Beach Vacation 2010

Goodness I'm behind in news aren't I?!

A week after we returned home from our Hill Country Vacation we loaded the van again and headed to Port Aransas; it was vacation time with Grandma Pearson this time! We stayed in a gorgeous! beach house that seriously made me reconsider my decor scheme here in Katy, and we played the part of beach bums for the long weekend. Lots of sand, sun and surf! We flew kites and cooked hamburgers on the beach; it was so much fun! Sam emerged as our beach baby during our time on the coast -- we had to pry him from the waves at the end of each day. Jack had a blast trying to kung fu the waves and Grace ate her weight in muddy sand (I tried to stop her but it was a lost cause...). We ended our trip with a stop at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. The boys loved it! Here are some of my favorite pics from our trip.

Jack and Uncle Daryl playing in the waves

Luke and Sam having fun


Miss Grace and her mud pie remnants


Luke, Uncle Daryl and the boys trying to touch a sting ray at the Aquarium

Hearts and Milestones

This kid

tough though he may be

has a sweet heart for God

And he's not afraid to tell you about it.

Father's Day of this year Jack decided to follow Christ as his personal Savior. He's been asking questions about salvation and Christ's sacrifice for a while so his decision came as no surprise to Luke and me. We've known for a long time that Jack had all the head knowledge he would need so we've been patiently waiting for the Holy Spirit to issue conviction on his young soul. It was a great Father's Day gift for Luke to be able to lead Jack to the Christ on a couch in our church's foyer in between services. And so Jack will be baptized August 22nd. We are so excited for him to be reaching another milestone as he travels his spiritual journey!!

Our prayer for Jack --
as God fashions him into a warrior in His image, that Jack would:
hide God's word in his heart that he may not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11) and that when he opens his mouth he would fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel (Esphesians 6:19).

closer to a year...

Grace is 9 months old. Can you believe it? She is closer to her first birthday than to her actual day of birth! Hard for me to comprehend some times!

Here's an update on Miss Grace...more for my record keeping than anything...what's been happening in the last 3 months.

* Grace can crawl. No shock there but I forget to write about it when it happened...around 7 months. She waited all of 2 days after that before she started pulling up on things. Now she's perfected the one knee down-one knee up crawl technique, allowing her to travel at what seems like the speed of light. She is also an expert at pulling up on EVERYTHING and inching her way toward her goal.
* Grace can climb. She started with a couple of stairs, then it was her brother's chair. Now it's just about everything. She will dangle by her arms and inch her feet up if the object it too tall. We had to lower her crib to the lowest setting and take out anything she could use to fashion a makeshift ladder. Seriously...we did.
* Grace has 2 teeth! She cut both within 24 hours at 8.5 months. Those precious little pearly whites popped through the surface and have gone no further!
* Grace can definitely say MaMa and DaDa! She uses them forcefully when she wants!
* Grace FINALLY started eating baby food and table food. After what seemed like an eternity of aversion, she decided around 8.5 months that big kid food is good! It may or may not have something to do with the introduction of powdered sugar donuts to her diet ;)
* Grace is 18lbs (17lb 15oz at her appointment) which puts her in the 43%; she is 26.25" putting her in the 17% (short little girl!); her head is 18" putting her in the 92%.
* Grace has yet to develop any stranger anxiety and usually gives a big toothy grin, complete with a wrinkled nose, to everyone who stops to talk to her.
* Grace loves to swim (and eat mud at the beach!) but doesn't like taking a bath. I'm trying to convince her that a lady needs to smell pretty!
* Grace loves her babies! She passes over the mountains of boy toys and heads straight for her baby dolls -- and sometimes a necklace or two if we're at a friend's house!

Here we grow again

It seems I find myself declaring in my best Paul-Revere-cry, "The Pearsons are growing! The Pearsons are growing!" (side note: don't know if PR actually cried anything...I'm just sayin'). Yes folks, once again we find our family growing for another member. Before you begin thinking of baby strollers and diaper cakes I should first say definitely I am not pregnant. Nope...no more babies from me. Let me explain.

