Happy Valentine's Day....And Lots of Other Things

There are multiple headlines in this edition:
Happy Homecoming Day
One More Orphan Finds His Forever Family
Baking
How the Boys Spent Their Weekend
Prayers for Tuesday
Wisdom From Josie-Tatum
Funny of the Day

Happy Homecoming Day
I like to tell Josie-Tatum that she is the best Valentine's present I ever received. We flew home with our precious girl 5 years ago on Valentine's Day. She was awake for nearly the entire international flight. When we landed in Jacksonville, she was hard asleep!

This picture brought tears to my eyes, my beautiful Josie-Tatum being held for the first time by my precious daddy. She was asleep, so many of our family members had the opportunity to hold her who wouldn't have otherwise. ;)



One More Orphan Finds His Forever Family
Yippee, Jesus! Our friends Chris and Sabrina are leaving on Monday to bring home their precious Levi. They've waited a long time. You can follow their journey here.I have loved and cared for Sabrina a very long time, so long I might have to tell my age. (I taught her in 2nd grade.) I was her piano teacher, her Sunday School teacher when she was a teenager, and now our daughters are great friends. And, Kati spent the night with us last night.

Baking
We made Valentine's cookies today. Kati, JT, and Ellie spent the morning making ribbons and practicing their ribbon dance, with the Art of Chinese Dance DVD. They glittered each other's hair, and then we baked and decorated cookies. I can't wait to see Kati in the Phillipines







How the Boys Spent Their Weekend
Actually, this is just how they spent their Saturday afternoon. Yes, they have beds, but both of them chose to "nap" on the couch downstairs. They like to say that the girls get on their nerves, but I think they were afraid to miss something if they went to bed upstairs.

They spent the night on Friday night with a friend, along with several other senior boys, who are enjoying much time together, this, their last year in high school. Caleb tells me they were outside at 4 a.m., playing, "Man Hunt." Then, he told me it was the big boys' version of Hide and Seek. Can you see that? Seven boys, all aged 17, outside playing hide and seek at four in the morning?


Prayers for Tuesday
We will leave on Monday, once again, headed to Shriner's Hospital in Tampa. On Tuesday, we will meet Ellie's new pediatric orthopedist. Please be in prayer for a peaceful transition with the new doctor. Please pray the the Hand of God is beginning to close the gap between her femur and her pelvis.

Wisdom From Josie-Tatum
One night this week, the girls asked if they could wear their swim suit as cover-ups. (Yes, it is quite warm in south Georgia right now.) I told Ellie she couldn't wear hers because she has to have pants on underneath her brace. They walked and crawled away, and then JT came back. She asked, "Mom, why can't Ellie wear her pajama pants and her swim suit cover-up?" (Why didn't I think of that?)

Funny of the Day
Ellie did not tell me she had to go "poo." She was upset that she had to stop playing so I could change her. I yelled up to the balcony, "Josie-Tatum, can you check the upstairs bathroom and bring me some wipes?" Well, Whitney comes to me laughing and prefaces her story with, "This may not be as funny to you while you're changing a screaming toddler, but...."
Josie-Tatum had come downstairs with clothes in both of her hands, help them up to Whitney, and said, "Tell Mama I found some, and I'll go back upstairs and get the rest." To which Whitney replied, "She said wipes, Josie-Tatum, not whites." It was funny, even to a Mama changing a screaming toddler.