Just a little Update Before I forget!

I wanted to write somethings down before I forget them.

On Friday night Kenzie and I went out for a mommy and daughter date, which is always special, however at bed time that night the really special conversation took place.  I was sing "Jesus Loves Me", and Kenzie asked me, "Mommy what does Jesus look like?"  Hmmm I was about to give the Sunday school picture description of Jesus to Kenzie when I paused and thought about the area of the World that Jesus was born in, so we talked about that and what he may have looked liked.  At one point I said that Jesus most likely had a beard and that he lived in a country called Israel. Kenzie quickly said, "Mommy I want to talk to Jesus on the phone."  So I told Kenzie that we did not need a phone to talk to Jesus.  We could talk to him the same way we talk to each other.  I did tell Kenzie though that if she wanted to use a phone she could. 

I kept asking myself if what I was saying was age appropriate, and how to do I keep thing age appropriate with out watering down the truth?  Am I spouting off the typical "Sunda1y School" answers I was taught without thinking them through and if they were accurate or not. 

For example back when I was in in Bible College a prof did an experiment by simply asking my class, "How did Elijah go to Heaven?"  We ALL answered in a chariot of fire. Guess what?  We were all wrong. The correct answer is Elijah was whisked to heaven in a whirl wind!  Our prof then asked us how we came up with the answer of a Chariot of Fire.  We all answered from Sunday school.  He proceeded to show us a picture of the Sunday school curriculum being used at one of the local churches and the picture was that of Elijah in a Chariot of fire going to Heaven.  Hmmm.  This lesson from at least 8 years ago has stuck with me and served as a reminder that I want my kids to know the truth.  Now really in terms of Salvation whether or not Elijah went to heaven in a whirl wind or a Chariot of Fire does not really matter.  The point for me is I do not want to water things down, nor do I want to sensationalize them simply because it makes for a better story.

 I love this picture of father and daughter

 

 We had some amazing weather this past week and we sure did take advantage of it

 

 Just chilling and eating his sisters clean underwear

 

It is hard to believe that this peacefully sleeping girl could ever get mad enough to scream and tell us she is not happy with with us!  Yet it is true she has her moments!

 

 

I know I have said it before and I will say it again.  Kenzie is a fireball!  I love how quick she is to say things.  For example yesterday morning we were taking a bath and she said, "Mommy I peed in the bath tub!"  I said, "Thanks!"  She replied, "Your welcome!  Anything to Help mommy!"  Seriously where does she come up with things like that?

 

So we have figure out that anything with RED food coloring and dyes are a big no, no for Jaris.  Yesterday he found the Skittle I had gotten for Kenzie as a treat on our date night and with in 20 minutes of having the left overs he was hyper and crazy!  He is finally starting to come out of it 20 some odd hours later!  I enjoy the fact that we know there are certain types of candy that are safe for him to eat, and I think we will just stick with those for now.

Turning 3 and Life in General

 

Playing peek a boo!

 

Opening  Birthday Gifts this weekend

 

The train cake my mom made for Jaris

Can't remember if I have posted this picture on a previous post, it is one of my favorites of Hayden 

 Love his smile and how curious he is



 

 

Kenzie hanging out with her older cousins.

 

 

 

Well where do I begin.  It has been a while since I last posted anything.  In part because life is so full and in part because sometimes what I have written I decide to not post for everyone to read.

 

Jaris turned 3 this past week.  On his actual birthday we went out to a local Vernon restaurant that has a good gluten free menu and we were able to get something that was gluten free and dairy free for the kids.  After we took them to a playground, which was a huge hit and the weather was amazing.  Next was a family coffee date at our favorite Blenz Coffee shop.  Followed by a trip home for a supper of Hot dogs and tomato soup, with dairy free coconut ice cream for dessert.

 

You may have noticed in the last paragraph that we have decided to go gluten and dairy free for a while.  The reason for this is we have heard that following a diet like this may be helpful for Jaris and some of the behaviours he has been exhibiting.  We have been dairy free for almost a month and gluten free for 2 weeks now.  In mid April we will reassess to see if we feel this is helping Jaris.  I will admit that I am finding it hard to come up with things he will eat when some of the old stand bys were definitely filled with gluten and or dairy. 

Jaris has a formal assessment at speech therapy this week, and for it we have to bring in a list of words a phrases that he uses on a regular basis.  As I have been writing them all down I realized that he has doubled the amount of words he uses regularly in the past 6 months.  I often need reminders like this that Jaris is progressing and developing, because there are days that are hard.  Some days I find my self wondering what Jaris' future will be like.  No parent envisions a life in which their child will possibly struggle with being able to effectively communicate in say to day life.  No parent I know of wants their child to face a life of constant struggle.  Many days when we are in the middle of a melt down I hold him in my arms and I choke back the tears, as my heart breaks for him.  Our dreams for his future now are changing.  They are not dashed because we know he will have a full life.  Yesterday I was reading the facebook status of a friend whose 16 year old daughter went to be with Jesus last summer and I was reminded that while we do have challenging days, at least we get those days with our son because he is alive.  I want those days we have despite how difficult they can be.  I would rather have a life time of challenging days, than not have him. 

So onto my two other miracles.

Kenzie.  Oh my!  She has a fiery personality.  She likes things to be her way, and will politely say, "Not yet mommy!"  When I ask her to do something she is not ready to do yet.  A few weeks ago Jeral's aunt Cathy was visiting and just before bed she read Kenzie a story.  The title of the book Kenzie picked was, "My Adopted Child There is No One Like You."  At the end of the book she told Cathy that she was adopted by us and that she was happy about it.  The other day she came to me and said, "Mommy you were not able to carry me in your tummy, however you can carry me in your arms so pick me up!"  I promptly picked her up and told her how much I love her and that I can most definitely carry her in my arms.  While I know she does not cognitively understand what adoption is, I know that she will grow up with these words being used and that when she is old enough to understand cognitively my hope is that she will not be afraid to ask questions, and we will do the best we can to answer them.  While she is a very secure child in the fact that we love her, she still sleeps with us at night. I can count on one hand how many nights she has slept in her own bed, and I will admit that I hate sharing my bed.  However waking up to her cute telling me that the sun is up, and that it is going to be a good day, is pretty spectacular.  This past weekend her cousins taught her how to do a summersault.  I think we have a gymnast in the making.

Hayden -  He has the most enduring smile ever.  I love listening to him talk to himself in the mornings as he waits for us to come get him out of his crib.  He loves to eat his feet.  This past month he has started to sit on his own with out us supporting him.  I still put a pillow behind him just encase he looses his balance.  He wants to crawl and keep up with is big sister and big brother.  He also wants to eat whatever we are eating.  I look at him every day and wonder where time has gone.  He is growing up way to quickly.  My baby is 7 and a half months.  Hayden is seriously the most laid back of our three children.  It we could guarantee that we would have another kids with his laid back personality I think we would be tempted to have another one.  However we have absolutely no control over that!  Hayden has three teeth that have cut through and he has three more coming down.  in the next two weeks I think he will have 6 teeth.  Talk about growing up way to fast.

Well this has gotten longer than I intended!