Auntie Em

We have had some crazy weather here in northern Illinois today! I knew when I woke up and saw they temp we were in for some serious storms. I was right. By 9 in the morning we had tornado watches...in November! CRAZY.

Me and the boys were out an about when I heard the sirens going off. It was around 3:15pm. Then I saw it, clouds swirling, and I knew I needed to turn the other way. I saw the funnel cloud in the distance (probably 2 miles away) and my heart started beating out of my chest. I drove the opposite direction until I could no longer hear the sirens. The radio said a tornado had touched down and was heading towards the town right next to ours. YIkes! I turned back around and headed home. After I was back on my path home I saw it...HUGE electrical towers down, one laying on the ground, the other two twisted together. There were branches down and the trees looked like they had gone through the shredder. A few mins. later I reached our neighboring town, population..200. I couldn't believe it. Complete devastation. Then I heard on the radio that a school bus had been thrown into a corn field...it was full of students. Their were house with no roofs, foundations with no houses and rescue personnel everywhere. Ambulances, fire trucks and police lights flashed as far as I could see. Then in the middle of it all, a old white church, with stained glass windows complete unharmed. Why? I can only assume my neighbors are questioning why our houses were spared and theirs were eaten up by this monster of a tornado. We live less than 2 miles away.

I pulled in the drive way to see our house perfect and cried. This is the 2nd time in 3 years that a tornado has touched down within 2 miles of our house. The last one was 3 January's ago and our local apple orchard was demolished. Our community rallied together to raise money for the families affected. Red cross set up an emergency station at the fire station down the street.

As I type this I can hear helicopters buzzing around in the air. I'm sure my newly homeless neighbors are getting settled in the fire station still a buzz about what just happened.

Please remember our community in your prayers. It's going to take a LONG time to recover. I will post pictures soon.

Gotcha

November 21st 2008 will forever be etched in our minds.

For weeks we had been traveling to Chicago to visit our son who was to ill to come home. He was living in a house for medically frail children, slept in a room with 5 others who were deemed to sick to live a "normal" life. Some were their because their parents felt their child was to difficult others were their because their parents chose to abuse them while still in the womb. Then their was Malachi, born with the odds stacked against him like so many of the other children, his future looked bleak. Little did he know...little did we know our lives were going to be flipped upside down and out of the darkness of that modern day orphanage we were given the most valuable gift ever!

I still remember the first time I walked into that "house." Their were twenty some kids, with different stories, different challenges they needed to over come. We were introduced to Malachi's nurse Dee. She was holding Malachi. That exact moment my heart melted and I fell in love. After an hour visit, we left in tears. We promised we would be back to get him. We made many more trips to the city over the following weeks, each time we bonded with our son more and more. He was already teaching us so much.

Due to the fact that he was born 6 weeks early, had a heart defect and very immature lungs, he got sick and wound up back in the hospital a week before we were supposed to bring him home. His gotcha day was up in the air. Our hearts were broken. His room was ready, clothes were washed, diaper bag packed and the car seat secured in our car but we didn't know when we could welcome our new bundle of joy home.

November 21, 2008 we went back to Chicago praying Malachi would be able to come home. We had a CPR training, a final test on his medication and a meeting with the DCFS case workers and the nurses that had cared for him. We were told that they still hadn't heard if he was going to be discharged so we decided to head to the hospital to visit him. While we were driving through the parking garage we got a call. With a joy unexplainable we were told he was going to be discharged directly to us!!! We ran back to the orphanage to pick up his stuff then rush back to the hospital to get our baby!

Here is a picture of us waiting to be discharged.

At 7pm we walked out of the hospital with our son!!!!!!! It was one of the best feelings ever and our lives have not been the same ever since.

My sweet boy,
      I love you more than words can ever say! Your smile melts my heart and your hugs bring tears to my eyes. You are so loved! Thank you for blessing us all! God brought us together as a family and I will forever be thankful. Happy gotcha day! Momma and daddy love you to the moon and back!!

