The Big Secret

One year ago today ( I can't BELIEVE it's already been 12 months!) Bobby and I were keeping in the BIGGEST secret ever!! Do you know what it was? Lanie says she doesn't know:

Oh yeah! It was ME!
It was exactly 12 months ago that our agency called and said that we had been chosen and that this little cookie would be born in May. If you want to hear about that day you can click here! It's one of my favorite posts to go back and read :) We didn't share the news with anyone right away.....partly because we were both in complete shock that our adoption plight had changed pathways so quickly and partly because there was a paper stack we had to read over and consider.
It didn't take long to decide that this match was going to be a keeper....on our end of the deal anyway. This marks the day that I turned the corner from "Is this ever going to happen?" to "What if she changes her mind? Uggghhhhh. My stomach hurts!" I would like to say that I was all calm and collected and didn't let a thing bother me because I knew God had it under control. I, however, don't like to lie on this blog. The truth: The digestive tract knew something stressful was taking place.
Today I was combing through all of our adoption paperwork and weeding out the pieces of paper that I don't need to keep (i.e. "bonding with the adopted child"- check, "The adoption tax credit and You"-thanks, "Becoming a multi-racial family" - we readily accept her Honduricanness. ) You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of paper! Anyway, I came across this little ditty randomly scrawled on a piece of scrap paper:

"Be assured that if God waits longer than your wish, it is to make the blessing all the more precious". I don't recall where it came from but I can tell you today my response to that is "AMEN!!!" The wait isn't always fun but His blessing is always well worth it!

The Seventh

As hard as it is for me to believe, we have hit the seven year milestone with my second born here at the Morgan Casa. This is what seven looks like wearing the birthday crown and standing on the kitchen chair:

As with every birthday, my picture taking ability goes down the drain because I am NOT a morning person, birthday or not, and NONE of my functions function at the morning hour. Just ask Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, he was in charge of the birthday breakfast and per Grant's request, ran to the Donut Shop and got some chocolate covered yummy and some donut holes.
I ALMOST pulled my "I forgot the candle", which has actually become a tradition instead of a mistake, but then I found a rogue candle in the cabinet that had only been used once.....or twice. It was happy to perform it's job for this quick occasion.
One early morning birthday shot with the brothers. We do have a sister in this family but she's wise and she actually sleeps in when school is canceled for snow.
Praise the Lord for seven healthy years and may there be 7 times 77 more to go! Happy Birthday, Grant!

It's What's for Dinner

It seems as though my family, namely Bobby, is getting sick of my normal rotation of dinner ideas......poppyseed chicken, pasta, chicken noodle soup, baked chicken, chicken fajitas, pasta, chicken poppyseed, and noodle soup with chicken. So, every now and then I'll step out of my chicken box and fish around for a new recipe. This time I checked out the Pioneer Woman because apparently she cooks, blogs, photographs, homeschools, and flies airplanes all while taking care of a bunch of horses and kids. I decided on her mini-meatball sandwiches even though meatballing totally gives me the willies as well as a big case of faux nausea. She had 317 grandiose comments regarding this dinner and I figured I couldn't go wrong. Here is my plate of balls of meat:

Let the eating begin! And the complaining. The groaning. The "how many more bites do I have to take"ing. After all was said and done the votes were taken. Bobby?
Rhett (who may have gagged eighteen times before completing 3/4 of one sandwich in order to gain rights to a fudge pop):
Grant found them to be quite similar to his favorite meal, cheeseburger only not nearly as good. So, he gave me the sideways vote:
And, the one I can always count on. The one that eats anything....ANYTHING, gave me a big thumbs up:
Being that he's the one that eats freshly killed dove shot right out of the sky cooked over a fire in a barn, AND eats it with delight, I'm not sure I can trust his opinion. Needless to say, I'll be restarting my rotation tonight starting with Chicken Noodle Soup. The first person to complain will be eating leftover mini-meatball sandwiches. That should be threat enough to silence my complainers.

Oh Joyous Day!

To say that we were all excited about the big burning heat ball in the sky this past weekend would be the understatement of the year. Frankly, we were all a bit shocked at the blue skies and unseasonably warm temps. I mean, who'd a thunk that I'd be sporting a tank top on a Saturday jog in January??


It was the perfect weekend to get my camera outside and snap some silliness......and silliness I captured.


We had the best day working on the clubhouse, going for jogs (Cade and I ran all the way to Walgreens to rent a movie from the handy RedBox! He thought it was awesome!), throwing ball, swinging. Ahhhhhh, makes me long for spring! We didn't waste an outside minute and we all went to bed having emptied our pent up energy stores. You can tell by the look of my crazy boys that that in itself was a monumental feat!



Jump for joy! Spring is right around the corner!

