And for 5 Years She's Held Her Own

Jordan turned 5 yesterday! I know it’s cliché, but man time flew by.  For her birthday she got her ears pierced (a few weeks ago), she had a birthday party (pictures below), and we celebrated her actual big day with rainbow cupcakes in her favorite colors.  Usually I have the kids decorate their own cake for their birthdays and let them pile on as much sprinkles and frosting as their little hearts desire, but there really just wasn’t the time yesterday since she spent most of it with some quality time with her daddy.

So what can I say about Jordan at age 5? Jordan is:

1.       Obedient: as obedient as you can expect a 5 year old to be.  Most of the time she quickly does what you ask her to do

2.       Polite: She usually always says please and thank you

3.       Eager to Help: In reference to #1…I can almost always get her to do something if I preface it by saying, “can you help me…”

4.       Happy: She is almost always smiling with the most contagious (and slightly terrifying) smile.  She makes you want to take part in her joy…yet you feel like she is also mentally plotting your death…

5.       Considerate: She generally is great at sharing and helping her friends and siblings

6.       Mischievous: she is sneaky… and quiet…and smart… such a horrible combination that has resulted in many soaked floors, colored walls (and colored siblings), and cut hair

7.       Stubborn: I take full credit for her stubbornness which I blame on my father.  I’m only as stubborn as he is so really it’s his fault, right?

8.       My Muddy Princess: I know I’ve said this before to like 100 people, but it’s completely true.  Jordan dresses like a princess, but acts like a tom-boy.  She loves to get dirty and rough, but only if she can do so in the pinkest and sparkliest dress with matching barrettes and bracelet.

I don’t have her “stats” because until her birthday I completely forgot to even schedule her “Well Child” exam…oops.  So yeah, that will happen next month or so.

And without further ado here her annual pictures (to see how’s she grown) and some pictures from her party.

A few weeks old

 One Year Old

 Two Years Old

 Three Years Old

Four Years Old

Five Years Old

 

My First Real Update

So on October 21^st the official signature was signed and I am officially matched with couple!  For privacy reasons I can’t give much detail at all, but I can say this couple has struggled with some difficult circumstances and I am extremely blessed and honored to be able to help them have their baby!

Justin and I had our blood drawn today to test for infectious diseases.  For me this was the first real glimpse of the process starting…my first “procedure”.

I start birth control tomorrow so they can adjust my…cycle (is that a gentle enough way to say it for those boys that read?).  The intended parent’s (IP) lawyer is drafting the legal contract so hopefully I’ll see that soon.  From what I can tell this should be done within the next couple of weeks.  Once it’s signed the real fun can begin.

By fun, I really don’t mean fun unless you think jamming yourself with needles of various sizes is enjoyable.  I personally do not find this gratifying.  Well, maybe I do and I just don’t realize it yet since I’ve never done it. Regardless, I fully intend on having Justin do the stabbing.  The process is in motion! I’ve waited to post because it hasn’t quite felt real yet.  Not even really now.

I’m worried to tell people and get all excited just to have something fall through so I have to say “just kidding” to you guys.  But despite my reservations I’m sharing because I know you guys love me and want to know.  And I know you guys are praying for me which is incredible.  So even though part of me is nervous to share news that may end up being non-news I will continue to keep you all in the loop.

My next post will most likely be about my schedule which I should get when I start the jabbing and stabbing.

So Sayith Tay, Jay, and Eli #2

Elijah Edition

What is your favorite color?

Um, green.

What is your favorite shape?

Triangle, I like triangles.

What is your favorite food?

Sauce, and sugar, and pizza.

What is your favorite drink?

Chocolate milk.

What is your favorite animal?

Cow.  I run away from the big cow.

What is your favorite super hero?

Batman. Because he turns into a bicycle.

Who is your favorite friend?

Kailan (from the tv show) Caleb.

Who is your favorite person?

Daddy!!!

Who is your favorite sister?

Taylor AND Jordan.

What food is yucky?

Apples (he really likes apples though)

What is bad?

Daddy is.

What is sad?

(I think he said) My tummy gets tiger with chocolate milk.

What would you do if you saw a dragon?

The dragon can't come in the spider web and get caught.  Spots, spots in my tummy.  Spider! Spiderman.

