Happy Birthday Madeline

 A year ago at this time we celebrated Madeline's birthday in China..

This year my baby turned "8" and celebrated with her friends at Pump It Up!! She had a wonderful time and loved her cake! Mom loves you so much my Princess Madeline

Thanks to my dear friend Janie for taking this picture of the 4 of us. I am always taking the pictures...never in them.

ONE YEAR home with Abbey!

I  

 I really cannot believe this little squirt has been with us for one year already! It seems like yesterday she fell asleep for the first time in my arms in a hotel room in Zhengzhou, China. Oh my how time has flown.

I can honestly say she has "rocked" our world in more ways than one! I know I've said this before, but....she never stops!! She has one mode all day long: GO. She has climbed, jumped, slid, crawled, lunged, wiggled and twisted her little self into every corner of this house over the past year. Any not all of them were pretty!!
This little munchkin has given me more 'near-death' heart attacks than my other 3 kids combined. But, the kicker is... when she is done pulling one of her dare-devil stunts she usually turns around and gives that amazing smile and says ''ook mama, me do it"
So very proud of herself she is!
I took this picture of her yesterday holding one of her babies. She loves her baby dolls and playing 'momma'. She has even mastered putting real diapers on all her babies. So cute!

 I truly believe God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed Abbey-girl into our family. HE knew this mom needed a little "kick" in the behind to keep her up and going. Sort of like an anti-aging serum in a size 2T. Abbey is definitely keeping me young and I wouldn't change it for the world!

HE also knew what he was doing when HE gave her the the most compassionate heart I have ever seen in a child so young. Many a time Abbey has had to "dry" big sisters tears over a squabble the two have had. Anytime she sees someone is crying, she runs and gets a tissue for them to dry their tears, she kisses boo-boo's for  everyone, she loves to give out band-aids(and does a great job at putting them on correctly I might add), she pats and loves on her friends at MMO if they fall down or if they are upset. It really is amazing. I know she is able to show this kind of compassion in part because of the love and compassion she was shown at her foster home in China. But God has given this little one a gift for CARING!

HE also knew that I needed to be reminded that the dishes in the sink can wait, the house can be a mess, toys can be strewn all over the house and yard, dust can just get "dustier" and no one cares if I have it all together or not. See....

HE knows I am a control freak about certain things.

HE knows I try to make things happen that I really have no control over to begin with

HE knows I want a plan, a schedule, a graph, a list to make things all nice and neat

HE knows my heart and the things I dwell on  

So HE sent Abbey to remind me....to STOP. SIT DOWN. ENJOY. LAUGH. SMILE. LET GO.

Enjoyy being a mom, listen to the stories they tell, play on the swing, let them go outside without a jacket on (ha)

The wallpaper can be fixed, the DVD can be replaced, the jewelry wasn't THAT expensive, the table looks just fine colored with markers, walls can be repainted. 

Just BE there for them no matter what.

Abbey is one of the happiest, most  loving, caring, energetic little girls I have ever known. She is so many things to me and I thank God she is in our lives. Happy Gotcha' Day my sweet girl. Momma loves you in "all" ways for "all" my days!



God knows my heart

Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12

October Instant Replay

Wouldn't it be nice if "life" had an instant replay mode? You know... the kind the NFL coaches get to use when a call from a referee is questionable, or a play is being disputed, or to see if the receivers foot was inside the line when the ball was caught in the end-zone... the really important stuff, right?

Now imagine instant replay for "parenthood". You know... the kind moms get to use when an argument breaks out and the other one says "he/she did it!", or when you are so busy running from carpool to activities that you forget to enjoy the "ride", or when life gets so hectic that you miss out on the day-to-day simple things that make up the really BIG things in life... the important stuff, you know?
Just hit the INSTANT REPLAY button.
It will replay all those amazing, yet simple events that you rushed through.
Unfortunately for me, life doesn't have a REPLAY or REWIND button for me to hit. I have to rely on my memory(or lack thereof) and my camera to capture the moments in time that I do not want to miss.

