June 15, 2020
– An update on our growing family –
The twins turned 7 years old in April in the midst of quarantine. Instead of the usual rambunctious cousin party, we celebrated with just our family. We are blessed to have such a challenging duo.
Emmett – Always thinking and questioning. He’s very observant and picks up on the smallest details. His fashion is unmatched as he sports a white t-shirt, red suspenders, and a Ford hat. Other days it’s a camouflage shirt, camo overalls, a camo hunting mask, and camo helmet as he flies on his bike, knees bending and pedaling fast as free smiling little boys do. This summer he has a favorite pair of worn out jeans. This faded pair has a rip on one leg that hangs completely open exposing his knee, and the waist band is stained purple from one unfortunate wash with a violet crayon. He was grinning the other morning as he proudly showed me a new rip in these jeans. We are currently in negotiations of where he can and cannot wear these atrocious but beloved jeans. If you happen to see him looking especially shabby this summer, please know I’m trying my best. We love this fashionable guy.
Everett – Such a sweet anomaly of a child. He keeps us well drilled and well versed.
“Mom, I think I’m going to stop reading The Cobweb Cat (Kindergarten reader) and just read Shakespeare.”
— OK, honey.
“Mom, do you know which is my favorite Shakespeare play?”
— Romeo and Juliet?
“No, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
—- Oh wow.
“Mom, guess which Shakespeare story with witches I like best?”
— Umm, Hamlet?
“No, mom, Hamlet doesn’t have witches. It’s Macbeth.”
As I failed this Shakespeare refresher from my elementary aged son, I didn’t think it fitting to mention that I had once long ago majored in English and taken classes devoted entirely to Shakespeare. So, I just opened my mouth, closed it, and sat dumbfounded at myself as I marveled at my child.
I’m not the only one baffled. Yesterday while riding in the van together, he taught history.
“Did you all know that Harriet Tubman’s real name wasn’t Harriet? Her name was Minty, but she changed it to Harriet when she reached the free state of Pennsylvania.”
He continues….
“John Adams was the second president and George Washington was the first.”
Me: Who was the third?
“Thomas Jefferson.”
Me: And next?
“James Madison”
Me: Next?
“James Monroe.”
At this point I looked back to see if he was reading from a chart. Nope. I turned to Brandon, who by the way majored in Political Science, and asked if he could name all the presidents. Nope. It appears neither of our educations prepared us for having intellectual conversation with our seven-year-old child. But that’s okay. Remember the anomaly part? When he’s not reading Shakespeare, he’s fretting because he misplaced something he can’t find (that’s usually in an obvious place) or making some easy task harder than it has to be (think trying to eat soup with a fork). What a unique and awesome kid!
Allen turned four years old today. My baby. Over the weekend, I heard his three-year-old upturned voice hollar from downstairs, “Mommmeee! Will you make biscuits? We are hungry for biscuits.” I have loved everything about this boy, and yes, he got biscuits that morning. He has such a kind heart and thrives as one of the family. If his brothers are shooting earth worms way up in the flying rocket launcher, by golly, he’s doing it too. You couldn’t ask for a better buddy to hang with. He brings joy and loves others with his counting hugs “I give you 14 hugs, Daddy. 1, 2, 3, 4…” and his endless gifts of flowers he picks, complete with dirt clod roots. I thank God often for adding Allen to our family.
In 2012, when we found out we were pregnant with twins, we shared John 1:16 “From His fullness of grace, we have received one blessing after another.”
And it’s true. God has been so good to our family, and it’s His goodness that now leads us to pursue the adoption of a child from Colombia. We ask for prayers as we wrap up our home study and move on to the international portion. It’s amazing what God has done to change our outlook. He has shown us that life isn’t about pursing “happiness.” If we tirelessly seek one big thrill after another, we can miss out on joy completely. God has been teaching us (and we are still learning!) that if we can’t find joy in daily life, we haven’t begun to know real joy. The hardest place to have joy is in the menial tasks, but praise God, joy comes from Him and His joy is our strength.
We are and will continue relying on His strength as we raise our family and follow his lead on welcoming another child. We are grateful for our extended family and spiritual leaders in our lives that have pointed us to Jesus and continue to challenge and encourage us in our faith.
Isaías 40:31 Pero los que confían en el Señor renovarán sus fuerzas.
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