After our third fairly traumatic birth experience (while not terrible in terms of what others have gone through, Grace's entrance was not standard!) and after our third NICU stay, Luke and I decided God was saying pretty clearly that we should stop having biological children. We thought about a lot and prayed even more and decided to make permanent measures in prevention. Then we found ourselves in an unexpected predicament. While we were sure we were being told clearly to stop having biological children we were equally sure that we were not being told to stop increasing our family numbers. After a lot of "now whats" and "what do we do's" we came to rest on the idea of adoption (more about resting later).

We've considered adoption several times before -- before we got pregnant with each of our current kids in fact -- and each time we considered the idea it was always in hypothetical "someday" land. This time, however, hypothetical "someday" land transformed into "here and now" boulevard. As we prayed and talked things became ridiculously obvious -- adoption is where we were headed. As newbies on the journey even knowing how to start the process was almost overwhelming; more than once I thought about quitting altogether simply because it was too hard. Fortunately, even though he credits me with the saying, Luke holds fast to the idea that "Pearsons don't quit." We kept plugging along and by God's grace found our way.

Lots of people have asked the same basic questions so I thought I'd answer them here.
So where are we in the journey?
1. We've found an agency. Every time we've considered adoption I would do research on agencies and types of adoptions and every time, over the course of 6 years I always came to the same agency. When we began the process of research this time I had forgotten about the agency and wouldn't you know it, I found it again. As I was considering the agency (and others as well) I began to hear stories of friends and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends -- all who had used this particular agency. After being unable to avoid it any longer I showed the website to Luke, told him my stories, and asked that he just look at it. He came home the next day and declared it "the one". We've chosen to adopt through Arrow Ministries. We like their child-first language and their commitment to adoption with a biblical worldview, among other things.
2. We've been "oriented". We dropped the kids off and attended a 2 hour orientation that left us with words like "fire starter" and "sexual aggression" floating through our minds (we were given a lot of worst case scenarios). But more than that we left with a sense of peace that we were in the right spot doing the right thing. Truthfully we expected to be told no, to have the door proverbially slammed in our faces; yet everything we encountered that night was a green light onward. We were also comforted knowing that we had reasonable expectations in our minds -- ours wasn't an overly rosy outlook.
3. We've applied. We spent hours pouring over the initial 19 page application and then it was mailed. Now we are working on the 2nd application -- 11 pages, complete with floor plan and pictures of the outside of house, weapons inventory and pet vaccination proof. Then Luke and I each have to complete a 4 page ministry assessment and statement of faith; attend 8 3-hour initiative classes; certify in CPR; attend medication training and behavioral restraint classes; arrange for a fire marshal inspection and complete a home study. Oh and have FBI fingerprinting and background check done and arrange for all 5 of us to have a TB test (won't that be grand?!). THEN we'll be active and ready to match.

What kind of child are we looking for?
We are in a foster-to-adopt program which is a little different than straight adoption. First let me say we are willing to complete a standard adoption. Unfortunately because we are working with a state agency and with children whose parents aren't (typically) voluntarily relinquishing rights, standard adoptions are a little challenging. Foster-to-adopt is exactly what it sounds like: we will foster a child until he/she is eligible for adoption and then we'll adopt. In Texas, birth parents have up to 12 months to get "things" together before termination of rights proceedings can begin. After the 12 months parents have 30 days to appeal and birth family members (gparents and such) have 90 days to appeal. Only after that point will DFPS begin adoption paperwork. We would rather our child stay in our care during the fostering period rather than someone else's care only to transfer to us when he/she is eligible. I know the next question is "what if your child is returned to birth parents?" To that we say "GREAT!" We will no doubt be sad but if a child's parents can get their lives together enough to care for the little one then that's wonderful. That being said -- Arrow's case load trends toward adoption placement rather than reunification (60-70% of their kids go on to adoption compared to the state's 40%). The child placement coordinator screens cases carefully and tries her best to place kids in foster-to-adopt homes that have the highest chance of adoption consummation. We've requested a child that is 0-5 years old and male with no restriction on ethnicity. We are open to accepting a sibling set of two boys or a boy and a girl within our age range. We can't accept more than that due to space (plus the state will only allow 6 kids period...).