If you do anything in the world right now what would you do?

Kill a robot, because he's outside right now.  Robot.

The Star Girls

So Taylor’s best friend is a little girl named Bella.  Bella just so happens to have a sister who is Jordan’s age and brother who is Elijah’s age which makes hanging out with their family quite perfect.

We decided this year that one day a week I would take Bella to school and her parents would take Taylor to school another day.

Well Thursday’s are my day.  It’s pretty entertaining to listen to two 6 year old girls talk about life in the back seat of your car.  However, my favorite has become “The Star Girls”.

One Thursday Bella noticed Justin’s drum sticks in the car and asked Taylor what they were for.  Taylor told Bella her daddy plays drums at church.  Bella asked if she could use them so I handed them back.  And then it began…

Taylor informed Bella that in order to play the drums you had to count first “Say 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4”.

Bella did just this.  Bella then decided it wasn’t enough to have just drums.  So she told Taylor “you play the pretend guitar and sing like you are a guitar”

So they counted off…1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4 and Bella drummed on the back of the seat and Taylor strummed her invisible guitar and made noises like she was a guitar.

This week the girls decided they should be a rock band.  A rock band named “The Star Girls”, because they were rockSTARs.  They began to add actual words to their song conveniently named “I am a Star”.

So for the 10 minute drive the girls rocked out in my back seat to their own music and their own song.

It made me smile.

On an unrelated I saw something odd on the way in to work this morning I didn’t understand:

How was the car with a handicap license plate riding around with a surf board on his car… can a handicap person really surf?  I call him a liar.  I am also willing to accept the fact I may be naïve and not understand how surfing or handicap-ness works.

The End.  Have a Great Thursday.

What Does the Fox Say?

E.x.h.a.u.s.t.i.n.g

That pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks.  It’s been one of those times in my life where everything is sucking away all I have left right now.

Emotionally

Spiritually

Physically

Don’t get me wrong…I have had much more exhausting times in my life and this is really a walk in the park compared to some other times.  I just decided I really hate the expression “walk in the park”.  It’s supposed to mean something is easy, but have you ever just “walked” in the park with 3 kids in tow?  There’s not much walking and much more chasing and yelling and crying.

Anyway I’m here to tell you a story…well no…it’s not a story.  I guess I could make it a story.

Once upon a time there was a girl (FYI “once” and “upon” are in Taylor’s list of sight words this week and whenever she reads them she adds “a time”).  This girl wanted to be a teacher, but instead took a boring job at a bank.  She didn’t want to work at a bank, but it made the most sense for that time in her life.

She grew to love her job.  She grew to love the people she worked with.  She grew to love the place she worked at.  While working there she made some of the most amazing friendships.  She cherished these people and relationships.

Then the layoff of 2013 happened (that is what I am calling it).  She worried about losing her job.  Not because she’d be jobless…that would work itself out, but because it meant she may no longer work with those people that she had grown to love.  Layoff Day came and the hearts of her friends at work were heavy as they all watched people leaving.

But then just a few days later she was reminded about the strength of those relationships.   When she was able to have dinner and play games with some friends.  Some friends that she used to work with and had moved on to different things in life (FYI they were not part of the layoff of 2013 and had in fact left the bank several years earlier).  They ate, they laughed, they chased their kids around and enjoyed their evening. 

So really the point of this story is I HAVE THE MOST AWESOME FRIENDS! Have I said that recently? Because I do.  And I had an amazing time with the Blakes and Brovers a couple of weeks ago and found myself at one point thinking about how blessed I was to get this job at a bank that I never thought I wanted.  About how blessed I was that this job has brought amazing people into my life that I can share life and experiences with.

Word.

And I did not do a good job about getting pictures of the 6 adults and 8 children that crammed into my tiny apartment (THANK YOU to all my friends that are willing to cram themselves into my tiny apartment and hike several blocks to actually get to my apartment).

And if you haven't noticed...the title of this blog seems to not relate in any way to the actual blog content...but rest assured...it makes sense to a few of us.

But here are some of the pictures we did get.  Can these kids get any stinkin’ cuter?

 

And in case you were wondering, Elijah was not naked...just barely closed in his cute little spiderman underpants (on inside out).