Christmas 2010

What a fun, busy Christmas!!

Thursday, December 23rd:

Iles Family Christmas

The boys played a game of flag football. They were so cute huddling up together and chasing each other down. I'm not sure how much they understood about the game of football, but they did understand to get each other's flags!!

Terry organized an Advent candle reflection time where the boys (with the help of their parents/grandparents) read Scripture pointing us towards the birth of Christ. It was such a special time.


We then ate a wonderful meal set on a beautiful table!!


Then...presents!! You can imagine how fun it is with six grandchildren four and under. Whew!! The kids (including Sydney and K-Man) loved opening presents and we are having so much fun at home with all of our new toys!!


Friday, December 24th:

Our Family Christmas
We went to the Christmas Eve service, and we left 25 minutes into it!! K-Man was sleepy and Jack was restless....it's hard to handle three kids in a service!

Christmas Eve we opened our gifts, then tucked into bed to see what surprises lay ahead for the morning!

Clint got me this column-plant-holder thingy from the local art store in Alexandria. I love it! Right now I have some paperwhites growing, but I'm looking forward to putting different indoor plants on it.

Christmas morning Jack woke up to a new bike and a dump truck! He was so thrilled. Sydney and K-Man didn't have any big gifts on Christmas morning, but they did have stockings full of goodies, including Fruit Puffs and teething toys.

Sydney loves her new dolls!

Jack loves the babies' toys almost as much as his own.

Saturday, December 25th:

LaFitte Family Christmas

We loaded up Christmas morning and headed to DeRidder to have Christmas with my family. My grandparents were in, so it was good to have a house-ful!

Jack got a Hot Wheels race track and some cars from GiGi. He LOVES it! We have it set up on the rug in his room right now, which is off-limits to babies (which he is loving, also). I think the grown men enjoyed putting it together as much as Jack enjoys playing with it!

Sydney and K-Man got a load of new clothes, which they both needed. Thanks, everyone!

After supper we headed to my dad's house and spent some time with him. All three kids were being so difficult and were very tired, so we only stayed for a little while (and I think everyone was glad to see us go...ha!)

**Blogger won't let me upload any more pics...I"ll try again later***

Today we relaxed around the house and organized and cleaned. I'm taking down Christmas stuff just as fast as I can - I always feel back to normal when my house is back to normal!

Christmas Baby

For those of you who have been waiting on an update, sorry this has taken me a week! With a 7 month old, a 10 month old, and a 3 year old in the house, things have gotten a little crazy and the blog has not made the priority list. Ha!

I received an email at school last Friday at lunch from our home development worker that just said "Call me." I immediately knew it was about a placement. I called her while my 7th period was playing Human Body Bingo (don't tell) and she told me about a 7 month old boy that was needing a temporary placement for about two - three months. I told her that I would have to check with day care and call Clint and I would call her back. The baby was on his way from Baton Rouge (where he was placed previously) to Alexandria and they were trying to find a home for him by the time he made it to Alexandria. Calvary Day Care had an opening, so I called back and said that we'll take him! Jack had a Christmas party at 3:00, so by the time we made it home it was almost 4:00 and the foster care worker and the baby were waiting in the driveway.

We had a family wedding in Dry Creek in which Jack was the ring bearer, so we had to leave the house by 4:30 to make it there on time for the rehearsal. So, we took everything from the foster care worker's car into our car and headed to Dry Creek!

We will call the baby K-Man on the blog and of course I will not be able to share any of his personal information because of confidentiality reasons (and of course that's his business and I'm sure he would appreciate later in his life if the whole world didn't know his business). He is the sweetest baby and we have loved him being a part of our family. It's been an adjustment having two children that don't walk yet (!!) but we are learning to stay at home more and stay on a good schedule.

The plan is for K-Man to be able to go back home in a few months. Of course that timeline is dependent on several things. He could easily be with us for a longer or shorter period of time.

Please pray for K-Man, that he would continue to be healthy and happy. Pray for his family, as they make necessary changes to get their baby back and be a successful family. Pray for us as we raise a third child, even if it's just for a while.


Sydney and K-Man playing. They really do play well together!

Christmas Card Pictures

I bought a new camera with my pumpkin roll money this year! We dressed the kids up and took Christmas card pictures last weekend. They came out GREAT!! Of course, we couldn't get any good ones of them together, but I got several good ones of each of them.



Love this one of Jack. I think he had just passed gas. Classic.



And now he's really laughing at himself. He's the funniest person he knows. This one made the Christmas card and the frame for the wall.


Beautiful Sydney!Except her shoe was coming off, so her foot looks deformed.



This picture sums up my life right now.


I love this boy.

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! Blogger is SUPER slow tonight, so I can't upload all the pictures from the week, but here's some from today. We've been sick with the stomach bug this week, and today we all felt better so we continued on with our Thanksgiving plans!

Today after the annual Terry Harrisonburg Thanksgiving breakfast, we went out to Springridge and took some pictures that I hoped would work for Christmas cards. Springridge is the church and burial site for many of the Terry family members. Jack really didn't want to cooperate, but Sydney was a ham!

Our family. Sydney and Jack look mad, Jack looks super skinny from vomiting for 24 hours, I look exhausted, and Clint looks great. Oh well, we'll try again later.


Sydney loves to have her picture made! And she loves her doll. It won't be long before she won't let me make her holiday shirts, but I loved making one for her first Thanksgiving! Thanks, Kristen, for the idea!