What is our time frame?
Remember I said I'd return to the idea of waiting? Here's where it comes in. We actually don't have a time frame. If you had asked us even 2 months ago what our adoption time frame was we probably would have responded in years. Now we're talking months. This entire process is one large exercise in waiting on God's timing. Here's what we know: as we talked and prayed about the idea of adoption it became very clear that our time table and God's time table didn't match. So we changed ours. Then we discovered very quickly that God wasn't calling us to follow His plan after He revealed it but rather that we are called to follow Him...period. So that's what we're doing. We are taking one step at a time and wait until we're given the green light before we take another. Some days it's very clear we're supposed to stop everything and focus on paperwork and processes; other days it's very clear that paperwork is to be put away in lieu of other things. We do know that we have required trainings that will have to be repeated if we don't finish "stuff" within a calendar year. We also know that we could potentially be placed with a child within days of finishing said trainings (assuming our paperwork is done...which it isn't...). So to answer the question -- we have no time frame. For those that aren't quite satisfied with that answer -- maybe by Jack's next birthday? Maybe sooner? We don't know!!

Are we crazy??
Yeah -- you kind of have to be a little crazy to decide 4 children is right for you! And we'll have 4 under 5 (or 6 depending on the time frame). I suppose we could have 5 under 5. EEEK! So yeah we're a little crazy...but I kinda like our kind of crazy!

What can you do to help?
You can pray for us! We are on a very new and very unknown journey. While we know what having children is like, we have no idea what it's like to adopt. Beyond that our current kids have never really wanted for anything. Our new child will not have had that luxury and that will impact how we parent him/her. Pray for our child. Truthfully, when I allow myself to think about him/her, I find myself crying because I know that potentially the situation he's in right now is terrible. Pray for his/her protection. Then get ready to love on him!! He won't know what hit him when he meets our large crew of family and friends!
The other thing you can do is talk -- to us and others about this process. Got advice? Pass it on! Have a resource we should look into? Send it my way! We are looking into the public health care system for the first time (the child will be on Medicare while still in the foster system). And soon we'll have to look into attorneys and potentially therapists and all sorts of "stuff".
We shouldn't need anything else -- we have all kinds of "kid things" and gear. We have to install some fire equipment (communicating fire alarms?!) and we have to get the house in order for a home study but those should be no big deal -- if we remember to take them in stride.

Feel free to ask any questions you have. We love to talk about our journey! I'll keep you posted with developments as they occur and we are able. Also -- feel free to visit Arrow.org for more information on our agency and adoption/foster programs.

For Mom

I needed a little cheerleading today. Thought you might too. Enjoy!!

Hill Country Vacation 2010

This year we vacationed in the sprawling metropolis of Utopia, TX. Seriously...maybe 12 people live there (ok maybe it's more than that...but it's small!). My parents rented a ranch house on the Sabinal River for the week. There are tons of pictures from that week so I put them in a slideshow so you could see them all without crashing your server. (Mom let me know if you can't get these and I'll send them to you!)

