Superhero Is On The Move!

Jett's bedhead hair and the many faces of this little man in the morning!
Snuggling with big sister in the morning.
He loves to run around in his superhero costumes!
Right now, he's a big Spiderman fan (though he has never seen a movie or show with Spidey in it) and he is convinced that he can capture people with his webs.
Kinda hard to pretend you have muscles when you are that skinny. Seriously, this boy eats but has only gained 1-2 pounds since we've been home. If he'd stop all that running and jumping, he might could gain weight!

Today is the day that we all will go to Memaw's house. We've been home for over 9 months now, but this will be our first family visit to JT's mom's house. She's been here several times but we will travel this time. What a blessing this has been to not have to travel for a while. Since we travel as part of our occupations, we love to be home! Jett has some issues with traveling and being away from home, so this will be a challenge. Most people don't get to see the ugly, painful and hurtful side of the adoption issues, but just know, that we, like most adoptive parents, have serious issues to deal with that are often intensive and long-lasting.

Jett is doing well - he has started preschool with the family. He usually last about 1 1/2 hours each day. We've spent time learning our letters especially the vowels (or owls as he likes to call them), learning to articulate the ending sounds of words, counting to 20, etc. He can write his name, all of his vowels and even sound out a few words. He'll be reading in no time.

New York, New York

When our children turn 9 years old, we take them on a special trip. It's a celebration of their last year in single digits. Kaitlyn was surprised with a trip to the American Girl place in Chicago....her bags were packed and ready to go when we told her.....Madison, of course, had a 2 1/2 year wait for her surprise.

Madison is the most joyous child we know. She is compassionate and full of mercy. She loves life and soaks it up. She never gets in a hurry (even when prompted) and enjoys every moment she's given. She gets so excited about little things.

So, we gave her a trip to New York. (On a side note, we lead mission trips for a living and are not a family with much financial means. However, because we lead trips, we have an abundance of Skymiles that we can use for flights, hotels and even meals. This is where those frequent flyer miles come in mighty handy!). A week before her birthday (we would be in Africa on her birthday), we surprised her with a scavenger hunt. She found clues all around the house and then discovered that she would be going to New York. No one could wipe the smile off her face and the excitement in her heart. It was contagious.

After a month of waiting, you'd think the anticipation would have waned slightly. Not so much. She loved EVERY minute of the trip. We had the best time together...it was something neither one of us will ever forget. Here are some highlights:

-Staying at the Fitzpatrick hotel just one block from Grand Central.

-Madison's first subway ride!

-Seeing the Statue of Liberty and hearing the stories of how it came to be....

-Getting in to a great Italian restaurant with no reservations although everyone else had to wait an hour!

-Seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway!

-Visiting the AG place, eating at the cafe and watching the play.

-Holding hands and walking through Times Square.

It was a truly amazing trip and we enjoyed our time together immensely. I loved being able to spend time with a remarkable young girl who just happens to be my daughter!