So, this is my feeble attempt to REPLAY a few of the happenings that have transpired in October at the Runner home. They are in no particular order. My memory hasn't learned to "file" the events in sequence and it probably never will.

Abbey got her 1st haircut on October 5. Aunt Tammy cut her hair and she sat so still for her. Of course, I saved a lock of her hair and put it in her China box.

Abbey also started Moms Morning Out this month. To say I was a nervous-wreck is an understatement.
I had prayed and fretted over this decision for months, but finally decided to enroll her in a local church's MMO program for 2 mornings a week. I knew I needed a break and knew she would enjoy being around other kids and getting to play with them. Guess what? She has done wonderful. No tears, no crying, some clinging, but all-in-all it has been a terrific experience for BOTH of us.

Madeline made A's and B's on her 1st report card of 2nd grade. We have been so proud of her work this year in school. Cody had A's and B's as well. Cody has a really tough schedule this year. He is taking Latin III and Classical Philosophy and two Honors courses.

Matthew made all A's on his report card at his new school. He is really enjoying school this year!
He also received an invitation to join the Beta Club this month.

So here we are almost at the end of October and anxiously awaiting Halloween on Monday.
This month has flown by for me.
Hey, is there a FREEZE button I could push as well?

Ouch... my head

It all happened so fast. One minute, Abbey and Madeline are playing in the dining room, the next minute Abbey has a gash in her head. Ouch! Her little forehead met up with the leg on the dining room table.

Long story short... she needed 2 stitches to close her bo-bo! The sutures didn't bother her as much as us holding her down. Abbey may be little, but boy is she strong! She stood up on the table after we were finished and wiggled her behind and said " na-na- na-nana". That's right, she was her sassy little self again.

I have a feeling this may be the first of  'many stitches' our Abbey may need in the future.
Lord, please prove me wrong on this one.

She is 2

That's right, we now have a big "2" year-old!
We celebrated Abbey's birthday on her birthdate, September 14th.
This is Abbey's first birthday with us. She was in China when she turned "1", but I do have pictures from that 1st birthday. The wonderful staff at Amazing Hands took pictures of Abbey on her special day and gave them to us. How awesome is that? What a gift.

We kept the party small...my parents and our good friends the Nashs'. She loved her birthday cake! She has a sweet tooth just like her mama. Of course, the presents were the big hit of the night. Not just the presents; but the paper, boxes, bags that the presents came in. She laughed every time she pulled another piece of paper out of the bag! It was so cute.

Mike and I gave her a motorized Tinkerbell four-wheeler. She was hesitant at first to push the button to make it go, but quickly got over that. Abbey and Madeline love to ride in Madeline's Barbie jeep, but there are times that Madeline isn't here or she is doing something else and Abbey will beg to "ride"....so, now Miss Abbey can get on her "bike"(that's what we are calling it) and ride by herself.
And ride she does.
Happy Birthday my sweet Abbey, I love you so much and am so blessed that you call me "Mom".
I thank God every day for bringing you into our family and allowing me to be your mother. You are such a blessing to all of us.

Birthdays!!

September is a BIG birthday month at the Runner home. Mike starts us off with his birthday on the 6th. Next is Matthew's two days later on the 8th.. 9/8/99! When I was pregnant with Matthew I remember Mike and I talking about how neat it would be for him to be born on Mike's birthday or to have a 9/9/99 birthdate. Oh well, Matthew came into the world at just the right time for all of us. I actually wasn't due until Sept. 24th, so we were just happy that he was healthy and not the preemie we expected most of my pregnancy.

Matthew had begged us to get him a phone, but we are "mean" parents and denied the request.. ha.
Instead, I let him pick out a video game of his choice, within limits of course. He is growing up and is most of the time, still my sweet, loving Matthew.

He hugs me good-bye every morning before leaving for school.