We had a good time. Even though our stretch of Sabinal was too cold to swim in the boys enjoyed fishing in it. And they didn't mind the daily trips to Leakey to swim the Frio (complete with ice cream stops!)! I never thought I'd say the Frio was warm but compared to the Sabinal it was! We had a friendly doe that visited in the morning and evening and several hummingbirds that graced us with their presence. Unfortunately we had 3 scorpions make a visit; 2 of them stung some folks -- Luke and Grace one day and Papa Mark the next -- but after some benadryl none were worse for the wear. We even floated the Frio -- all of us, even Grace!! It was fun! I have zero pictures from our Frio time because I didn't want to endanger the camera so you'll just have to imagine it :)

Minivan Mafia

There is a mafia in Katy. Did you know? I call it the Minivan Mafia; made of up of minivan driving mamas, this mafia drives me insane more times than not. In particular I take offense with their random declarations of "drive 25 mph regardless of the speed limit" days, resulting in me being tailgated in a school zone (where I refuse to drive an iota over the posted sign) or being boxed in when I want to drive the posted 40mph. But regardless of my feelings for the mafia I must confess I'm the one of the newest minivan mama members. Yep, we did it -- we made the minivan plunge; Grace's addition to our family made it practically necessary. I have a love/hate relationship with Minnie...

Things I hate:
1. the way it looks -- seriously the engineers designing the thing must not have taken visual aesthetics into account at all. Then again it's a minivan not a sports car. It's not bad for a minivan.
2. Cool points GONE -- seriously. To buy it I had to at least concede that mom jeans are comfortable and that fanny packs are practical -- even if I swore I would never wear either one. Owning Minnie gives me pause ever so often in my wardrobe choices. Am I cool enough to still pull off the vintage burn-out shirt and sassy gold flats or should I pick something in an awesome cotton/knit blend GIANT print with GIANT pockets on the butt and boob (you know...for convenience).
3. Lack of "street cred". Admit it -- you've thought at least once that all minivan mamas are terrible drivers. So while I've made my car a phone-free (including hands-free devices) and food-free, I still get the occasional looks of disgust from passers-by. Also, more often than not, I feel like the minivan in CARS that looks like it's working as hard as it can to pass the big rig Mack. (on a side note -- SUV mamas hate to be passed by a minivan. It must bruise their SUV-ego).

Things I love:
1. Low ground clearance. Even though my Expedition had fancy running-board-step-things, I still had to lift Grace in her infant carrier above my face to get her in and out of the car. Do that 10 times in one day (for 5 stops) and alone that will make your back almost give out. Add to it lifting Jack and Sam in and out and my back had about had it. In Minnie I lift Grace to waist level, if that high, and the boys can climb in and out by themselves. GLORIOUS!!
2. Sliding doors -- Did you know little boys don't know or much care about the nuances of parking lot etiquette? Subtleties like "don't slam your door into the car next to you" are lost on small kids. With Minnie I don't have to worry about that. I decide when they slide open and I decide when they slide closed. This also means I don't have to help as much with the "getting in" process which means I don't have little boys running amok in the parking lot which means less chances of a car/child collision. To add to that I no longer have to worry about parking my giant SUV exactly in the middle so I can squeeze two doors open wide enough to haul kids in and out. Again GLORIOUS!
3. Space -- As large as my Expedition was on the outside it wasn't that large inside. Minnie seats 7 compared to the Expedition's 8 only because Minnie has captain's chairs in the first row instead of a bench. BUT Minnie will hold 4 large suitcases upright behind the last seat. The Expy might have held one...maybe. And since the Expy had a bench seat the 3rd row was basically inaccessible with 3 carseats.
4. Super-Awesome convenience features. Seriously what the engineers ignored in visual aesthetics they more than made up for in convenience features. Minnie has cup-holders made for both cups and juice boxes (AWESOME!) -- and none in short supply, storage bins and power outlets, and a bunch of other things that I technically could live without but that make my car trips with 3 kids so much easier!

At the end of the day my "loves" more than outshine my "hates" and so Minnie is mine. Add to the mix the fact that Minnie is newer than the Expy was, has less miles and literally cost us nothing (we even-traded -- gotta stay on our debt-free plan!) and Minnie is spectacular!! I love driving Minnie and should've gotten it a long time ago.

My only caveat -- in case I slip, someone remind me about the mom-jeans and fanny pack, ok?!