Art Show!

I am showing some of my new work alongside some other local artists (hosted by Things with Wings) Saturday, December 4th 10am-4pm in Iowa City. Email me at grimesfam@gmail.com if you want the address! Thanks!

Check out my new work here.

The Golden Child

We have been calling Eden "The Golden Child" because she consistently sleeps through the night, in her own bed, etc. and our other children [ahem] do not. Esias is pretty good. It's just...[clearing throat] one of our other children [ahem].

Anyway, she likes this title I think. She often feels like we don't acknowledge her--like when I praise Elly for wiping herself...seriously...Eden gets jealous- so I say, "Eden, you've been doing that for years! Of course I don't make a big deal of it!" It's sort of comical what she will get jealous about. So we gave her this nickname of TGC for her nighttime awesomeness!

She also does great at school. We had her conferences with her teacher this past week and she is doing fantastic. We love hearing that academically she is doing well but we really enjoy hearing that the teacher sees her heart and sees her compassionately helping her classmates and staying out of "girl drama." Thank you Jesus for that last one. We're very proud of our Golden Child!

Esias

We had our annual meeting with Esias' Early Access therapists this past week. He is doing great...there has been so much improvement from November of last year. Socially he has met every goal-- he can now get our attention, ask for help, play alongside other children, share (kinda), and many other things. Physically he is doing great as well. Running, jumping, climbing, pushing, hitting, oh wait...nevermind on those last two. Verbally...eh. Still working. He is using expressive language at the level of an 17 month old and receptive language at about 18-20 months. This is not discouraging though. The progress is what is amazing. Feeding-wise-- we decided to go ahead and schedule weekly feeding sessions with the occupational therapist to see if we can't jump start this a little bit. Because Early Access stops when kids turn three and then if services are needed they get them in the schools, Esias will most likely go to a school next year for his therapies. SO, Mom doesn't like the idea of sending a kid who chokes daily to school where they will give him food! The therapist thinks if we work a little more aggressively we may be able to get some progress before the fall when he would go to school. I am hopeful. There are days when he does great and days when he does not. Choking/gagging still happens all the time but we are trying to allow him to work it out on his own and not always need us to sweep his mouth for him. I know that sounds terrible but when we know some day this is going to happen and I won't be there to see it, we want to prepare him.

We also started him on a new medicine called Robinul for his drooling. We started it a few weeks ago and it seemed to dry him up a bit. Then Dan was gone for business and Esias had a night terror-- I wasn't sure if it was from the meds or not, so I called the pharmacist the next day and she said to stop for now, until we could safely test it and I wasn't home alone. It was the scariest thing. He woke up writhing around in his bed. I went in and picked him up but soon realized he was not awake, though his eyes were open. He looked straight at me but was terrified of me. He would not let me hold him or touch him and he threw toys at me. I finally got him some milk and turned on Cars and it was like a switch flipped and suddenly he was snuggling on my lap and back to sleep. Scary though. The doctor said the meds might affect his sleep but he didn't say like this! So we aren't sure if that was a fluke or a side effect.

Giving

I know this is not a theological blog (oh Lord have mercy if I were to write one of those! Not my gift!) but I thought of something today after watching TV and I wanted to post it. I was struck today while watching Good Morning America's Melody Hobson talk about giving this holiday season. The first thing she said was, "The most important thing is...not giving more than we can afford."

Dear Melody, I beg to differ. The Bible says this about giving in 2 Cor 8:1-5:

"And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. " (emphasis mine)

Again, in Proverbs 11:25:
"A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. "

It is completely counter-cultural for us as Americans to think that giving away what we have to others is a good thing. Sure, we want to give a little, but not enough to feel it. If you are a Christian, steer clear and repent of this type of giving. Melody's wrong. Give til it hurts. Christ did. Aren't we called to live as He did? I pray that Dan and I would live this example and that my children would know this and worship the King by giving sacrificially.

Halloween

I posted a giant Halloween post and somehow it is not working so I will post the costumes (for Laura) and forgive me if the other one magically appears. It was like 21 pics so I am not surprised it is getting messed up. Ok, so the Halloween rundown is as follows: Eden was Strawberry Shortcake (homemade, obviously, about $6), Elly was Cinderella (last year's Halloween clearance find turned Christmas gift seriously $4, the rest was stuff we had). Esias was suppose to wear the $4 Mater from Cars outfit but was afraid of it, so he wore Marcus' costume from last year- this adorable horse/cowboy thing. Free 99. And Marcus joined the fun in his amazing Superman getup! I loved the slicked back hair. So I think we did pretty good getting three kids outfitted for about $10! I don't have a pic of Nia, she was adorable as a spider!



Elly's Jack

Eden's had vampire teeth, smoke coming out its nostrils, and lightning bolts like Harry Potter

Esias' was made by mommy, since all he wanted to do was stuff the goo back IN to the pumpkin!

Fall Leaves!

Elly and Esias had a blast waiting for Eden to get home from school
this day! My kids are super cute. I can't help it. I have to say it out loud.

Eden's Birthday Pics

Eden had quite a week full of celebrations. She had Ana over to spend
the night Friday night, Father-daughter dance Saturday night, birthday party Tuesday morning and treats at school, then Grammy and Papa came and we had a little mini-party with
them Saturday of the next week. She was thrilled with her gifts from us-- Penguin Pillow Pet and Guess Who? game! Don't tell but Dan and I played Guess Who? the other night when the kids were all asleep.

Lots to Catch Up On!

