HOW MUCH IS THAT "FROGGIE" IN THE WINDOW?

 Last night we discovered a frog on our window.  

This frog was way up on 

the arched window shown below.

  

I did not know frogs could jump that HIGH!

I also do not know why the frog 

would want to be up so high on this window.  

What was his game plan?

I'm guessing he got a little 

mixed up in his jumping directions...

After about 10 minutes he leaped off and went somewhere more practical for a frog I'm hoping.

Possible life lesson from this:

Sometimes we don't always end up where we planned to be in life so just keep holding on- 

things will get better soon.  

CAN'T FORGET JONAH!

Because this blog was created to document our adoption journey with Ben, Jonah's story is not talked about as much here.  So I decided to share two of our big moments with our Jonah.

We adopted Jonah as a newborn.  

VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE 

than adopting Ben as a 6 year old.

Think of a blank piece of paper versus one that is filled with scribbles and notes.

Both of our adoptions were adventures, but very unique in their own ways.

However, one way the adoptions were the same, is Jonah is also a person in our lives who has changed us dramatically!  Our lives have never been the same since the moment that little bundle arrived in this world.  

Yes, our lives are more complicated and more work.  Our future as parents and the future of our older kids has been altered.  We are sometimes sad or discouraged when the boys face challenges or obstacles that typical developing kiddos don't have to deal with.  We worry what the future holds for the boys- will they have jobs, where will they live, will they have a social life, etc.

But we also have more love, joy, patience, celebration, amazement, personal growth, better life perspective/priority, and FUN than we could have ever imagined!  

We met Jonah on his birth day.  In fact, I was in the room when he was born.  What a privilege!

Jonah came home to us when he was 3 weeks old.  He spent his first weeks in a foster home through our adoption agency.

JONAH'S "METCHA" DAY: SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

JONAH'S "GOTCHA" DAY:

OCTOBER 12, 2010

Our first family picture with all 6 of us!  Getting ready to leave the foster home.

Don't we (all) look so young?

Our first night home with Jonah.  

He had quite the fan club!

NOW

Jonah at 9 years old.  

This summer he started loving pickles!

We love this little boy so much!  We are so proud of him and all his hard work and determination.  He is one neat little fellow!

"METCHA DAY" FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Sometimes you meet a person 

who will change your life forever...

We met one of those people 

four years ago on July 9, 2016.

THEN: July 9, 2016

Our first look at Ben through the window

Our first hug after he ran 

up to us saying "Mama, Dada"

First time playing with Dad

He looks so little!

NOW: July 9, 2020

So proud of this boy and all he's accomplished and adjusted to since that day in 2016!

We are so blessed by Ben!

FROM SCHOOL DAYS TO POOL DAYS!

From spending all morning doing school and then either being stuck inside to play or bundled up in order to play outside in the cold and snow to this:

We love summer!

THIS SHOULD WIN AN OSCAR!

The boys really love making movies with their older brother Stephen.  

Here is their version of Star Wars!

QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!

This spring/summer, we have been working hard on teaching the boys to ride the bike with training wheels.  

Last summer we started this process.  Here is the video from last June- Jonah has to work so hard to balance even with the training wheels.  He also has to work so hard to pedal.  Steering the bike is also very hard for him.  

There is no video of Ben from last June because he was too scare to really get on the bike for more than a few seconds.

Click HERE for June 2019 video of Jonah riding bike

What a difference a year makes!

This year Ben is no longer afraid of the bike.  He has even tipped and gotten right back up!  Brave boy!  

When Ben wants to learn something, he is very determined and keeps trying.  He wanted to learn how to ride a bike this spring, and he has been working so hard.  

Now he can pedal up to the corner and back and around our cul de sac with little to no assistance from us!  We are so proud and excited for him!

I am also so happy for Ben.  He looks so happy riding his bike.  Just another experience for Ben that every little boy should have.  

Hard to think about what his life would have been if he had ended up in the adult mental institution back in August 2016.  That would have been his fate since he was aging out of the orphanage system in his country.  So happy and so relieved he is instead safe and happy with his family!  Thank you Lord for watching out for him!

Jonah has improved greatly on his balance on the bike and his strength with pedaling!  Steering continues to be hard for him mainly because he has a hard time staying focused.  If he gets distracted, he just lets the bike veer off and ends up falling off the bike, as evidenced by the following video.  But he is farther along than last June so I am quite confident he will eventually get there.

Between the boys, Ben is definitely more motivated to learn new things.  

Jonah's primary goal in life is to have fun- haha!

BEN THE BIRTHDAY BOY