Catching up in photos

Christmas break is almost here ... and the kids are counting down the days!  And as usual our December has been very busy.  We have had basketball games, tournaments, Walk Through Bethlehem, parties, surgery (with not so quick healing) and school programs.  With all the hustle and bustle I've gotten behind on the blog ... so I am catching up "photo style". (warning .. a few of Eli's healing progress at the end) 

I hope this finds each of you enjoying the holiday and celebrating the REASON for the season

 Merry Christmas from our house to yours

watching tv with Spencer

new slippers (poor Eli can hardly walk in his, ha, but he loves them)

basketball Spencer style ....

basketball Tyler style ...

basketball Hanna style ... we've watched a LOT of basketball this fall

little cherub helping "fluff" the new tree

Tyler time

more Tyler time

what a good looking Roman soldier

"hey there is a fish"

stable girl ... I had to remind her again this year of the MANY reasons why we could not take home this little pony at the end of the evening.  My Hanna is a country girl at heart.

Eli at Walk Through Bethlehem, he had just had surgery a couple days before so he wasn't as excited about the festivities but was content to "ride" around .. boy do I LOVE my Ergo carrier.

little girl in Bethlehem

dude in the marketplace

decorating the tree???

snow day ... this is the look I get when I am on the verge of snapping one too many shots

holiday choir concert

this is the look I get when I've crossed the line and snapped one too many

hanging out playing

oh here is another "mom you've crossed the line" faces

my sweet little ones

healing ... FINALLY

looking so much better and we are so very thankful. that the infection is gone .... should be bandage free for Christmas, yeah!

Holiday colors (warning .. do not proceed if you are squeamish)

Sweet boy waiting and enjoying the crinkly paper a bit too much

The big reveal as they take off the plaster (yes, they are heavy) casts for the first time

four beautiful little fingers

wrapping him back up

ready for the holiday ... or the weekend at least :)

Big sis waiting and watching

Eli had his first post-op appointment today and everything looked good, yippee! They will again take off his casts every Tuesday and Friday to check the grafts and healing. He was very calm today as they took the casts off and checked his fingers, which look GREAT, didn't shed even a single tear this time. Then they let him pick his new colors ... and out of the rainbow set before him, he picked red and green. How Christmassy, ha!

A new "old" look ... casts

Eli had his second surgery yesterday and priase God did very well.  The surgery was shorter, recovery was shorter and he slept well last night - all good and answers to prayers.  To all of you that prayed with us, thank you.  We appreciate you more than we can say!

Getting a little love from daddy before surgery

playing cars

the versed is working ..getting a little silly, ha

right after they brought him back to me ... poor sweet boy

playing peek a boo with his balloons. THANK YOU Gomel family, they were a HIT! :)

A day at the zoo

Today was a beautiful day to go to the zoo!  Claire and Eli enjoyed walking around seeing the animals, shuffling through the piles of leaves along the paths and soaking up the sunshine.

Everyone needs a little black dress ..

I have a sweet sweet friend that is waiting patiently to bring her precious Morgan home from China.  The other day she asked if I'd mind letting her try a dress on Eli to see if it fit, they are about the exact same size. Of course I agreed, what are friends for!  So today we met for lunch with another friend (Jodi it was GREAT to meet and talk - let's do it again soon, hopefully then we will be celebrating TA's!!!!) and decided it was a great time to try on this little black dress.  The big sisters were not as pleased and told us many times BOYS DO NOT WEAR DRESSES!  Mary Ann and I got quite a kick out of them, ha!  Eli ... well he enjoyed himself, after all he does have a couple big sisters that like to dress him up - remember this?

Orphan Sunday

Go here and read what Emily wrote about their family and the "least of these" for Orphan Sunday, bring your tissues.  We had the privilege of meeting this family and traveling to China with them - sweet people and more than that - they are the real deal!  So, taking my lead from her wonderful post -

There are over 140 million orphans in the world.  That number is so great we can't even wrap our minds around it so we choose to ignore it - we hide behind all kinds of excuses, mostly selfish.  There are 140 million orphans in this world and we can ALL do something. 

In May of 2005 a baby girl was born in China, our baby girl, and for reasons I will never understand was considered the "least of these" her first 6 months of life.  She was an orphan.  Then on Valentine's Day 2006 she became our daughter and our Claire. She became a little sister.  She became a life full of joy and hope and a future of possiblities.  She is an oprhan no longer.  

In June of 2007 a little boy was born missing fingers and toes, he was considered deformed, he too would become another of the "least of these", he would be an orphan.  For almost 18 months our son lived in an orphanage not knowing the love of a mom or dad.  On October 27, 2008 he no longer was "the least of these", he was our son and brother, he was Eli Parker.  He is a vibrant and healthy little boy whose life has radically changed our hearts. 

There are ways we can ALL help.  There are families right now that want desperately to adopt and cannot afford the $30,000 or more to adopt - can you help?  There are organizations that are right now providing for orphans and need our support.  There are individuals who are making a difference.  You can sponsor an orphan so they can go to school or go on a short term mission trip to love on these kiddos. There are so many ways and so many organizations out there and yes, we can't do it all but we can ALL do something.   Don't let this be just another blog post you read ... let it be something that moves you to action!

Playing in the leaves

There is something about a pile of leaves .. you just cannot walk by, you have to jump in!  Last night was warm and the leaves were crisp and dry, it was the perfect night to do a little leaf pile jumping!