Will's first Christmas tree!

Last Sunday we went and cut our Christmas tree - Will's first! We found a small tree farm just north of Columbus, loaded Maeby in the van, and headed up there. We spent much of the weekend cleaning the house and putting up the Christmas decorations - a bit early, maybe, but it was our only available time, and we wanted to enjoy the decor as much as possible before we travel for the holidays.

It didn't take long to find the perfect tree for our living room.

Requisite Peanuts Christmas moment.

Once we got the tree up, we showed it to Will. He had the instinct to grab it, without leaning it to eat it, as he does with everything else. Fortunately, the tree - a Canaan fir - is nice and soft.

Thanksgiving

11 years ago this Thanksgiving day, my parents and sister Katie flew to Arkhangel'sk, Russia to retrieve my twin sisters and brother. They were legally made part of our family on December 10th, 1997. My parents' friend and pastor wrote this in celebration 11 years ago tomorrow. I thought everyone would like to read it!


"Adoption"

Scripture: Ephesians 1:4-5 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--

This Thanksgiving week is "National Adoption Week". Coincidentally, I have two very dear friends who are preparing to leave tomorrow for Archangleus, Russia, for the purpose of adopting three siblings!

I have often thought about the love that would compel someone to such an act: to claim as their own blood relative a son or daughter of another. In some ways, it is very hard for me to imagine.

Children, while being a joy and blessing, are a great liability (Allow me to play "devil's advocate" for just a moment…). On many occasions I have commented on how my own children have simplified my life: those nagging questions about what I would do with my extra time and money vanished with their birth! From before birth, and throughout their lives, children are a constant source of concern for their parents. Why would anyone want to adopt a child?

I believe the answer to that question is found in our own Creation. When God formed man from the dust of the earth, He did so "in His own image". Our natural proclivity toward parenting is the result of the Father's own imprinting of that desire upon our psyche.

While some have looked at adoption askance, I have come to admire it as one of the greatest expressions of selfless love! For a natural parent to surrender a child for adoption (in the hope that a better life for the child may result ) , is an unbelievable act of sacrificial love. For someone to adopt that child and raise them as their own, is yet another act of sacrificial love!

I am an adopted child myself. Not in the physical sense, but in regard to the spirit. I was once lost in my own sin, doomed to destruction. Just when I was most helpless, Jesus provided the means for me to be adopted into God's Royal Family. Through my acceptance of His sacrifice, I have been purchased from my slavery to sin and have become His "blood" relative.

This Thanksgiving will be a special time for my friends travelling to Russia (Carl, Kathy, and their daughter Katie). They will rescue three children from despair and give them a chance at a new life (please pray for them ).

This Thanksgiving is a special time for all of us who have benefited from the rescue mission of Christ when He traveled from heaven to bring us a new life. My hope and prayer is that you and yours are counted among that number.

Goofing off with Will!

We caught this bit of video tonight while goofing off with Will. This comes at the end of a fun day all together as a family. We went and cut our Christmas tree, cleaned the house, and started our holiday decorating. This video shows Will doing a bunch of stuff. You can hear his honest-to-goodness I'm-having-a-good-time laugh. And the constant ah-ing that he's been doing for hours on end. He's apparently a bit ticklish... hmmm, who did he get that from? You'll also see him dive in to munch on Beth. And how he's in the habit of trying to grab anything he can get his hands on these days. Our little guy is a ball of fun! Enjoy!

Exersaucer!

Will just got one today, lent to us by some friends at church. I placed him in it right away, and so far he seems to love it! The best part is that there is so much more he can learn to do in it. Once he has enough strength, he'll be able to swivel around and bounce up and down.

Connect

In this day and age, it's not hard to be connected. I mean, with IM, Facebook, Blogs, websites, email...it's actually hard to lose touch. It still happens, to be sure, but you almost have to want it.

Maybe it's just me, though, but I LOVE reading the status updates on Facebook, and I LOVE checking people's blogs. I think it's great that at a click of a mouse, I can chat with a bunch of my friends, either to get some work done or just to check in. I can understand how this uber-connectedness might overwhelm some people - not only do they feel forced to connect, overwhelmed with the avenues with which to connect, but also guilty when they don't connect.

When did this happen though? When did I start feeling terrible if I don't respond to an email within 20 seconds of receiving it, or returning a phone call within a few minutes because it went to voicemail before I could race to the phone? I suppose it was a gradual increase, but it feels like it happened overnight. But all those little bits of information, statuses, chats, emails, actually make it feel a little less crazy and a little more human, oddly enough.

I don't think I'm addicted to technology (though my iPhone might tell you differently), and I truly enjoy using it to be efficient with my time and energy. All those little things I'm able to get done during the day allows me to spend my free time with Will and Nick. And, really, that's the most important connection I make during the day.

Baby in the leaves!

Last week I raked all the leaves in our yard into a couple piles, so I naturally had to place my child in the middle of it and take pictures of him. Here are the results.

Will seemed puzzled by the leaves and the noise they made.

So, naturally, he tried eating them.
Overall, he seemed fine with the leaf phenomenon, albeit a little confused.

Artsy, far away shot.

Anxiety

Marcia and I headed to IKEA last week, and brought Boo along for the ride. He's getting a bit heavy to wear for 5 hours straight, so I tried putting him in the cart's child seat. I have no idea how old kids "should" be to sit in those seats, and he sits up really nice now, so we did it. It had a little belt, which helps with the side-tipping. He seemed to be very proud of himself, for a bit.



















