Becky's Surprise: Part 2

Becky was working the Neath the Wreath show in Plano this weekend with our friends at The Hollywood Ranch. And, the 4 older boys went camping with their Nana and Aunt A, so Titus and I decided to paint the kitchen.

This wasn't too big of surprise since we have had 4 paint swatches painted on the wall in the kitchen for the last 2 weeks, but everyone decided they liked the green. I liked the green, but thought it might be a little too light, so "I" decided to go a shade "darker."

I honestly feel the guys in the paint department at Lowes should issue certain warnings with some paint colors before choices are made since paint is not a returnable item. Warnings such as

"Did your wife pick out this color?"

"Does your wife know how bright this color is?"

"Are you painting an entire room this bright or just using it as an accent?"

"Are you sure you don't want to try a sample first?"

And last of all
"What's your back-up plan?"

But thinking that I knew what I was doing, I barged head purchasing two gallons of "Gilded Pesto" green. As I started the first coat, I thought, "Gee, that's a little bright", but knowing that paint always dries darker, I forged on and painted the kitchen with the first coat.

Becky came in that night and raved about it - she LOVED it - (ever the supporting wife).

The next morning, prior to leaving for work, she walked in and said "What do you think about the color?" I could tell by the tone that the expressed LOVE from the night before had changed to FEAR.

I went to the kitchen and after my eyes adjusted to the eye-popping, neon-blaring green, came to the same conclusion that Becky did. It's really hard to describe, but overnight, this green had invovled into an incredible-hulk shade of pulsating green. There was nothing "gilded pesto" about it. I told Becky something must be done or people or going to laugh. Of course, I could always blame it on the children since they are the ones who really liked the green.

So, Titus and I went back to Lowes. Fortunately, another paint guy was there - one older, more mature, and full of advice. We went with "Olive Grove" this time. And, after 12 hours and 2 coats of Olive Grove, we now have a green kitchen. Becky came in last night and again declared "I LOVE IT". And then she said "it's a little more apple green than olive" . . . (sigh.)

As I told her this morning, next time I have a whole day and 2 gallons of paint, we can do it again. If anything, we are definitely ready for Christmas!

Next - is the downstairs bath. Becky has picked out Regal Plum. Please Lord, don't let it be bright!

Life with Boys

You would think with 5 boys we would have learned most of the things you need to know about raising boys . . . but there's always something new.

Cade (who is the taller 4 year old) needed to go tinkle. And this is how the conversation went.

Cade: Mom, I need to go pee.

Mom: Make sure you sit down!

Cade: I wanna stand!

Mom: No, it will go everywhere - sit down.

Cade: No MOM! It won't go everywhere.

So, Cade stands.

And it goes everywhere.

Mom: Here's the rag - clean it up.

And Cade precedes to dip the rag in the toilet (that he hasn't flushed yet) and clean up his mess.


(sigh) . . . boys!

You're Invited!

In just a few days, Titus will be celebrating his first birthday on November 14. What an incredible year it has been - one that we never would have imagined and yet, looking back, it has been a journey that we are thankful for.

To celebrate, we would like to invite you to stop by on Saturday, Nov 15 between 4-6 pm for a piece of cake and to let us express how much we appreciate all the prayers, all the help, all the love you have shown our family this past year. So to our family, friends, neighbors, doctors/nurses/therapists, co-workers, and prayer warriors, you are all included/invited/welcomed to stop by and celebrate. At 5pm, we will have a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing.

Now, I know some of you are thinking we aren't serious, but we are. We know these emails have been forwarded out, printed out, and passed out to hundreds of people we do not know or have never met, but we would love to meet you and share with your our thanks on this special day. So, if you are in Frisco, Texas on Saturday, Nov 14, please stop by. I'll send our address and directions when you RSVP (via email). And please - no gifts - you all have already blessed us and provided us with so much.

Titus is doing great. There has been an awakening of sorts in the last few months. He has made great strides in therapy and although we still have a very long way to go, it's encouraging to know he is showing promise. He is really beginning to "play" with toys, provide us with cues that let us know to continue and he lets us know when he is enjoying an activity. He has become quite mobile on the floor, pushing himself around and rolling over occasionally. When you have him in a sitting position on your lap, he is leaning forward (or doing crunches as I call it). When he leans forward, he gets a kiss on forehead, and then he laughs, arches his back to go back down, and then does it again. He does this numerous times until he's worn out.

As mentioned on the blog, his surgery for his cleft palate is scheduled for January 15, 2009 unless there is a cancellation sooner. But, looking back, Titus has not had any major setbacks/illnesses/hospitalizations since April. This in itself is amazing.

Titus has a night nurse that comes and sits with him 3 nights a week. Although his sleeping has improved and he is sleeping through the night, it gives Becky and I a break to shut the door and sleep uninterrupted knowing that Vanessa is in there taking care of him. Vanessa loves him dearly and Titus knows when she is there. He melts into her arms and goes fast asleep. We tell her she can put him in the crib, but we think the two of the enjoy their time together. Last week, I was finishing up feeding Titus when Vanessa arrived. As she walked into the room, he turned to her, smiled, and he just knew she was there.

