said he wanted it off.  Of course, it wouldn't come off then.

I had to cut the string with my Leatherman, leaving being the loop around his tooth (but don't tell him that... he thought it was all gone.)

Then yesterday, driving to school, I looked back at him belting out the chorus of Hot Rod Mercury (such a great song...) and lo and behold, what did I notice missing?

He doesn't have the foggiest clue when or where it came out.

Crazy kid...

FroYoDisco

The local frozen yogurt joint wasn't aware of what they were creating by playing disco.  Everyone in the joint was cracking up...

This talent clearly skips a generation, directly from paternal grandmother to grandchild. 

All ready for tennis lessons!

Four months home

Hard to believe that a mere four months ago, on May 1st, we landed in Sky Harbor Airport with Sophie in our arms. What a thrilling moment to step off the plane and know that we were home and it was all finished. She is ours forever, and we are so thankful.

Since coming home Sophie has celebrated her birthday, learned to walk, sprouted 6 teeth, has grown two inches taller, gained five pounds, begun using English words (momma, dada, Ella, hi, bye-bye, up, no, mine, baby, nana (banana), uh-o, woof woof, quack quack, set - go), uses sign language to say: more, all done, bath, thank you, eat, milk, and drink, has become a much happier child all around, has traveled to Denver, Michigan, and Rocky Point, Mexico, loves to snuggle, gives big pucker lip kisses, has the worlds greatest giggle, learned how to remove her helmet without undoing the Velcro, learned how to undo her diaper by undoing the Velcro, loves anything water related, has had lactose (milk) and sucrose (sugar) removed from her diet, has been introduced to Cheetos thanks to her brothers, is now a happy stroller rider and is no longer allowed to be a mommy rider, will now happily walk bare foot in grass, has grown very fond of her buddy Luke, discovered the joy of putting her hands in the toilet at every opportunity, has eaten the tops off of several crayons, discovered her nose hole and anyone else's that will hold her close enough to reach, loves to play with baby dolls, feed them bottles, and pat them on the back, has learned that mommy does not like pinching, has a great love for phones and remotes, still sucks her thumb to go to sleep and has to hold a blankie as well, knows the Mexican hat dance and which way the ladies ride, loves to dance and clap to music, throws her sippy cup off her tray at any opportunity, has learned to feed her buddy Banjo the rest of her meal when she has finished, takes one 3 hr nap a day, has grown more curls in the back but is still lacking in the front, loves belly buttons and will lift other's shirts to find them, greets me with a "hi!" after each nap, and has found her way even deeper into all of our hearts.

Oh how we love our Sophie Joy Tufah, and are so blessed to have her as our child. It has been a busy, crazy, exhausting four months home. Sophie has come so far in understanding what it means to be in a family. What love looks like from a well meaning six year old brother's tackle hug. How to show love through kisses and snuggles. What discipline means, and how to react. There used to be so much crying for every. little. thing. Now, I can redirect, close a cupboard, or say no with out the full body flail, tears, snot, and sobs. Now, if you take away an iPhone that she swiped off the night stand, you might still get the flail, tears, snot, and sobs. The girl really likes her technology :).

We would do it all again to have the privilege of having Sophie in our home. The dreaded paper work, the excruciating wait, the travel, the bulging disks in my back, every last detail we would do again, in a heart beat, for the joy of being her family. God is so good!

Hooray for four months of being a family of seven!

Check out these melons!

The watermelon vine is shrinking, and one of them split open on the ground.  We have no idea how you tell if they are ripe or not, so we picked them all.

Not sure what on earth a family that doesn't even really like watermelon is going to do with a fridge full of them.  I guess we give them away, and then wait to see if we get reports back of tasty melons or rotten ones.

Apparently we need to sign them up for organized sports

So the kids wanted to go play kickball at the park.  Good family bonding time and all with dad.

Noah was convinced there were five bases.  "THERE ARE FIVE BASES DAD!!!!" he screamed, and then flopped around on the ground.  He wasn't convinced until two neighborhood boys came by and told him there were indeed only four bases.  And then they asked if they could play.

Those poor, poor, poor boys.  They had no idea what they were asking.

Once the number of bases was decided, we put some rocks down to mark each one.  The kids were ballistic that they couldn't see the rocks.  So me and the neighborhood boys ended up marking them with our shoes and playing barefoot.

