Recapping 2008

What a year! Who knew God would take us on such an interesting path? Well, He did, of course, but we remain clueless as usual.

We started the year taking MAPP classes in order to become licensed foster parents. Just over four months later we got a call that would change our lives more than we could imagine. Our sweet Little Man came into the Haut House, and we have learned so much about love during the past six months. God remains true to His nature, and has provided us with amazing support from relatives, friends, and our church family. As an added bonus, we have met and befriended some amazing folks along the way. I guess that saying "Birds of a feather flock together," applies to us too. When we hang out with the Beavers, there are NINE kids between us (3 infants, 3 two year olds, 2 four year olds, and a five year old). Yes, we know all about chaos.

Isaac had a great year of growing and maturing. He finished his beloved pre-school in May and in September I embarked on a homeschooling adventure with him. Kindergarten at home: it makes me smile and makes me want to rip my hair out all in the same hour. We have good days and bad days, but overall, I think we have both enjoyed his Kindergarten year thus far. Thankfully, Isaac is creative enough to come up with his own art and construction projects. He has a passion for playing outdoors, and making a huge mess out of just about anything. Recently, Isaac has made a great friend named Jefferson (also homeschooled), and they spend one afternoon a week being all boy. There is generally guns, dirt, and wrestling involved.

Lauralyn has become quite the "big girl" this year. She has taken on the role of big sister, helping me as much as a three year old can. While most of the year, she refused to wear pants, and only allowed skirts or dresses in her wardrobe, towards the end of the year, pants slowly made there way back into her dresser. This fall, Lauralyn started gymnastics and has loved having something special each week to look forward to. The majority of the time around the house, Lauralyn wears a leotard or ballerina attire... even when it is freezing cold. She is as girly as they come, and I enjoy every bit of her natural gravitation towards all things frilly.

Kristin had a big year! At 18 months, she began walking. Hooray! She continues to be entirely adorable, which gives her leverage when she won't stop screaming. Kristin is a people person, and will quickly sit on a lap of a new friend and tell them all about whatever comes to her mind. Granted, it's all in gibberish, but lately she is throwing in some real words here and there. I am excited to see how she matures over the coming months, and I know before long she will be chattering my ear off. My baby is growing up.

Little Man has done well as the newly appointed baby of the Haut House. He struggled so much those first few months, but he is now thriving and full of the sweetest personality. Praise God for miracles! We love him just as we love our other children, and we can't imagine life without his sweet smiling face. I do have an adoption blog where I write any news or thoughts on the whole process.

I expect 2009 to be another big year. We trust God has it all planned out quite well. Our hope and prayer is to have Little Man officially become a member of the Haut House. I don't yet know if Isaac will homeschool for first grade or if we will send him back to Sheets. There is no doubt 2009 will have it's share of joy and sorrow, but what I am sure of is God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And with that, I wish you a very happy New Year!

The Long Road Home

We were doing well. Kids fed: check. Naps taken by the babies: check. Nobody screaming: check. The North Carolina border was about 45 minutes away, which meant we were just under 3 hours from home. Then, traffic stopped. Totally stopped. We crept slowly for about 5 minutes, and then we stopped. People in front of us turned of their engines. Oh, no. Not a good sign.

Children became restless. I put in a movie I had been saving for the last 2 hours of the trip because my dvd player was not fully charged. Babies got restless. We got them out of their car seats and carried them around outside until we got cold and would warm up in the car. An hour went by. Other drivers and passengers loitered... they were restless too, but at least they didn't have 4 small children in tow. The teenagers in the SUV in front of us threw a football back and forth on the shoulder of the interstate.

We would hear gunfire as hunters in the distance enjoyed the last week of hunting season. I joked every time, and said, "Duck!" Oddly enough, we found out later a van not far from us had been hit by buck shot. Nobody was hurt.

Minutes turned into hours, and I cannot tell you how much I had to pee. Several people (mostly males) went into the woods (which lacked any foliage for privacy) to relieve their bladders. I came very close to taking that hike into the woods once darkness began to fall, but I knew my pale rear would probably be like a spot light, and I was not in the mood to moon a hundred strangers.

After just over 2 hours of waiting, engines started turning back on. We were only a quarter mile behind the wreck, and we are thankful our journey was a safe one. Even with that long delay, we made it back home no worse for wear other than Noah and I having a few frazzled nerves.


Waiting.


Waiting.


Waiting some more.


Darkness fell.


The infamous wooded area... thankfully I made it to a clean, private, rest stop.

Cute Cousins... Enough Said.

A Reason to Celebrate!

