Happy Birthday Garrett!

Our Garrett had a 5-star weekend. Saturday, he scored his first soccer goal. Whoo-hoo! That kid can really tear it up on the soccer field (and, no, I'm not biased at all...he is truly destined for soccer greatness. :)

That evening, we hosted his Bouncing Basketball Birthday Bash at our house. We're not really sure where the intense love for basketball came from. He doesn't follow it on TV...he's not that great at playing it...he just loves the idea of it. He even wants to be a basketball player for Halloween. That's our Garrett - always beating to his own drum. The party was great fun, though! We had a bounce house, basketball, and a concession stand set up with hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and candy apples. The kids just ran wild and played hard. The adults really got to hang out and visit. It was truly one of our favorite birthday parties...and it was super easy! :)

Today (Sunday) was his actual birthday. Daddy took him out for breakfast (this has become a birthday tradition around here). He picked the donut shop (no surprise there!). We let him choose where we went for lunch after church and he chose Chili's. This decision was made purely for the Molton Lava Cake. He ordered Mac and Cheese, but then didn't touch it. I asked him why and he said that he just likes the smell of it, not really the taste. Are you kidding me? Maybe Chili's should come out with scratch and sniff menus.

It was like Christmas at our house today with all those new toys to play with. After a great night at our family life group, we tucked Garrett into bed with a big smile on his face. Our baby is 6!
So in honor of his 6th birthday...

6 Things I Love about Garrett (in no particular order...it's just too much pressure for the #1 thing to be REALLY good :)
1 - Garrett is my sweetheart. He loves to cuddle and love on his mommy. I hope he always will!
2 - Garrett is a mystery, and is always surprising us and making us laugh with his dry sense of humor.
3 - I LOVE Garrett's big brown eyes. They must melt my heart. I call him my brown-eyed-boy.
4 - Garrett loves to play with his sister. He will play whatever she wants (most of the time) and he has been such a blessing to her.
5 - Garrett is my little warrior. The Lord has revealed to us in so many ways that he created him to be a warrior. He's tough, he's passionate, he's protective, and he's focused. I can't wait to see what amazing things he will do for the Kingdom. Whatever he does in life, I have no doubt it will be off the beaten path!
6 - Garrett takes life slowly. He takes the time to really soak it all in and he notices EVERYTHING. This is not my strong suit and I think that's why I admire this quality, yet am driven crazy by it at the same time. :)

We love you so much, Garrett! 6 years ago today, you were such a tiny little thing! You weighed just over 5 pounds and you had to spend a few days in the NICU so you could learn to eat. When you were stronger, we brought you home. You were a dream baby! You slept well, ate well, and were always in a good mood. It was truly baby heaven - and you stayed that way for about 4 years. Once you hit 4, your passion and your strong opinions began to show themselves. This was a good thing, but it certainly was a change (and often a challenge)! Now you are learning how to balance out your passion and your strong will with your sweet, sensitive side. You are one amazing, smart, and talented little boy! We are so happy that God chose us to be your parents!

Pictues coming tomorrow...I'm heading to bed. My sister took some great pictures of the party, so check back soon! :)

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by my friend Michelle. I'm supposed to tell what I was doing 20, 10, 5, and 1 year ago, also yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So...here goes!

20 years ago (1988)
I was a junior in high school. I was most likely listening to lots of DePeche Mode and Erasure. I wish I could remember more specifics about that year...most of the memories that have stuck are of my senior year. My best friend in high school is still one of my best friends today. (Hi Jill!) I was also involved in our church youth group, where I was able to experience several foreign mission trips.
I believe at this time, I was torn between going into advertising as a career, or social work. I know - two opposite extremes!

10 years ago (1998)
(I graduated from college in 1994, and married Scott 6 months later. I worked as a social worker for Child Protective Services for a year, which was NOT my favorite. I went back to school to get my teaching certificate. Scott and I moved to Austin, where he got his MBA from UT and I taught 5th grade)
In 1998, Scott was recruited by American Airlines for a job in revenue management. We were thrilled for so many reasons. This would take us to Dallas/Fort Worth, where we had several friends from college, and it's where I grew up so my family is there...not to mention the flight benefits. We celebrated with a trip to Italy during Spring Break (still our favorite). Scott graduated in May, and we left Austin for Fort Worth. He started work for AA in June. I taught 6th and 7th grade English. We traveled a LOT that year. Some of our best friends worked for AA as well, and none of us had kids yet, so we traveled about a weekend a month. Such a fun time in our lives! We also got pregnant that year with our first child. But she was stillborn in March of
1999. Obviously, 1999 was a huge contrast to the year before.