But every time I would walk a few feet away from the cart to look at something, he got this very concerned look on his face. I imagine it was weird to face me, but not be held by me.



















He was fine for about 10 minutes, and then that little lower lip came out and he sorta freaked out. The second I picked him up he buried his head into my neck and smiled. I think we just experienced his first little anxiety attack!

Mandi and Michael and Ezra Visit

We have been blessed with so many visitors this month! Two weekends ago our friends Mandi and Michael brought their son Ezra up from Cincinnati to meet Will. They also brought along their Bumbo for us to borrow, and Will just LOVES it.

Ezra and Will are exactly 1 year and 1 day apart, and enjoyed regarding each other with varying degrees of interest, especially at dinner.


It was wonderful seeing them, and we can't wait to get the boys together again soon! And now for one last adorable picture of our dear ADORED son:

Game day!

Whether he likes it or not, Will was born a buckeye. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the Buckeye State, on the campus of THE Ohio State University. So, we've decided to dress him accordingly. Later in life he can choose his own sports allegiances, but for now we're deciding how he shows his school spirit!

Will's newest toy

A few days ago Will really finally noticed Maeby, and reached for her like he would one of us or one of his toys. Maeby was sitting nicely next to Beth on the couch, while Will sat in her lap. And suddenly he lunged forward with his hands outstretched and grabbed at Maeby's ears.

Maeby wasn't quite sure what to think about it, but we encouraged Will nonetheless. He kept trying to get a grip on her ears or her head.

Eventually she submitted to the attention. Her months of impatience, as we've neglected her (in her mind, I'm sure) in order to raise our son, have finally paid off. Pretty soon she'll have a little buddy who just won't leave her alone. This is only the beginning, we told her.


We can't wait to see what's next for our dynamic due of Will and Maeby!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving...a little late...

Did you know that Wild Goose Creative is an international organization? Well, it IS! Our very own Jacqui Hoke is Canadian and that means........TWO THANKSGIVINGS!

We've celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving for the past two years and, let me tell you, the only thing better than one Thanksgiving dinner per year is TWO Thanksgivings per year.

We went all out this year, as usual, and everyone brought a dish.

This was also the night to celebrate Caitlin Foley and Abbey Meyer officially joining Wild Goose Creative!



Will has also just started noticing food and eating...I think he's gearing up for his first solid food in a few short months! I hate to break it to him..but I don't think rice cereal is nearly as exciting as a full mouth-watering feast!

MOM! There is a BABY in there!!!

Will had his 4-month check up on Tuesday and did very well with his shots. And it's confirmed - he's a big boy, as we all have known for a while. He tips the scales at 17 pounds, 1 ounce, and is 26" long! That's 80th percentile for both, people! I gave birth to a crazy giant man-child.

One of the best things about our doctor's office is the giant mirror just behind the exam table. Will has always loved looking at himself in it, but this visit was different. He went nuts when he saw himself and me in the mirror.

I grabbed my phone and started snapping away as he kicked and waved his arms and giggled and yelled at himself. You'll notice I'm laughing too as I'm trying to hold him so he doesn't fly off the table while documenting this hilarious moment. Also notice the exam table paper...it didn't have a chance.

Compost surprise!

This spring we started composting our kitchen scraps and some of our yard waste. We've put fruit, egg shells, coffee grounds, grass clippings, and more. Well, halfway through the summer I noticed a peculiar vine growing out of the bottom of the composter. Just out of curiosity, I let it go, and it slowly climbed up the back fence. Eventually I saw three fruit growing off the vine, although I couldn't tell what they were. First I thought watermelon... then I thought pumpkins... but finally last weekend I picked them and cut them open. And what were they? Cantaloupe! Very tiny cantaloupe.

So now the question is... what do we throw in the composter this year?

Kim and Kurt!

Our good friends Kim and Kurt visited two weekends ago to introduce Will to his future wife, their daughter Maddie! We took in the Circleville Pumpkin Show (check out Nick's breakfast blog for some more pics) and headed to Lynd's fruit farm for some more apple action! We honestly can't get enough of fall!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

A few weeks ago, my parents visited to celebrate my sister-in-law Marcia's graduation with her BSN! We went to Lynd's fruit farm for a bit of apple and punkin pickin' and, of course, made a trip to North Market. Here are a few pics of the weekend.

Boo

My main nickname for Will is "Boo" - don't ask me where it came from, but I started calling him that the first week we had him...and it just stuck.


So, when Halloween rolled around, you can imagine that it took all of my restraint to not buy him EVERY shirt and outfit with "Boo" on it. I limited it to two this year. But I can't promise anything during the after-Halloween sales!

Happy Halloween!

Last night we enjoyed our first Halloween with Will! He spent the event dressed as a pumpkin, while we sat out on the porch and gave out candy. He seemed to enjoy what was going on, although he eventually fell asleep on Beth's shoulder.

We saw a wide range of costumes over the evening, everything thing from the I'm-too-old-to-be-trick-or-treating sweatshirt-wearers to numerous Batmans, princesses, a James Bond, a veterinarian, a stormtrooper, a cow, a zombie doctor, and a handful we couldn't identify. We even had one little boy dressed as a monkey who took the time to thank each and every one of us on the porch. Cute!