During the week we have two aides that come during the day to assist - Becky's mom and Melissa. They take Titus to therapy, assist around the house, wash the dishes/clothes, and love on Titus. Again, what a blessing they are to us. Starting this week, we will also have several hours of nursing visits start to assist in watching over him. This provides Becky time to continue homeschooling the boys.

I have so much more to share, but it's late and I'll save it for the party.

The Weekend

Have you ever had one of those weekends that was non-stop? That's how the last 72 hours have felt.

Becky worked First Monday Trade Days in Canton, Tx over the weekend. For those of you in Texas, you know what First Mondays are all about. But for those of you outside of Texas, think of one giant flea market, arts & craft show, pet store, & swap meet all in one place. This thing is BIG. Since Becky was gone, that left me with all the boys for the weekend.

But that was not until after the boys dressed up and went trick-or-treating on Friday night. The older 4 rummaged through their closets to come up with their costumes and Titus was all warm and snuggly in his puppy costume. The boys had passed out their "Scare Away Hunger" flyers the week before, so they were excited to see how many canned foods they would be able to collect. "Scare Away Hunger" is a canned food drive that our church participates on to stock our local food pantry. As a result, our church along with 2 other local churches collected 5,500 cans of food over the weekend. And when you think about, giving a couple cans of food to help someone who needs it is a lot more beneficial than giving my kids (or me) more candy!

Here's a few pics

Aidan and Noah went as Mad Scientist - Noah as pre-experiment, Aidan as post-experiment.

Seventeen Weeks

Tonight we completed our Growing Kids God's Way class. As many of you know, we have facilitated classes for the last 9 years and are key couples in the Dallas area for Growing Families. We were incredibly blessed (again) with a great class of committed, eager-to-learn, and teachable parents for the last 17 weeks.

As always, Becky and I learn more from leading the class and are convicted in the many areas we need to work on in our parenting with our kids. And, as leaders, we were so challenged by this class to really take our discusions to a deeper level - to not just train an action, but to reach the heart of our child.

As I closed the class out tonight, I reminded them that as parents we can not lead our children any further than we ourselves are willing to go. I can train my children in first-time obedience, but more importantly, they need to see me, their earthly father, practice submission and obedience to his Heavenly Father. And that, is much easier said than done. But I want my boys to see that living a life out loud for God is not a "some time" thing, but a daily thing. I want my boys to know that our training on "good, better, best" is not something we do so that they will be "good" kids, but we do it so others will see God living in us.

So, to Brett & Brennan, Shane & Malissa, Hillary and Chris, Jennifer & Jakob, Amy & Mike, and Dan & Marci, thanks for your commitment. We love you guys!

Cade Turns 4

For the last 2 months, Cade has told everyone he turns 4 in October. This past Monday, it finally happened. It's hard to believe my big boy is 4. He celebrated all weekend long - and closed out the celebration with dinner at On The Border!

To our precious Cader-Tot. You have blossomed more than we could have ever imagined. We remember the fear and uncertainty we felt from reading your medical reports - not knowing if there would be long-term developmental delays or obstacles that could be overcome, and yet we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were to be a Daily boy! What a joy it has been to see you go from a timid, scared, and very tired toddler to being a happy, funny, cautious, and talkative boy (and yes - Cade can talk your ear off once he is comfortable with you or if your a teenage girl). We love you dearly.

And, to your birth mom, we are ever thankful she chose the gift of life for you and a gift of a son to us. And, we honor yout foster parents who loved you more than you can know for those 19 months you lived in Korea. You are so loved.

Cleft Palate Update

We met this week with Dr. Genecov, our cranio-facial surgeon, to discuss repairing Titus' cleft palate. He was incredibly pleased with Titus development and how his jaw is looking, and has scheduled surgery for Jan 15 unless a cancellation happens sooner. Dr. Genecov didn't really go into the details about the surgery, but stated the cleft palate repair could really help his breathing, but there's a chance it could not. Plus, after the surgery, we will really begin working on oral feeds.

Our prayers are that the surgery will not only successfully repair his palate, but that it will improve his breathing.

Also, since we are entering the cold and flu season, we are being very careful with where we are taking Titus. Except for some minor colds, he has really been in good health for the last few months and we need to maintain that prior to surgery. So, if you only see one of us at church, chances are one of us is staying home with Titus just to assure we aren't exposing him to anything unnecessary.

Sorry I haven't posted much over the last few weeks - our offices have moved and internet connectivity has been spotty in the new building. But we have had busy week celebrating Cade's 4th birthday and I have pics to post along with a report on that.

And, be on the alert for Titus' upcoming birthday party. I can't believe my little guy is turning 1 in 2 weeks.