Same Snow Story. Different Snow Day

Our first major snow of 2011 rolled in pretty quickly after the new year. I'm not going to lie.....I was pretty much over the snow before it even came. If I had wanted to see this much snow in a year's time I would've packed it up and moved to Michigan. Of course school was canceled and the night before the snow brought much planning for snow day festivities.

We had our usual inclement weather crew over to frolic in the frozen precipitation.
This snowfall was particularly great for making awesome snowballs. We had a serious adults vs. kids snowball fight that made for many sore arms the next morning.
Snow days are always great for Rhett because a) his brothers are home and b) he gets to hang with Silas who is normally in kindergarten.

The little people got to get in on the action a tiny bit this year.
Cruz did some sledding and I think he liked it although his face is a bit unsure in this picture.
Grant and snow-eating Cavin.
The half finished clubhouse served as the "base" for the kiddos during our snowball war. It was quite the safe haven until Mr. Jason dumped sleds full of snow through the unfinished roof.
And, a snow day just isn't a snow day unless Brent brings the 4 wheeler and pulls us through the field!


Cruz hung pretty good in the cold weather riding on that sled!
Carris even braved the cold for a few minutes.

Looks like all the Ashmans like to eat the snow!
Little Lanie came out for a bit but she wasn't about to smile about it. She kept her stone face on the entire time. Her baby bunting kept her toasty warm so I don't know what she was so smug about.

Jason and some of the boys spent time making an army guy snowman. Once he was finished he had snow arms holding a stick gun and a stick crew cut for hair. I didn't get a pic of the finished product. :(
You wouldn't have been able to pick tiny Eliza out in a lineup with her snow playing get-up on. Her clothes added at least 15 pounds and 45 inches to her frame. It didn't stop her from keeping up with the boys though!
Callan fashioning a snowball
This snow go-around I made it a point to catch a picture of Baylor. Last snow he evaded my camera.
More friends came over as the day progressed but by that time I had put my camera away. I did happen to catch a snapshot of this man pile. Someone was smashing someone's face into the snow. I am not, however, going to name names in the hope of protecting the dignity of the bottom of the pile. brent jones

Snow days can be a lot of fun but I'm going to be honest people. My kids need to head back to la escuela. This global warming thing is killing my schedule.

Be Afraid

Bobby and Grant had a little father/son QT the other day supposedly spent running a couple errands. The next thing I know, Grant comes in the door yelling for his brothers with this box tucked under his arm:

No he didn't. Yes. Yes he did. Bobby got the boys a real, live, working bb gun. Did he forget about this kid?? Had he already forgotten that we just watched him nearly shoot his eye out just as his mother had predicted??

Grant has been lugging that gun around like he's in the army infantry or something. He ate dinner and then I noted from under the table came, you guessed it, the bb gun.

Then I heard marching footsteps through the house. It was Grant. With the gun.
And if anything EVER evoked fear in one's heart, it should be this next picture.
Rhett holding a bonafide gun and Cade whacking wood with a rusty ax. I tell you. It doesn't get much scarier than that. I am proud to say that all of our family came out alive with all the danger that loomed. But I must add, if there were ever a time that you were considering praying for our family, now would be the time.
Lord help us. Lord help us all. And our neighbors. Luckily for all in the surrounding area, the bb gun is bb-less. As soon as I get my shipment of eyepatches in I'll let Bobby purchase the metal balls that will surely be the death of an eye.....or an unsuspecting squirrel.

365 Down

Another 365 days have passed and I find it hard to believe! I must say, without a doubt, that 2010 will most assuredly go down in my book as one of the best years ever. It's not really hard to figure out why:

May finally brought a face to the little girl that had plagued my mind for nearly 3 years and Bobby got to cradle a tiny piece of pink all his own for the very first time.
Then we got to sit back and watch her grow for 7 and a half months....and man, I know I'm biased, but she just keeps getting cuter!! Having this little Hondurican added to our family overshadowed pretty much everything in 2010. God is faithful!
My boys have grown so much in one short year as well. Cade and Grant are coming up on one full year of sharing a room and most days it works well. The other days......well, not so much.
Grant ended the year with a new do. I was hesitant at first but now I really, really love it.
And Little Buddy. My five year old Little Buddy. I could do a year long blog based upon his antics alone. I have had more laughs this year due to this child and I'm hoping he cracks me up even more in 2011.
So here's to one more year down. One more year full of celebrity mishaps (I'm talking to you Jesse James). One more year of great concert happenings (Thank you Carrie Underwood!) And one more year filled with great friends, happiness, and good health. I couldn't ask for anything more! As for resolutions: I got none. I don't feel the need to impose unwanted and unneeded pressure on myself. I hope everyone has had a beautiful Twenty-ten!