Mama's M & M's

I used to think that kid's nicknames came by some sort of christening method, "I dub thee, Bubba," or something like that. Now I've come to realize that most of the kid's names evolve over time and are a natural extension of who that child is. So, it has come to pass that I now have Mama's M & M's, more accurately named "Mama's Monster" for Wyatt and "Mama's Monkey" for Abbie. If you've spent any time with Wyatt and Abbie, you would realize how perfectly these names suit them. Wyatt is loud, rambunctious and loves to make claws in the air and crouch and "rowwwwrrr" when he's excited. He's been affectionately dubbed Mama's monster and he seems to like it. Abbie climbs on everything, is into everything, is swinging, diving, flipping, chattering, and giggling at any given moment (unless sleeping). She likes being "Mama's Monkey". Alas this leaves poor KK and Anna out of the M & M sphere of things. Anna has been "Mama's Little Squishy" for years now since we watched "Finding Nemo". She hates it, but I can't let it go...you see it annoys her and I find that funny. She is a preteen now and wants to be part of the M&M's so we've been exploring M words by which to call her. Nothing is coming spontaneously. She's rejected "Mama's millipeed, mole, and mophead." I admit I'm at a loss. KK has had various nicknames down through the years like "sweet potato" and others she would probably pay me to not mention. (You can put the check in the mail KK.) I have affectionately also coined Daddy with some names like "Booger", "Poophead" and "Mikey" (much to his student's delight), but I have yet to receive such terms of endearment from my family. I think they're afraid to make anything stick. I know where they live and I control the flow of clean laundry and food. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" are really wise words to live by.

I wonder what names we'll have for each other as they change and grow and explore this big old world. One thing I know is that they will laugh and groan someday at family gatherings as we discuss the nicknames earned and assigned down through the years.

Wyatt's friend G has received his prosthetic leg

We were just updated that Friday little G received his first prosthetic leg and WALKED between the bars. Praise God for miracles! This is a miracle received after the pain of amputation, wound revision, casts, fears, tears and hope, etc. I can't even imagine his and his family's joy. They spoke of this day even while we were all still in China going through the adoption process. We will celebrate his victory today!!!!!

Wyatt's been approved for Speech Therapy

We had our meeting today at the local school and Wyatt was deemed eligible for Speech Therapy. We are rejoicing today!

Settling in

Its been a long time since I have posted about Wyatt. This is in part due to life getting in the way and having to decide what will be my focus. My friend often says, "the good is the enemy of the best." I am learning to be more intentional in the choices we make on a daily basis so the most important things are done and done well. This is breaking some bad habits I have acquired along life's journey so it is going slow and is not altogether pleasant, but I am convinced it will be well worth it to walk in freedom and to have accomplished those things I have felt called to do during our short stay here on earth. Enough philosophizing.

Wyatt is turning 4 in a couple months and is so excited because I told him he will get to go to preschool when he turns 4. He'll be so disappointed when that doesn't come about right away. I'm hoping to have him ready for preschool next fall. He's come such a long way since last June! He's very bright and seems to be blessed/cursed with "engineering brain". His room is neat as a pin, he can take anything apart and put it back together, he can fix broken toys, he's organized and there is a correct way to do everything. He's a caregiver at heart, is very sweet, is very mischievous and melts my heart with his laughing, toothless grin. He and Abbie have become good friends most of the time now. She is the brains of the operation and he is the brawn. They destroy a lot of things around the house this way and get their share of scoldings, but seem unfazed in their quest to explore new worlds and go where no child has gone before. So far no trips to the ER....knock on wood.

Wyatt's beginning to ask those 4 year old questions that seem to never stop coming. The other day he asked why the moon was not up in the daytime? Why was the sun not up at night? Where did the moon go? Where did the sun go? and on and on as we drove down the road. (imagine Calvin and Hobbes' Dad here) So I proceeded to carefully explain that the moon and sun were shift workers and the moon worked at night and slept during the day and the sun worked during the day and slept at night. Science is going to be such a trip for my children because I love to tell them far-fetched stories to explain things. They seem satisfied by my explanations and I am left wondering if I will have to explain my "science discussions" with my children at the Judgment Seat someday. My favorite person to string along is my almost 10 year old daughter, Anna. I love seeing the wheels turn and the smoke pouring from her ears as she wrestles with whether my explanations are plausible or not. I have to be really creative with her explanations. Of course this is not all good I supposed since I am also her school teacher.

Update about travel buddy family's son's surgery

I know that many of you have been praying for little "G" who was adopted along with Wyatt and that you were aware that he had his surgery this past week. I just received an email from his Mom and wanted to post some of it here for you to read. He had an above the knee amputation to eventually allow him to have a fully functioning prosthetic leg. Here is a few of her own words.

