favorites:

• taquitos (sometimes it’s the first thing he asks for when he wakes up)
• puppies
• DUCKS
• tractors
• trash trucks
• jumping off of things
• obtaining bruises, scrapes, and goose eggs at every opportunity

not so much favorites:

• baths, showers, water in general
• being left with a sitter (random new separation anxiety)
• getting his hair cut
• watching television
• vegetables

we’re so glad he’s our kid.

and we still have 2 more to go.

plus an experimental (all coconut oil) batch that casey’s uncle has requested.

so. fun.

Now we wait for it to cure (3-6 weeks, depending on temperature/humidity/etc.). We’re assuming it’ll cure faster here in dry Southern California… but we’ll see!

When it’s cured, my etsy will be restocked!

with some guys.

they had to camp overnight in the snow.

and i hear they cut their dinner with a machete.

but that’s not what this is about.

it’s about how kids recreate stuff from life in their play. i love it.

It’s a little strange to post about it, since we’re in such a limbo state… but you should get to see the place that occupies an important {albeit, smoggy} place in our hearts.

And speaking of limbo, the next steps with Penelope should be happening at the end of this month, or early February at the latest. We’ve been jumping through lots of {paperwork} hoops… and learning to be patient, since the office that has to process our stuff takes a 3 week holiday break! She’ll be evaluated by an interdisciplinary team, and then we’ll all work together to come up with an agreeable game plan. This waiting/praying/learning/hoping/waiting season feels really slow, but it also feels really honest. And I like that. I’m glad we aren’t trying to wrestle through concerns over Penelope while carrying on with everything as planned… that’d just be too much for me.

And I know how God can use a season of waiting. I know I’ll grow and learn, despite all my best efforts to speed it up and know what’s next.

Casey and I sometimes just have to laugh. And joke about painting Proverbs 16:9 in block letters on our living room wall or something. It seems to be a bit of a theme for our family. But we’re always a little surprised when things feel derailed… forgetting that there is a thoughtful, wise, and loving author behind it all.

I know he tells the sea where to stop. And that he’s counted every single {crazy curly} hair on that little girl’s head.

So I don’t wait or wonder without a deep-seated foundation of hope.

And while we’re not currently in support-raising mode, we made a little video just before the break. It has some big picture views of the city… and I don’t think we ever got the chance to share it.  You can watch it here or by clicking the “support team” tab at the top of this page.

with friends.

at the beach.

we wrote our names on rubber duckies, and watched as a surfer carried them out.

then we watched them come right back.

there’s a metaphor in there somewhere, you know.

Because they are just as hip and fun as they look.

And I remembered.

That I still hadn’t sent my Grandma a disc of pictures from the wedding.

Um. It was months ago.

So while I won’t be winning any titles for Most Responsible Granddaughter…

I did enjoy going through the pictures tonight and (gasp) actually burning a disc for her.

And now, to assuage my guilt, I’m posting some of those family pictures she’s been waiting for (high-resolution copies are in the mail!).

And for the rest of you, since you were so patient through this post–

Here’s what Arthur looks like if he’s allowed to stay up an hour or two past his bedtime, eat cupcakes, and dance under flashing lights:

Yes- he is that blur. Busting some crazy moves.

So this video is really long, and also of a particularly poor quality.

But it warrants a post anyway. Because of the backstory.

Our sweet girl did pretty terribly in the final rehearsal. Despite much practicing, she had a hard time. It was a bit much for her. So we got serious about it the last night – tons of prep, tons of explanation, and tons of quizzing.

Essentially focused on three things:

1) We stand on the step (and don’t jump off!).

2) We don’t touch the microphone.

3) We listen to the teacher, so so carefully.

And we practiced the songs a ton.

After our practicing, we kind of decided just to skip it and have her watch the performance with us. It didn’t seem to be clicking for her.

But the next morning… she woke up saying, “Today is Sunday! I get to sing in church!! And if I stand on the step, don’t touch the mic, and listen to my teacher, I get a SMILEY FACE!! And if I get one more smiley face, I get to GO TO THE ZOO for that!!”

Um. How do you say no to that? And she was right – a smiley face chart doesn’t lie.

So we called reinforcements (read: grandparents), and braced for the worst.

She did great, though! And only one flaw in our prep was revealed – general performance etiquette.

We should have included one more step:

4) We don’t try to have a conversation with Mama and Daddy while on stage.

My favorite part? It’s around the 2 minute mark, in between songs. Penelope proudly exclaims,  ”I didn’t touch that [microphone], Mama!”

Enjoy (at least a few seconds of it, anyway):

Apparently too much for me to write about? I’m usually one to do a lot of processing here, in writing, but I just couldn’t quite get there.

I think it’s been a long enough break. So time for some catching up:

1. We went to Mexico City at the end of October and it was amazing. Not because it’s a super glamorous place, or made our hearts go pitter-patter, but because we both felt deeply that it was the place we had been praying about. And the partnership.

2. I didn’t bring my real camera, because I hadn’t quite figured out what it would be like to care for my kids well in that crazy mega-city, and thought it best to be undistracted by things like aperture and shutter speed. Little did I know, the lack of those options could be equally distracting! I have some pictures, and I’ll post several… but they leave something to be desired.

2. Penelope loved Mexico. She still thanks God for the “orange train” nearly every night.

3. Arthur hated it. In an all-consuming, unhappiest-we’ve-ever-seen-him kind of way. But when we came back, he hated California for a full 2 weeks too, so we think it may have just been a phase.

4. After Mexico City, I increased my hours at work to help another department. It meant cool things like a raise and benefits, all while my kiddos are napping in the afternoon, but you know… that’s a couple less hours in my day. Life is a little busier, but not in a bad way.

5. Next up came an evaluation having to do with our little girl. We still haven’t wrestled through what it looks like to respect her privacy, and still be transparent about our lives, but we’re working on it. We learned a lot about our quirky (ahem. awesome) Penelope, and some unique challenges that she’ll have… just in the way she’s knit together. It’s the kind of thing we need to dive headfirst in to – gathering info, figuring out what kind of support and help is going to benefit her most, and what that means for our family. Our kind and compassionate missions agency agrees. They want us to put everything related to support-raising on hold for six-months. They were kind and quick to reassure us that we are 100% part of the reach global family, and they want to support us through this journey – but that it’s most important at this point to take care of sweet Penelope.

6. Number 5 is really, very hard for us. But we’re learning (again, and again) to trust. And hope. And wait. Pray with us?

7. Then came Thanksgiving. At just the right time, truly. We shared a meal in the barn, and then played shuffleboard in our hallway. Obviously.

8. At the beginning of this month, Casey finished the final lap of his degree. Oh the sweet, sweet feeling of completion. He technically graduated yesterday. There was much dancing in the streets.

9. Now we prep for Christmas. Isn’t this just the best time of year?

10. Why you all check this thing – pictures of the kids. Here’s a random smattering:

The compound pumpkin carving contest. We attempted (successfully) to bribe the judge. Yes!

barn shuffleboard: first edition

turkey table

zoo trip

stirring some dry beans very seriously.

Look for a full newsletter later this week, and more regular blog updates!