5 years ago (2003)
We were busy raising our boys. Grant was born in 2000, and Garrett was born in 2002. We took Grant to Disneyworld that year just before his 3rd birthday. We repeated this with Garrett 2 years later (at Disneyland). If you know my husband, you know this trip is hugely motivated by the fact that children are free until their 3rd birthday! HeHe! We had moved into a different house by this time to give us a little more room and better schools. Life was mostly about raising toddlers! This phase of child-rearing is what I refer to as "the trenches". It was great, but I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it! We were really involved with our church, with was great. God had been good to us, and we felt so blessed.

1 year ago (2007)
We had been praying about a third child and felt that the Lord was leading us to international adoption. We were both just drawn to Ukraine from the beginning of our research. We also liked the way their program was set up - and that we could adopt independently. You can read all the details of how God led us to adopt here.
Our dossier was submitted in Kiev on September 24th of last year. So one year ago, we were sitting on cloud nine! Our facilitator in Ukraine was Natalia Koval and we think she's just the greatest thing since sliced bread (still do!). We finally received our travel date in November and it was for March 12th, 2008. I was knee-deep in decorating a little girl's room...lots of prayer...and lots of planning for the upcoming trip. A very exciting year, but not quite as exciting as the following year!

Yesterday
I took Garrett and Halle Grace to Garrett's soccer pictures, then his game. Scott took Grant to his football game. We met up with them at Grant's game around half-time. Grant's team won, Garrett's did not. But all had a great time! After lunch, we headed home. We had our good friends, the Pope's, over for hamburgers and chocolate milkshakes last night. That was great - we love them! They are the couple I referred to earlier that we used to travel with. Things have changes a lot since then - there are now 7 kids between us!! Obviously, we don't travel much together these days. :) Someday!

Today
We went to church and lunch afterwards with our friends, the Silvias. After that, it was home for our weekly Sunday naps and football-watching. Tonight, we are headed to our family life group, which we love!

Tomorrow
I will be running crazy this week trying to plan Garrett's birthday party, which is on Saturday at our house. I haven't done a THING except the invitations. He wants a basketball party. Any of you bloggers have any grand ideas? I will also go to the grocery store tomorrow and hopefully the gym to continue my training for a 10K this fall! (maybe if I say it out loud like that, I'll actually do it!)

If you're not asleep yet,
I'm tagging the following people...
Stephanie
Amy
Jennifer
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

I arrived home last night, rejuvinated, after a 4-day-weekend with some girlfriends from college. I flew to Charlotte, NC early Thursday morning, where I met Renee, Shannon, and Jenny for 4 days of unscheduled bliss. We loaded up the car and headed for Renee's friend's beach house in Charleston (thank you to Angela!). It was an amazing house, and just a couple of blocks from the beach! We spent most of our time in Charleston, where we shopped and ate to our hearts' content. Is there anything more fun to do with your girlfriends than shop and eat?
Charleston is a beautiful city with tons of history. We took a horse-and-buggy tour and got to see many of the old historic homes and sights. We got to tour one of the homes, which was amazing. But it happened to be owned now by a man with an usual flair for antiques and collectibles from all over the world. Let's just say it didn't really remind us of the genteel old South! It was entertaining, though, and still an amazing house.
We spent lots of time just strolling, wondering through little shops, and eating. Our favorite eats included seafood, cupcakes, tiramisu, and Rene's breakfast enchiladas, and Puppy Chow. Yummy! We'll all be hitting the gym a little harder this week, but it was worth every calorie!

Though we loved Charleston and enjoyed our time there, I think we would have had a great time anywhere. The best part of this trip was being with these incredible girls whose friendships I cherish - late night chats, talking/walking on the beach, LOTS of laughter, and just being able to pick up where we left off years ago. It was absolutely perfect. Love ya'll!!!