"The first night was very hard as once the nerve block wore off, he was in severe pain. With the pain came fear unlike any other I have seen. I looked into his eyes and saw my little boy in outrageous pain frosted with utter panic and fear. His eyes darted in terror and his body trembled with agony. He could not form words and he flailed his arms in the direction of his right femur. His oxygen saturation dropped to the 70s and he turned ashen. His nurse quickly flew out the door to retrieve some additional pain medication (the big guns) to place in Braxton’s IV. I asked Braxton if he would like for me to pray for him as I really had no idea what else I could do. Evidently the nerve blocker had worn off and our room was full of the demons of pain, fear, and uncertainty. Braxton shook his head “Yes” I prayed as Braxton tried to gain self-control. His eyes were full of angst and worry while his body was assaulted by the ugly monster called pain. As the nurse came back into the room, he worked rapidly like an experienced superhero not getting his cape caught in any of the monitors and medical equipment. Soon strong pain medication was fighting its way up through Braxton’s IV tubing and into his veins. I stroked Braxton’s cheek and whispered comforting words into his ears. He looked deep into my eyes and I could see that he was looking to me for the strength that he was battling to find. As his eyes locked with mine, I knew that as he needed courage, faith, hope, and love reflected back to him. In the dark and cold of this hospital room, I needed to trust Jesus in this moment so that Braxton could find comfort in my resolve. Though the atmosphere was chaotic and even scary, I dug deep and boldly told Braxton that everything was going to be okay. I reminded him that we could trust Jesus and that Jesus would hold him closely in his arms to get him through this difficult time. Braxton’s eyes continued to lock with mine and I could see the courage begin to seep into him. He began to settle and the crying ceased. Like a soldier confidently loading and preparing his gun for battle, Braxton grabbed his little flashlight and clicked it on. He reached for his favorite soft, comforting stuffed animal, MingMing the monkey. He clutched his blanket and confidently put his oxygen mask back on. He sat there in the dark of the night with me and with his little flashlight in his hand beaming light into the dark room, he said with resolve, “I am going to be brave.” Despite my best efforts, tears rebelled and came rushing down my face. I kissed him on the forehead and said, “Yes, buddy! Jesus is here with us and this is hard...but you can choose to be brave. You can feel frightened and you can be in pain and you can still be brave. I am so proud of you!” It was a rough night, but one that I will never forget. In the dark of the night, Braxton learned to trust Jesus to a whole new level."

Braxton is now home doing well and is recovering in a body cast. He will have stitches and cast off about 2 weeks and will have his first evaluation for a prosthetic leg. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. We are so blessed to be a part of this amazing transformation in these little guy's lives!

Counting down to surgery

We are now one week from surgery and my mind is buzzing with all the fine details of readying Wyatt, the children we'll leave with grandparents, the household and the business. On top of that, I have a fever now and my head and neck have been invaded by alien beings kind of like noisy frat boys mixed with a cattle prod type sensation. I digress, but that's kind of how things have been here lately: regular life with digressions of traveling to PA for a new piece of equipment, equipment breaking down, mice invading our house with the onset of cool weather, the possibility of a free, nice horse, trying to ward off the H1N1 virus all around us here and starting in on wrap up tax planning for the year, to name a few.

Sounds easy, but here's just the mouse digression: woke up with mouse running across my neck one morning (hello, there's mice in the house), trouble sleeping (probably because there's a mouse in the house), go downstairs to find 2 mice flitting around the living room (bright idea - lets see if the cat can catch them...baaaaaaad idea at 2 a.m. - me running first, mouse second, cat in hot pursuit), set trap and set out poison (leads to sick mouse trying to bite Mike when he's to dispose of it) and then the quiet (are they really gone or are they mutating?). What is it with VA farm houses in the fall? I know there's a neon sign on our roof that beckons vermin and reptiles to "come, dine, live out your retirement years in our dry, warm basement with shuffle board and Bingo night every Wed."

I decided to experiment with giving God all the fine details of my life this week. I still make lists, but I don't hypervigilate (isn't that a fun word I just made up) to make sure I don't forget anything. I give God my day, ask Him to guide me and have decided if I forget something its forgivable. Letting go of perfection and going for the process of living. Basically I'm experimenting with actually trusting God with the minute to minute stuff instead of taking it all on myself in my typical bootstrappy kind of way. I'll let you know how it works out. This past week threw a lot of curves and I'm less stressed about them all than I used to be but still more stressed than I want to be.

My prayer for Wyatt and all of us is that we will be healthy going into and out of this surgery and may God bless the operative hands and minds! I am hoping for smooth sailing all the way through surgery, 2 weeks of a liquid diet and 3 weeks of "quiet activity". Knowing Wyatt (the sidekick) and our dear little Abbie (the instigator of all mischief), I'm betting this will be an interesting ride though. Padlock the fridge and move everything up 3 shelves? Put lead in their shoes to make jumping difficult? Eureka! Sand is soft and Floridians are into smoothies so doesn't this call for a beach vacation/recovery time? Excuse me. "Hey Mike, I've got a great idea!"