AWANA Bible Quiz

A few weeks ago, Gabe participated in the AWANA Bible Quiz. 

(Gabe and his team-mates)

Kids can only participate if they have finished at least 8 sections of their AWANA Handbook. Then they commit to studying at least 90 minutes per week for the 4 weeks leading up to the quiz. They work as a team of 3 to 4 students and believe me - the competition is intense!! 

There are 3 sections to the quiz; a multiple choice section, a speed round, and a written multiple choice test. Gabe proved to be quick on the buzzer, and pretty good at the speed round (though there were a few times he buzzed it a little too soon - What is the definition of !! HA!)!

A certificate was given to participants who scored an 80% or above on the written portion. Gabe received a 90%!!

His team finished in 2nd place!!! 

As you can tell, he was thrilled!!! 

What a neat and fun (though stressful on the Mommas) way to encourage these precious kids to hide God's Word in their hearts!!! I was so impressed with their knowledge of scripture and Biblical truths they knew.  What a great foundation for the rest of their lives!! 

Home 5 Months

Saturday marked 5 months since Adoption Day!! My, how Faith has changed in these 5 months!

Her hair is longer and shinier and her eyes are brighter!

She LOVES to be outside - and especially to swing!

She is stubborn - or maybe it is nicer to say tenacious. Mig was mischief with a smile - she is stubborn with a smile!!

Her casts are NOT holding her back from anything. She can crawl as fast as she could walk before casts and is even walking in the casts a bit!

The biggest change is that she loves Daddy! One evening Byron was working on taking down our formal dining table to put a desk in it's place. Faith thought she needed to help!

Cuddles count as helping -right?!?

Is this the tool you need, Daddy?

This is the same child that screamed and cried when Daddy had to hold her for 5 minutes so I could go to the restroom 5 months ago. She would just cry if he got too close! Now, she trusts him so much, she can sleep in his arms.

So much has changed!

New pink "boots" - Surgery Day

On Monday, April 13, Byron, Faith and I woke up bright and early. We left our house at 4:20 am so we could be at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital by 5:00 am. It was the day of Faith's big surgery. 

Faith was checked in, weighed and measured. 

Then we waited. 

 Finally around 7:40, her "chariot" was brought in and she was wheeled downstairs to the OR prep room. She waved and smiled at all the nurses we passed. She was charming everyone!

We were allowed to stay with her right up until they took her back. I was really worried that she would be super upset about going into the OR without me, but they gave her some medicine that made her quite loopy. 

By the time they took her into the Operating Room, she was completely relaxed. Her tongue was the most interesting thing in the world,  she repeatedly made fake sneezes so everyone would laugh at her and this is the closest thing I could get to a smile. 

They gave her a Raggedy Anne and Raggedy Andy doll while we were waiting, she wanted to take Raggedy Anne with her - so of course - they let her. 

The next two hours went by so slowly!! The waiting was the hardest thing ever! We were told the surgery would take about an hour. When an hour and a half went by with no word from anyone, we started to worry. 

Finally, the buzzer we had been given buzzed! We were told that her surgery went exceptionally well! Then we were taken back to see her. She looked tiny in the big hospital bed - and she was NOT happy that Mama was not there when she woke up. She (and her doll) were given new bright pink casts.

She was a little sore, but within hours (and after some mommy cuddles) she was eating, smiling and playing. 

We went home that afternoon!! The hardest part of recovery has been trying to get her to sit still!

We are so, SO thankful for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital!! I cannot say enough good things about Faith's doctors, nurses, and all of the volunteers that have worked with her!

May 19th is the next big day! Faith will have her casts off for good that day!!! She will be walking, running, dancing and jumping in the very near future! 

Praise the Lord!

Easter 2015

We started celebrating Easter on Thursday with a trip to Rancho de la Roca. They have set up an event for kids ages 3 -10 that is so very neat!

We went with a few of our Homeschool Friends.

We rode a hayride that took us to hear the Easter Story.

Our first stop on the hayride was to a hill. On the hill was a donkey, 3 crosses and "Mary" who told us the story of Easter.

Mary had props for the kids to see and interacted with them. 

Our next stop was to the tomb. There, we heard the story of the empty tomb and the resurrection!

Our final stop was to see the Easter Bunny!

Then we had a picnic and played on the beautiful grounds. 

Such a sweet group of kids!

On Saturday we painted eggs.

On Sunday we went to the Easter Sunrise Service and church service. It rained all night, so after church we had an indoor egg hunt. 

Faith was very good at finding eggs!

Then we had lunch and relaxed the rest of the day. 

It was a beautiful Easter!

Easter Shoes

 This Tuesday, Faith and I made our bi-weekly trip down to Scottish Rite Hospital for yet another set of casts. 

Her feet are doing so well!! Look how straight they are after just 2 sets of casts!!

She was able to wiggle her feet and legs for about 20 minutes before she got her new casts. She didn't attempt walking and did not like crawling on her bare knees. 

Her doctor came in and said, "Now those are not clubbed feet any longer!" Praise the Lord!! One foot still needs a little over correcting, though. 

I was thinking about making some high-top converse for her casts this time, but then I remembered that this is Easter Sunday - she needed Easter shoes! So, I gave her mary-janes with glittery circles and ruffle socks (by the time I got to the socks, she was quite finished with my drawing, so they look a little funky but still cute.). 

She loves the sparkle!

We are still on schedule for surgery on April 13th - it's just around the corner now!

Home 4 Months

On Easter Sunday Faith will have been home for 4 months. March 24th was 4 months since Faith was placed in our arms. I told Byron that it is hard to believe that we have only known this child for 4 months. 

New this month is phrases! She can now say, "Momma, I need diaper change!" when she is dirty (potty training is happening as soon as those casts are off!), "More milk, please." and her favorite new phrase is, "Oh My Gosh!!" SO FUNNY!! Her doctor is very impressed with her verbal skills. 

The smiles above are the best ever; the ones where her smile is so big, her eyes disappear!! Love it! 

What a blessing to watch her grow, develop, and change right before our eyes! Adoption rocks!