Here are a few pics...
Notice the Queen/King street sign with the "One Way" sign for Queen Street? Just a little fun symbolism I couldn't resist. Hehe!











I'd like to take a moment to thank all the people who made this trip possible. Juggling 3 kids' schedules and Scott's football refereeing (is that a word?) was no small task. Thanks to the best neighbor ever, Cyrena, for hanging out with Garrett after half-day kindergarten, and her son Nicholas for letting the dog out. Thanks to my dad, who had 2 of the kids Thursday night, and to Amy, who carted Grant around to football practice for 2 days. Thanks to Staci, who gave the ultimate gift of friendship - she invited all 3 of our children to spend the night on Friday night (did I mention she has 4 of her own?). And of course, thank you to my amazing husband, Scott, who was so sweet to let me take this trip (even though these girls were just as much his friends in college as they were mine!). I love you, Honey! :)
I know it sounds like the acadeny awards. Believe me, they all deserve one!

Halle Grace's Birthday, Part 2

The big party was yesterday at our house. It was a Strawberry Shortcake tea party and she loved every minute of it!

First the girls painted their own tea cups. They were so creative!


Next they all sat down for tea. Halle Grace led the girls in a prayer before they ate. It was so sweet. I wish I had it on video.


The girls dined on cucumber sandwiches, strawberry cream cheese sandwiches, lemon tarts, blueberry muffins, and strawberries with chocolate and whipped cream and sprinkles. Yummy! They all had such good manners and gobbled it all up - no leftovers! After tea and a little time to play, we had birthday cake. My favorite moment was when I asked Halle Grace what piece she wanted. She said she wanted the top - so I gave her the whole top layer. It just made that little girl's day!


After that, Halle Grace opened her gifts. She got such fun things and she's been playing with them all nonstop since the party!
What were the boys doing while the girls were tea-partying?
One guess....

Rockband.

Tucking Halle Grace into bed that night, she said, "Mommy, I sure liked my party. Thank you."
What a blessing she is, and what a great day it was! We thank God every day that he brought this little girl into our lives.

Here's a slideshow of the rest of the fun...

Halle Grace's First Birthday, Part 1

This is a big day for Miss Grace! Not only is this her first birthday with her new family...it's the first time anyone has ever celebrated her birthday. When we got her, she didn't know when her birthday was...she really didn't even know what it was. By now, she's been to a few birthday parties, so she knows the drill. She woke up this morning just lit up like a Christmas tree! What a blessing to have a day just to celebrate her life - and to celebrate 5 months with us.

Scott has a game to ref tonight, and this afternoon is crazy with after-school activities. So we celebrated as a family last night at the Rain Forest Cafe. And Wednesdays are $1.99 kids meal nights! :)


As expected, that place was a HUGE hit with Halle Grace. She loved every minute of it (well, except when they brought her mini hot dogs. She had wanted corndogs and didn't realize they were different.). It really was fun to watch her excitement as she discovered new animals, fish, the starry sky, the rain...
We let her open one gift last night at dinner. Her sparkly shoes! I knew she'd want to wear them to school today. Are they not the cutest things?




This morning, we went to her room with a candle stuck in a piece of candy and sang Happy Birthday to wake her up - so fun! Here is our sleepy girl with her loot!


My parents made a surprise appearance and brought donut holes. Then she opened up some presents and we all had breakfast. Special friends, Miss Amy and Adi, picked out Molly for her while we were still in Ukraine. We wanted to save it until she understood what it was and would know that it was special. She LOVED it and she was so excited that Adi had picked it out for her. Thank you Miss Amy and Adi! :) (By the way, do you see all of HG's new hair growing in here?)

Getting ready for school, she asked if she could wear something "birthday". I pulled out her tiara and let her wear it to school. She was thrilled!


Just one more thing to add...Yesterday, Halle Grace got a birthday card in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Hinshaw. Her reaction was priceless. She opened up the card. Money fell out and landed on her lap, but she didn't notice or care. She squealed, "Mommy, look!!! A princess AND a rainbow on my card!!!"
The boys quickly pointed out the money, and she was happy about that. But the card was her real treasure. You gotta love that innocence!


Party on Saturday...I've got tea party food to cook and cakes to bake!