We have had another birthday around here and Halloween...pictures still sit on my camera waiting to be uploaded. It will have to wait til at least a couple of these wild willies are in bed! Don't laugh, but the girls and I (and Dan and Esias) usually spend Monday nights watching Dancing with the Stars, so it won't be tonight :) The girls like to watch that instead of reading with us. We figure it's ok, once a week for a season. Though I have to say (those of you who watch will know what i mean) I am glad Edyta is not on this season, her outfits made it a little less of a family show!

Anywhoo, I will post pics soon of pumpkin carving, leaf pile jumping, Eden's birthday, and more. Stay tuned. I know you are pumped.

8 years ago...we went from this...

to this...

to this! Eden Lily was born October 26th, 2002!

Eden continues to be a joy to have as a child. She is smart, witty, quirky, and thoughtful. She perplexes me daily, much like her father. I love you first child!

Steven Curtis Chapman concert

Our agency was one of the partners in the Steven/Mary Beth Chapman concert/book tour this fall, and our social worker called us one day last week and offered us free tickets to the show! We thought what the hay and took all the kids with us. It started with a "VIP" question and answer time which was fun. Mary Beth was delayed on a plane so it was just SCC and a friend of his. We were able to personally thank him for the grant that we got from his family's adoption foundation Show Hope. He looked really thrilled to get to see one of the "results" of their efforts. SCC is a seriously kind and sincere person. He was extremely down to earth and easygoing. We stayed through the first half of the concert (including his opening band, his sons' band Caleb- which was great) and then the kids got antsy. Eden was itching all over from Poison Ivy (shocking) and Esias was, well, being two. Elly...let's just say I am not sure her buns ever met the seat cushion. But all in all we had a grand ole time and arrived home to have a late but not crazy-late bedtime on a school night! Thanks Bethany Christian Services!

Something's Up.

Something new is happening in our family. I feel God changing and growing us. In the past, we have endured some things, not suffering like some have suffered I realize, but challenges for our family nonetheless. Namely, my constant struggle with balance and vertigo, the illness and death of Dan's mom, waiting, waiting, waiting for Esias, dealing with his health after getting home, etc.

Right now, though things are not perfect, of course, they are good. We are healthy and not in crisis mode. It almost feels...odd. But we are so thankful for this time. Lord, let me not be content in this time and let me continue to lean on you in the good times as we do in the bad. Lord show my children how to rejoice no matter what.

We are so thankful for what the Lord is doing through our congregation and Yezelalem Minch (the sponsorship/community development organization we partner with). There have been lives changed in OUR church! Answering God's call to care for widows and orphans blesses us more than it blesses them. Seriously. Try it!

Edenism

I forgot to post this the other day. We were all outside (the kids and I) riding bikes, etc. When we started to notice we were being eaten alive by mosquitos and gnats. It was shame because it was such a nice day out, so we tried to be tough and suffer through for a while. Finally, I said, "Ok, I've had enough! We're going in!" The kids started running toward the door, apparently just waiting for me to give them the go ahead to end their misery! Eden goes, "Seriously! I just saw a mosquito pull its nose outta my arm!"

Unimportant Rambling

The weather continues to be really nice, though this week it's turned a little more normal. 60s are wonderful to this girl. I love open windows and sweatshirts and football. The kids have been enjoying playing outdoors a ton, we have a crazy chalk speedway drawn all over the driveway that has proven to be hours of fun for the kids and their bikes/big wheels. Daycare kids love it as well. We've been busy but I am not exactly sure why...school just adds another dimension to our day for sure. Eden has homework almost every night, though it is not difficult stuff, just working on her spelling words, finishing up math, and reading her read-at-home books.

Esias is growing like a weed. He started using some more word-sounds too. He regularly says, "uh-um" for "uh oh" now, which is super exciting since that is what the therapists always ask--"is he saying 'uh oh' yet?" So now I tell them YES! Yes he is!!! He also says "kuh" for Luke, Kah for car, 'kkng' for train (weird i know, but it definitely means train!) and a few other things. We have his year evaluation meeting with his "team" to determine what the next year brings when services stop and he gets to go to school for therapy. Yipes. Scares this momma...how do I send my bitty boy to preschool at 3 when I could hardly send my girls at 4/5? We shall see...

Dan is always so great at helping out around the house...both with the kids and the household chores...sometimes all at once.

Madison Weekend

We spent the weekend in Madison, WI with our dear friends (more like
family) the Nielsens. They recently moved from Albuquerque to plant a
church. We have a lot of history together-- Dan and I lived with them
in a three story townhouse in our second year of marriage (their third
I think) while Kim was in PA school. They had the top floor, we had
the bottom floor and we shared the middle. Dan and Zach (famed blogger Vitamin Z) worked together at Parkview Church for a number of years and also traveled around in a
band together for 5 years. So we've lived in close community with
them in the past but since they moved and we've all procreated and gathered up children we haven't had a chance to really do that. Well this weekend, we brought our three kids to their house with their four kids, and that was some close
community :) It was so fun and the kids did GREAT together.
They have Taylor, who is 5 weeks older than Eden, Autumn who is about
10 mo. older than Elly, Emery who is 3 (poor guy gets left out of the
pairings) and Mya who is 2 this month (Esias is smitten with her, she is a beauty who came to them via a whirlwind domestic adoption. It's a pretty cool story. Read it here.). We
had a blast. Madison was beautiful and the weather was more like June
than October. We went to a park, played outside, held Sandy
Fluffernutter the Bearded Dragon, ate meals together, laughed, and
enjoyed ourselves quite muchly :)

Eden has her prized dog tag in her mouth...

Miss Autumn

Belly

Most of the big kids plus some other random children.

Esias and Mya

Taylor, a.k.a. Bear Grylls

Eden must be telling a story...Autumn really liked her :)

Taylor's "gnarly tooth" as he calls it

E could not get enough of making Mya smile

Sandy Flufflernutter, Taylor's pet lizard