A little of this and a little of that

So, some of you have followed our My Adoption Website and our journey to Sarah (still kicking myself that we didn't do one for Mandi....I just didn't know). Sarah's surgery was a rousing success. That was on the 10th of January. We had gone into the surgery with some troubling clouds hanging over us with the what's and if's and some poor possibilities. But this little girl has knocked our socks off. She is AMAZING!!! The surgery itself turned out better, much better, than they had anticipated and it is still hopeful that IF she needs another one it won't be for 5-10 yrs (predicted at 1-2 and an absolute) and that she has a fantastic outlook. Her sleep issues upon first coming home almost knocked us out. Literally. I am still recovering my sleep. But, thankfully, Sarah is in a GROOVE. A happy, active, silly, growing, eating, sleeping GROOVE. We are in awe of her. She is a riot! Before the surgery we often wondered if we had seen her full personality yet or if she was still in adjustment and protection (physically and emotionally) mode. Seems she was a ball of fire just waiting in there. We are love, love, lovin' her.

Mandi is all girl. ALL GIRL. Barbies, princesses, painted fingernails, twirly skirts, glitter, hairbows, yipstick (that's how she pronounces it), My Little Pony, and every other girly thing you can think of. What fun after four fabulous boys. She talks (and talks and talks) and, like most of your kids, says that funniest things. When she was at the mall the other day with her aunt, someone asked her where her purse was......."it's in, um, China!!" Or when her grandma was helping her to pronounce Ariel (from the Little Mermaid) correctly, Mandi says it really funny with a couple extra "L's" thrown in there. It went like this:

Grandma: It's AIR - EE - L, Mandi
Mandi: Airilol (her sort of pronunciation)
Grandma: AIR -EE-L (drawn out for emphasis)
Mandi: AIR......mmm, I can't say dat.

Love, love, lovin' her.

Sam is still enthusiastic about his kindergarten. He can read short sentences now. Things like, "See Jane run" and "Let's eat ice cream for dinner", that kind of thing. He had saved his money for Christmas and we went and bought a new Nintendo Wii game with it today. He picked it out(mother approved) and he purchased it. In the car, after heading to school, he made me promise to hide it until he got home so that he could surprise his brother's with his game. I was thinking how sweet that he wanted to share it with them. No, it was so that he could show them it was HIS game. Aaahhhh......proud moment. We are love, love, lovin' him.

Jonathan is the man about campus these days. I am so grateful because last year was so terribly difficult for him. He seems to be finding his niche and is excelling at his school work. Though it is possible he has the messiest handwriting in the entire school :-) If it can't be done fast, why bother right??? He is still all about football and in the off season is relishing his free time when he can make up teams on his games and be the leader of the football pack. We finally convinced him to cut his hair. But it took a small bribe from mom coupled with a small bribe from Aunt Deana to seal the deal. Wow he is handsome under that hair. We are love, love, lovin' him.

Jacob has been having a ball learning how to snowboard this season. He is taking lessons with a pass with his friend Nathan and he is really liking it. No small feat for Jake. He has always been our son with the least interest in organized sports. He would much rather invent or create. But this snowboarding thing may be just the ticket to be sure he is staying physically active too. He is always pleasant to hang around (well.....mostly always) and we are love, love, lovin' him.

Eric is closing in on the end of his seventh grade year. Yikes! Does every parent say that about their oldest kid??? YIKES! He is thirteen. I love that he is thirteen. I think I am a better older kid mama than a younger one. Or maybe not. I guess you would have to ask him. He is already anxiously planning and preparing for a hoped for 8th grade trip to Mexico for his Spanish class. He is developing a wicked sense of humor too. It's strange sometimes to look over at him and realize, hey, waaaittt a seeecoonnd, what happened to my little baby???? We are love, love, lovin' him.

Sorry if this post has seemed obnoxious. I promise to post about more than just my kids but, hey, I love these kids and I wanted you to know them too. Of course, I don't write much about the attitude moments, the grumpy looks, the fighting amongst themselves, tattle-taling attributes of each of them. We are hoping it's just a phase and they will grow out of it. LOL!!!