Ella kicked the ball, and I made the mistake of catching it.  "I'm ooooouuuutttttt?!?!?!?!?!?" she wailed, and collapsed in a heap.  Yup, that's what happens when someone catches your kick.

Levi was up.  One of the neighborhood kids tagged him.  He collapsed in a pile of tears as well.

Ella had now recovered and was fielding.  "What do I do!?!?  I don't know what to do?!?!?" she balled.  I told her to get the ball and tag someone.  I think her brain was so shut down she couldn't process it.

Then it was her turn to run again.  She had no idea what to do.  I told her to run to the first base and stop.  Then when Levi kicked behind her, she just sat on first base as he ran up to her.  So I told her next time to run to second base.  So next time she ran to second, and kept going until she got tagged, and them protested that she had only done what I told her to do.

Levi got nearly his entire team out by passing them all running around all the bases.

Luke was there too, but spent the whole game standing there whimpering after he got out on his first kick.

Levi and Noah ended up walking home in a huff while I picked up our rock bases and put my shoes back on.  Ella walked home, but refused to be on the same side of the street as me.

Two and one third innings of pure family happiness, I tell you.

Cousin Andrew and Grant.... help...

Thems some mighty fine neigbours ya got thar!

I was up at 2:30 AM on Saturday night (don't ask) and the house across the back wall from us, which we thought was empty, was having quite the party.

Yup, that is the neighbors doing keg stands on their back porch.  Sorry for the low quality pic.  It's not easy when you are trying to hide any lights on the camera so as to not give away your position.

I'm not exactly sure who these kids were.  We thought the house was empty.  The pool has been drained for months.  We only rarely see anyone there, which we figured was a bank person or realtor or something.  Not sure if a bunch of teenagers broke in, held a party, and left... or what happened.

Sunday afternoon sniper

I started out with Noah, but after a few shots he got bored.  Levi however really got into it.

 

Let's not get crazy though.  It is still summer in Arizona, and there is no sense sweating to death if you don't have to.  This is what doggie doors were invented for, right?

 

Levi was thrilled every time he nailed the little meatal orange pig in the trap, screaming "I got it!  I'm bringing home dinner!"  He is actually a pretty good shot too.  He did tell me though... "Dad, I don't want to be an Army man cause I still want to have my own donut shop."  Running a donut shop is his current goal for when he grows up.  He's even got Noah working there with him now.

 

I never met Paige's grandpa before he died, but I know it would bring his heart joy that his great-grandson is sprawled out on his Cambell's Soup blanket, sending lead downrange through a doggie door in the heat of summer.

 

We have no idea how he did this

We had to pull the van over and disconnect the seatbelt in order to get him out, because his foot was falling asleep. I'm still not entirely sure how he got that seatbelt wrapped in six different directions all while in his seat...

Together for Adoption

We just got our tickets for this conference, which happens to be at our church this year.  If you are going, let us know!

And a re-post of this video... just because this post felt like it needed more...

The City of Addis - A short documentary from Session 7 Media on Vimeo.

And then there was one?

I've posted a link to a similar article before, but this one is making the rounds right now.  Even though I knew this existed, it still strikes me as hard to believe.

"What is it about terminating half a twin pregnancy that seems more controversial than reducing triplets to twins or aborting a single fetus? After all, the math’s the same either way: one fewer fetus. Perhaps it’s because twin reduction (unlike abortion) involves selecting one fetus over another, when either one is equally wanted. Perhaps it’s our culture’s idealized notion of twins as lifelong soul mates, two halves of one whole. Or perhaps it’s because the desire for more choices conflicts with our discomfort about meddling with ever more aspects of reproduction."

Maybe it is one of those reasons.  Or maybe, just maybe, it is because you are killing your own child, and the one who survives is a constant vivid reminder of what you did.

Go to the New York Times, and read all the ways that people will justify killing their own children, even those they put so much effort, time, and money into conceiving.

And then pray for the country that would allow this to happen, and call it a "woman's right to choose."

The big kids

The "big" kids started school yesterday.  This is the first year all three of them are at the same school.

Paige managed to pinch a nerve or something in her back, which has now moved down to her leg.  On Tuesday we were at the doctor getting a huge painkiller shot, muscle relaxants, and steroids.  She was still flat on her back on Wednesday, so first day of school duties fell to me.