The day after Christmas we headed to Maryland for a long weekend. We had a great reason for such a trip... my grandparents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary! While their real anniversary is Dec. 21, we had the party on the 27th. I am really blessed to have grandparents who have demonstrated commitment and love for one another for 60 years... this is certainly rare, and truly a wonderful reason to celebrate. (side note: Noah's grandparent's also celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in June of this year. Isn't that so cool?)

We had a fabulous time visiting with my uncles, aunts, and cousins, many of whom I have not seen in over 5 years. Denise (my sis-in-law) made the most wonderful food, and Noah claims he gained 5 pounds over the weekend because of all that yummy food. What a fun trip! We love our family so much, and as the kids get older, I hope to drive up a little more often.


Isaac is so creative. He made a porcupine out of a crab ball, black olives, and tooth picks. Mmmmm. I could have eaten a tray of those crab balls...


Kristin, Nana, and Uncle Scott.


I love this photo because of the expression on Isaac's face. Adults are so boring.


Cutting the cake, much to Isaac's delight.


Sadie was all partied out.

Christmas and 21 Photos

Ah, yes. I had a lot more photos, but picked the top 21 to share. In quick review of Christmas... it always starts with coffee (the girls helped watch it brew). This year Granny and Pop Pop and Nanet and Mr. Jesse joined us for the morning festivities. Granny fixed a yummy breakfast, which we devoured after the gift frenzy.

During the afternoon, we went to Granny's and Pop Pop where the kids opened a few more gifts, and had a nice change of scenery. Dinner at Nanet and Mr. Jesse's was divine, which we all had a hand in preparing. A perfect end to a very pleasant day. What a blessing to celebrate Christ's birth with loved ones!

Here comes the onslaught of photos. For those of you wondering, Noah did make me a beautiful copy of my blog from the year 2007. It is quite the labor of love, as I know he spent many hours creating the layout.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve in the Haut House has been somewhat of a party in years past. This year, we had our good friends over for dinner, and while it wasn't an official party, it was certainly wild and loud. Here are seven reasons as to why:



Terrible photo, but it's amazing we got the photo at all. What a fun evening of chaos and love.

Once the kids were in bed, Noah and I spent much of the night wrapping gifts, and I set them up under the tree. I had to take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the quiet. I love our house at Christmas.

Two Year Old Glam

On Christmas Eve I painted Lauralyn's nails... and Kristin sat down, held her hands out just like big sister, ready for her manicure. I obliged since she HAD turned two, and isn't that the age girls should start their beauty regiments? Kristin was thrilled to be "a big girl" and sat perfectly still for the twenty minute nail session. Isn't she adorable? I wanted to take Lauralyn's photo, but she was not in the mood.

A Quick Visit

On the 23rd, we were happy to have Aunt Dewey and Grandfather stop through on their way to Texas. Aunt Dewey was moving from New Jersey back to the Houston area, and lucky us got to be a stop on their way! We haven't seen Dewey for about 18 months... a lot has happened in those 18 months, so it was a treat to catch her up on all the growing that has taken place.

We're Here

Back from our trip to Maryland, we are going to need a few days to recover and get back on a routine. I have lots of blog material, but it will need to wait until I have things in order around the house.

We had a lovely Christmas, and hope yours was as well!

No, I can't spell

I just realized I mis-spelled Carolina in my last post title. I had a good laugh... it almost looks intentional because "Carlina" is how folks around here pronounce Carolina. But, I was not trying to be clever insinuating a southern accent. I simply can't spell worth a dern. :-)

A Field Trip, North Carlina Style

Grandad came to visit Thursday and Friday last week to spend time with the kids and celebrate Kristin's birthday. On Thursday, I wanted to get out and do something new, so we headed to Welcome, a little town right next to Lexington. There, we spent a surprisingly fun two hours at the R.C.R. (Richard Childress Racing) Museum. Sounds exciting, right? I, being a NASCAR fan only by de-fault (I'll watch a race once or twice a year, and I have been to the Daytona 500 a couple of times), have no loyalties to any driver, and really, if my Dad and brother weren't into NASCAR, I would have no interest in racing whatsoever.

But I had a great time, and the kids were equally as interested. The museum is really well done, and there are a ton of race cars housed there. Isaac's favorite part was the big rig hauler, which you can walk in and see how the cars travel to the races. There is also a section devoted to Richard Childress's hunting conquests... tons of stuffed wildlife posed in life-like action. Not my favorite part (sniff, sniff, poor animals) but, it was a sight to behold. Another favorite was the wrecked race car, complete with Daytona dirt still on the top. A video of the big wreck played over and over again on a television by the car. Grandad and Uncle David had witnessed this wreck at the race, and the kids thought that was neat... don't worry, the driver was not hurt.

So, if you have any interest in cars or racing, or you want to do something fun with your son on a rainy day, I highly recommend the R.C.R Museum... NASCAR fan or not, it is a fascinating place to go.