score one for jet lag....

can you spot all three male cardinals? what a beautiful sight to wake up to....
finally, a sister to paint with....

first church with five kids :) an answer to many, many prayers....

holy moly. i am a wimp. jet lag has kicked this old bottom big time. every ounce of energy has been sucked from me. one thing about being borderline hyper most of the time; i notice it alot when i'm not :) five days home and i haven't unpacked yet. and don't even care :) i am very glad greg is off this week too and i didn't have to hit the ground running. maybe the sleep will come tonite :)

phoebe is doing well, all things considered. she has had a few more meltdowns and i hate it that i react so poorly to them. it is ridiculous that i am so slow to figure this out....she hates being alone. no time outs for this kid, i've discovered. it just isn't worth it to anyone within a long earshot :) i am going to have to get creative in dealing with her stubbornness and defiance. it was only a year ago that someone left her. forever. and she won't be forgetting that for a long time, if ever. it is true that every child requires new skills for the parent to learn. just takes awhile sometimes to figure that out.

loved the dentist we went to on monday. the Lord led us to the right one we believe. during the appointment, i said that friday night i had prayed Jesus would give us the right dentist to work with. and he responded with "that is Who i serve too and He has given me this gift and i do my best to give back, if even a little, to Him through my dentistry." he confirmed in about a minute that her mouth is a mess. we go back thursday to meet with the surgeon and decide the plan of attack. because of the extent of the extractions, it will be done as medical in the hospital. he also said the antibiotics should have relieved the discomfort and we can't blame any bad behavior on her mouth now :)

phoebe loves everyone in the family! what a huge praise! she has taken a special liking to everyone. sarah was a major cling-on to only me and so this makes me really happy to see her love on all of us. it makes her brothers happy too :) because sarah blew them off. and now i think sarah regrets it :)

phoebe did incredibly well at church on sunday. she went downstairs for sunday school like she had been doing it her whole life and she did the same for junior church. absolutely amazing. i was fully prepared for her to be overwhelmed and to need to leave early. but nope. not yet anyway.

thank you again for your comments and prayers. i am sooo very humbled to think that there are people who are concerned about our family and are willing to keep tabs on us. i don't take that for granted one single bit.

the journey continues, me :)