This is long, long, long over due. Please forgive me.

One November 4th we celebrated Eli's first birthday. Our day was typical, Josh worked, the boys had ungodly amounts of therapy, you know the usual. My mom and dad came over for dinner and birthday cake. I attempted to make Chicken Pot Pie, from scratch. About and hour before my parents were due over, I tasted it. It was horribly sweet and I knew instantly I couldn't serve it. In the trash it went. My kind husband told me I had used sweet cream butter rater than normal butter. Who knew there are so many kinds of butter? Can you tell im not a cook? HAHA Anyways, I sent Josh out to the store (mind you I live in a town of 1,500 people and our grocery store has VERY limited items). I quickly threw together a new chicken pot pie. It was okay, not enough flavor. Eli enjoyed the veggies and Malachi enjoyed it in his preferred puree texture. 

The highlight of the night was Eli eating his cake!! And then a bath in the sink! Look at that smile!!!!




November 6th we had his birthday party! We found a environmental center that had a room we could rent for a few hours. The best thing about this center is that they have a birds of prey exhibit. And since the theme for the party was owls, we thought it was perfect! I didnt get a ton of pictures from the party, I am hoping someone else got some!!! 

Itsnt it amazing? No, I didnt make it. But thanks for thinking I did!!

The little owls made to match the fabric. LOVE how it turned out!

Now that It have taken me and hour to upload these pictures, you better enjoy them. Is anyone else having a hard time uploading? 


Happy Birthday my little man! Thank you for you content nature, your smiles and snuggles! We love you more than words can say! 

Getting back to it

To say that we have been busy is an understatement. I don't know where the last week and a half went or even what we did, but we are already half way through November. Wowza! Things here are going well. Elijah turned 1 and is now a full time sitter! We had a wonderful time at his party and were blessed with family and friends spending the day with us! Malachi has been abnormally busy the last week and his been climbing on EVERYTHING! Im predicting now a broken bone in the near future! Perhaps we could get a cool cast? The kid is a dare devil, the risker the better.

I will post pictures tonight.

No time now

AHHHHH...it has been crazy! Eliajh is one, as of the 4th. We had his party. Yesterday we went to a Celebrity Chef brunch and to the hospital to visit my friend who is in liver,kidney and heart failure. She is 27. Yesterday they found a blood clot in her heart, once that is under control they can per sue a liver transplant. She is on the list and now we pray one becomes available. I've know her since I was 4. My head is spinning, my emotions are all over the place and I am scared. PLEASE pray for her and her family!!

Im off...dont know where im going but i know there is somwhere I am supposed to be. AHHHHHH!

All the rage

Sitting.

Seemingly so simple, in reality, it's not at all.

Many. Many. Many things need to be just so before one can balance on their bum.

Tummy muscles must be toned to perfection. Ribs must be descended.

And your mind must be in tip top shape to accomplish such a great feat. It's no walking on a wire, but one sudden move may send you falling through the air to your most certain death.

Risky is an understatement.

But with a mind as sharp as Mr. Miyagi and abs like The Situation, Elijah is ready.

Without further adieu...

The amazing, the talented... Elijah! Yes, his smile says it all! 

Oh what a day

We had a wonderful Halloween. We started the day off with a visit to the Japanese Gardens with Joshe's mom and dad. It was a perfect day for a fall stroll through the gardens. 

After a nice lunch we headed home to put the boys down for a nap. My mom and dad came over for pizza before we took the boys trick or treating. Here are my little duckie and tiger. 

Malachi didnt last long, it was cold and he doesn't do well with all the noise. People in our neighborhood go all out, it's crazy. After a little trick or treating, we came home and put the grumpy kiddo's to bed!

On an entirely different note...Elijah is turning one this week! We are celebrating with my parents on his actual birthday, but we are planning a HUGE party for sat. Here is a sneak peek at the theme and decor for the day...

The final look will be reveled this weekend.