Happy Fall Y'all

QUIZ  TIME!


Fall in Guam is best indicated by:


a)  a change in the weather


b)  a change in the trees / leaves / foliage


c)   the change in the produce section of the commissary


If you guessed C, you are correct.

The Halloween candy is here and so are the pumpkins.

If you are new to Guam - get them NOW!

Most likely, there is not another shipment coming.

(the same is true for pumpkin pie filling, pumpkin pie spice,
and any other traditional seasonal foods)

I decided to follow suit and get out the fall decor this week.

too bad about the glare on the photo....pictures of Isaac and Zion's first Halloween
Michael was still living in Haiti for his first Halloween. 

Zion put the tiny pumpkin on Meleah's swing - CUTE!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Almost.....

I asked "unnamed" son to put away the milk and cereal this morning before he got on the bus.

I found this later.......

yep....that's the Tupperware with cereal in the fridge

and this is the milk....still on the counter

Cross-country 9-29

Another great day for the Seahawks!

The boys team is at the top of their game.

They worked extra hard this week and came in with great improved times overall.


Isaac took off 47 seconds!  
Great job Isaac!

Again, the team, as a whole, performed excellent.

Just a couple more weeks of practice until the All-Island Meet!

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Meleah - two months

If you are behind the news on the baby girl in our home,
here are the links if you want to catch up.


Small Wonder

Introducing...........

New Normal

One month

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4 days old

2 months old

Two month update   

This month Meleah really started developing her personality.

She is smiling at us and making baby sounds.

She is spending more time looking around as her vision improves.

She is crying real tears (so sad) mostly in the car.
She is not a big fan of her car seat.
And not a big fan of the swing either.

She loves laying under her activity mat and kicking her feet at the toys.


She will take a paci - but she really, really wants to suck her thumb,
she just can't quite get it yet.  (*as proof in the video)

She weighs exactly 10 lbs and sleeps from about 10pm to 4-5am regularly.

(*as a sidenote:  I can't believe how many people ask me if she is sleeping through the night.
Does anyone have a child that slept through the night at 2 months?)
I think 6 to 7 hours is good right?

ANYWAY.......

Her brothers have changed her nickname
(have I mentioned our family is big on nicknames??)

from Queen of Cuteness and Sweetness (last month's title)
To
SABP - 
Sweet Angel Baby Princess
(because, Zion decided,
since Dad is the King,
and I am married to him,
I should be the Queen)
THANKS ZY!
(I didn't get the cuteness and sweetness part though.)

The boys hold her and talk to her all the time.
It's adorable!
Sometimes they scare me - but most of the time, they are careful with her.

For the time I spend getting her to nap in her bed during the week -
the boys undo on the weekend.
But it's too cute to be upset about.
So I let them hold her as much as they want.



Maybe having a 10 year gap in the babies in this house
makes me really realize that the time is too short.



My baby boy holding my baby girl.....isn't that priceless?





Some people have asked if we are adopting Meleah.
We certainly would, but right now, she is still a foster child.
She is in the system, and the process is time consuming.
As with our foster son, Jonah - I can't give you details,
I just ask that you pray for paperwork to be completed quickly,
for all the details to be worked through,
and for the judges over the case to make their decisions based on what is best for Meleah.
If they feel that our family is the best fit for her, then we will happily be her forever home.

STOMP!

Sunday after church,  Isaac, Zion and I went to see STOMP!

It was a great show and if you have the chance to see it,
make space in your schedule and go!

It is amazing to hear the sound that eight people can make with everyday, household items.

Of course, you can't take photos during the show,
so if you haven't seen any of the clips,

click on the following links.

The show opened with something similar to this:
CLICK HERE


We also enjoyed THIS routine

and THIS one.

It's hard to pick a favorite,

The entire show was captivating.

Zion on the stage after the show
(he has been drumming on EVERYTHING since)

Seahawks Cross Country 9-22-11

Second cross-country meet was a  "MUD-RUN"

Bound to happen in Guam.

It rained most of Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

It was raining when the boys started running, but they finished up without being poured on.
(although, of course, they were already soaked)

Michael kicked it coming into the home stretch
we made a joke about the blue #455 looking at Michael's feet saying,
"I'll never keep up with this guy" 

Michael getting a nose ahead here,
did in fact pass him and come in milli-seconds before

Isaac sprinting through the home stretch

The boys team finished strong with 4 of the top 5 times coming from Seahawks.

Michael improved his time.
Last week:  12:17
This week: 12:04

If you don't want to do the math, that's an 8 minute mile for a 1.6 mile course.
If you run, you know that's decent.
My pace (on a good day) is a 10 minute mile.

This week,  I took some video.
I strongly encourage you to mute the volume on your computer,
because, as always, I was screaming.
I love sports,
really....I know, that's a rare thing for a woman to say,
but I really do!

THEN, add to it that it's my babies....and I am a freak show for an ESPN highlight reel!!
(*and I was keeping it calm because I knew it would be on the video)

Michael

If you don't take my advice, and you do "listen"
I want to explain that Michael's shoe was untied.
Hence my comment about his shoes.

I am really proud of Isaac for doing cross-country.
He is not the natural athlete that Michael is,
and being "little brother" and following those footsteps is always hard.
He finished strong and didn't quit  (there were some kids who dropped out of the race)

Isaac coming into the home stretch.....

Remember my friend with Leukemia??

Hey!

Do you remember my friend, Mike Ansley?

If you missed my previous posts,

you can read about him

here

I wanted to give you an update.

He has received a bone marrow transplant!

We are so happy for his progress and happy to share with you that he continues to get stronger.  He has a long road ahead of him still and appreciates your prayers.

There are many more people out there fighting as they wait for a donor.

Have you signed up to be a bone marrow donor yet?

Don't know what to do?

Here you go: 

If you are in the military or work for the Department of Defense: 

Click here to find a local military hospital that is taking walk-in registrations

Don't see something close to you?  

Click here to get a kit mailed to you.

Not in the military?   Click this link.   You can enter your zip code and it will give you the nearest registry location and also drives happening in different cities.

THANK YOU