Let the Games Begin

We had our first game of the season on Saturday. It was Garrett's soccer game - and his first one ever! We really didn't know what to expect because, generally, he's an extremely laid-back kid. Well, not when it comes to soccer! One of his strengths is his ability to focus intensely on one thing (which is why it takes him 20 minutes to make his bed). He was able to channel his focus on that soccer ball and did a great job!
How cute is he?!




He has also been busy practicing his life-long love of tree-climbing. He discovered this week that Crepe Myrtles can be excellent for this... Halle Grace was quick to follow!
Garrett is the blue blob towards the top of the tree. (By the way, does this make me an irresponsible mom?)


Grant started football practice on Friday, but doesn't have a game for a couple more weeks. He can hardly wait, and his team is looking really good this year!

I had a meeting this week at school for Halle Grace's ESL (English as a second language) progress. They are all so impressed with her progress, and added that she is right on target for where they would expect any Kindergartners to be...much less one that's only begun learning English 5 months ago. Crazy, huh? It makes you think about all the hype over neonatal care in this country. We have this little girl who received NO CARE AT ALL until she went to the orphanage at the age of 4. I am sure her mother's pregnancy included more Vodka than healthy food and vitamins. I'm not saying prenatal care is not terribly important. I'm just saying that God is bigger than that. I believe that prayer is the most powerful prenatal care there is! Were we praying for this little girl back then? No. Adoption had never entered our minds at that time. But do I believe that prayers can be retroactive? Yes! This little girl is a walking miracle and testimony to the power of prayer. The more she shares with us about her first 4 years of life, the more amazed I am at how WHOLE she is.

I have been working on her birthday party - so much fun!!! We are having a Strawberry Shortcake tea party with a few of her friends on Saturday and she can hardly wait. Her birthday is on Thursday (she's a 9/11 baby). That will also be our 5-monthiversary of her homecoming - a very special day.

I have one more improvement to report. You probably couldn't tell much from pictures, but Halle Grace's hairline started WAY back on her head, and her hair was really thin when we brought her home. Well, now her upper forehead is covered with "baby bangs" - her hairline is finally filling in. We have also graduated to a larger ponytail holder because her hair is starting to thicken-up. Gotta love a little good nutrition!

Settling in to school

It's been a great first week of school. Everyone loves their teachers and is making new friends. Halle Grace has already been invited to a birthday party! Grant's already having to have his seating rearranged for talking (no surprise there!), but he's having a great time. Garrett is the hardest to wake up in the mornings..."Mommy - can't I PLEASE just stay in bed?". But when I pick him up at 11 (CRAZY half-day kindergarten!), he gets sad that he can't stay longer. He is dealing with allergies this week, so he's been a little more cranky than usual, but he loves his class and is having fun. Today, when I pick up Garrett, we're going to have lunch with Halle Grace's al-day class in the cafeteria. It's macaroni and cheese day - everyone's excited! Ha!

First week observations...
Grant - He has been dealing with a little bullying/name-calling this week from one kid in particular (and he's not the only one having trouble with this kid). We have really had to work with him on how to react appropriately (not name-calling back!). Scott's advice, and what we have been practicing, is to not let the kid know that it bothers him...just look at him and say, "whatever, Dude!" We have been roll-playing this at home and it is hilarious! Grant says it works most of the time. :) I did talk to the teacher and she assures me that she will keep an eye on the situation.

Garrett - School has been a huge adjustment for him. He is just sort of out there in left field! His teacher is great and is making sure that he doesn't blend into the background too much. He may not say much, but this kid's mind is always going - carefully observing everything around him. Once he gets the routine down and makes some friends, he'll start getting more involved. He's a sweetheart and I'm enjoying getting extra one-on-one time with him. :)
Halle Grace - Her teacher has already learned that she is a perfectionist. On the 2nd day of school, they traced their hands and were cutting them out. HG started crying because she couldn't cut it exactly on the line! :) She thrives on routine and structure - and loves to learn. She's every teacher's dream (and the one I can't take credit for! Ha!)

I have officially become a football widow this week. Scott is a high school football referee, and it kicks off this week. This means every Thursday and Friday he is calling games. He loves it, but we miss him and try to make the best of it. Tonight the kids and I are going to make pizza and rent movies. They've been wanting to see Nim's Island.
Happy Labor Day weekend!