They all made it into class without tears or meltdowns (not always a given with Levi and Noah.)  Ella ran back out from her classroom to give me one last kiss, looking almost teary eyed.

That night when I was tucking them in bed she confessed to me...

"Dad, when I ran back out to give you another kiss this morning, it was because I was a little nervous of second grade and kind of felt like crying."

You and me both kiddo.  Having daughters has crushed any illusions I might have had about being a tough guy.

Today on the way home from work, I got the report of the second day of school from Paige.  Roughly paraphrased...

Ella:  "Today, on the second day, somebody already lost a star!  It was a boy... cause they are always naughtier."  (Their school has a system where you lose stars for bad behavior.  Ella didn't lose a single star in first grade, being stereotypical the perfectionist oldest child, and would probably completely break down if she did.)

Paige tried to defend the reputation of squirrel-y little boys everywhere, when our own little mischief maker(s) piped up...

Levi:  "I lost a star today too... but it didn't really bother me."

Paige:  "Levi!  What for?"

Levi:  "Talking too loud."

Noah:  "I lost a star too Mom."

Paige:  "Noah!  For what?"

Noah:  "Talking to Landon" (his buddy from kindergarten)

We tried to warn their teacher, who also had Ella last year, that the genetics worked out a weeeee bit differently the second time around.  I even told Landon's mom on the first day that I gave the Noah/Landon seating arrangement about a week before it is rearranged.

I hope they all survive the next year (or twelve.)

The Dutch is strong with this one

We had grand visions of decorating Sophie's headgear.  Had a vehicle wrap place that said they would do it, and then backed out.  Went to a tattoo parlour in Michgan, but Paige thought tattoos would look too angry.  Then we struck upon a brilliant idea.

Dutch heritage + favorite coffee place + free pink sticker = bling for the helmet!

And just like a sweet mullet, it's business in the front and party in the back!



(Paige made me take the back one off.  She's still a Dutch princess though.)

Grab bag

I went to lunch the other day with a guy from work, and we headed to this little Indian food dive.  It's half restaurant, half grocery store.  Wandering through the grocery store, I saw this, and got very excited for a moment.  Then I read a little closer...

Sitting on the couch the other night, scratched my head, and noticed that it felt a little thicker around the sides than it did on the top.  Hmmmmm, camera phone in my pocket... let's see what's going on up there.... ohhhhhhh... ignorance really was bliss.  Guess it's officially time for the permanent buzz cut.  I almost considered completely shaving it, but I might have to wait until the tan lines even out (30 more years or so.)

While we were in Michigan, the watermelon plant grew this monster.

Unfortunately, the little hole in the side dripping water was not a good sign.  Ewwwwww.

Finally, after a summer of slacking, we instituted a new chore chart.  A giant thermometer on the bathroom mirror with 30 spaces.  Fill them all up, and you get to go out for ice cream with mom or dad.



I told the kids that in addition to the usual morning and bedtime routine, cleaning the playroom would earn a bar for everyone who helped.  Keep in mind that most days when I get home from work, the playroom looks like feral pigs have been rooting through the toy bins all day.

Attempts to get them to pick it up are generally greeted with howls of protest.

They claim they don't know what to pick up.  Really?  I can't even see the floor where you are standing, but you can't spot anything to pick up?

The next excuse is that they don't know where things go.  Really?  You seem to be able to find the toys just fine and take them out, so do that in reverse.

Tonight, after describing the chore chart and the play room cleaning scheme, Ella started asking questions...

"So can we pick it up before you get home and earn a bar?"  They are volunteering?  Ummmmm, sure, more bars!!!

"What if we pick it up more than once a day?"  Are you kidding me?  More bars!!!

"Can we pick up other things to get bars?  Like other rooms?"  More clean rooms?  More bars!!!

Somewhere in the midst of all the questions, I saw all three of them start exchanging glances and their eyes started getting bigger.  And then they all disappeared from the bathroom in a storm of giggles.  I peeked around the corner to see three little feral pigs racing around the playroom actually finding things to pick up and finding where they go.

Greedy little capitalists!

At this level of motivation, they will have filled all 30 bars in a few days by continually cleaning every room in the house, and I will need to increase the ice cream budget.

At least I hope so...

Ahhhhhh, Michigan...

Paige got back from Michigan last week.  I am just now getting around to going through the pictures.  Oddly, I found quite a few of this variety...

 

Michigan... land of freedom....

Livin' the dream