And a little hair yoyo to match!


When Jack decided to cooperate with pictures, this was the pose he wanted....on a bench with his arm around a tombstone. Sorry, Jack...that's not gonna make the Christmas card.


But aren't they so sweet together?? I will always treasure this age with them. I pray they will always be so loving!

Little People Nativity

We bought a Little People Nativity set for Jack and Sydney for Christmas and let them open it last week. Jack loves to "role play" with anything that he can boss around, so we knew he would love the nativity set. I told him the Christmas story using the Little People to act it out, then let him play on his own while I worked around the house. He loved acting out different parts of the story (especially when the innkeeper tells Mary that he doesn't have any room and that she would have to sleep with the animals).

Here are a couple of other random Jack pictures:
He loves to dress in random accessories.




We had the youth over for lunch today. Jack LOVES to have people over to the house, especially to show off his toys and his room. He played so hard, then crashed when they left. Ha!

Little Things

There's a patch of our front yard that won't grow grass.....
And I'm okay with that.
Jack thinks it's his personal dirt track for all of his trucks and cars. He played out there for an hour without a break, just making tracks and racing. Precious!






Sydney playing with her toys. If you don't put her on her belly, she's oh so happy. She is still obsessed with her teacher, Ms. Michelle. In fact, we joke that she refuses to be mobile because that means she would have to move to the next class.....without Ms. Michelle. It would be a heartbreaking day!


And, drumroll please........


Our completed foster care room!!!

Twin bed and bookcase chocked full of children's books. Also, a CD player for lullabies, rock-out sessions, etc.


Shelves that are holding birdhouses and teddy bears, a rocking chair for bedtime stories, nightlight to scare away monsters, and a cross...because that's the reason behind it all.

I finished the curtains tonight (made out of a fabric shower curtain - so easy and tons of fabric left over for a matching blanket!) and the benchseat with baskets for toys.

Of course, we may change a few details depending on the age and gender of the child (I found these vintage superhero posters at Walmart that I'm a little obsessed with) but I think it's fairly gender-friendly and downright homey. I have my big interview with our home development worker on Wednesday and Clint has his next Monday. After that, we will just wait for her to get everything in the computer and we'll be ready to go! {Insert freak-out, insane face here}

Seriously, we both feel that we are on the brink of exciting, trying times for our family. We covet your prayers, your encouragement, and your love. Our hope and prayer is that God will receive the glory for our obedience, and that people will come to Christ.

Halloween 2010

It's been a marathon of a Halloween weekend!

Friday: Halloween party at Calvary Day Care in Jack's class. 20 3-year-olds all hopped up on sugar! It's always fun to see Jack and his friends interact and go through their routines in their classroom.

Saturday: Blake Bartney's birthday party in the afternoon. That family really knows how to throw a birthday party! They had a carnival theme in the front yard with games that you could earn tickets for. They also had a jumper and some fabulous food (including homemade Kool-Aid all the way from New Orleans)!!
Sydney enjoyed bouncing on the jumper.

Saturday evening was the Woodworth Trunk or Treat. Our church had a fall backdrop set up for family pictures. We had 80 families that took pictures that are not familiar with our church, and we will be hand-delivering their pictures over the next few weeks and meeting some families in our community. This will be a great way to invite people to church. So fun!
A real, live fire truck!! Our little fire fighter was SO excited to be up close and personal!



Sunday evening was the actual trick-or-treating event. Oh my word. We went to the Walsh's house for hot dogs, then we ventured into West Point subdivision for some serious candy. WOW! There were SO many trick-or-treaters....by the trailer-fulls! Thank you, Walshes, for inviting us to your Halloween party! We definitely need to make this a tradition!!


This is my favorite picture of the night!

Foster Care Status

We have almost completed the certification process! We will be certified and licensed by November 17th.

Prayer Requests:

• That God would prepare our hearts for the child that will be a part of our lives.
• That we would know our boundaries. We know we will have to say no much more than yes.
• That school zoning/daycare issues would be worked out. I know God is so much bigger than paperwork.
• That God would prepare Jack and Sydney for another sibling to share their home and their parents.

We are accepting children ages 2-7, with no known aggressive/sexual issues. Honestly, I am praying for a 2-year-old that would be able to attend Calvary Day Care. If we ended up being able to adopt, I would like to adopt a child younger than Jack.

We are becoming very excited and very nervous! Can't wait to see what's in store for us!

Guatemala Trip

Clint had a wonderful time on his trip to Guatemala! We have loved looking at all the pictures he and his teammates took, and hearing all of his stories!

Here's the rundown:

Clint was on the construction team, and they worked really hard to build a greenhouse. They also went to a primitive Mayan village. The medical team treated the people and the construction team painted some houses.
These are two ladies in a primitive Mayan home.
Clint, Seth, Jared, William, Jonathan, and Charles were all there without their wives, and they all slept in this bunkhouse (which they called the frat house). They thought it would be awesome to sleep in hammocks in the jungle one night, but after a night of no sleep, they moved on to the more practical bunk beds. Typical boys.
This little boy became very attached to Clint. This is the river outside the village where the guys went swimming. This is the bunkhouse - frat house - where the guys stayed.
The Mayan village had running water that was pumped straight from the river. Clint said the showers were COLD! The boys also went swimming in the river.

Jonathan Hunter gathering some coconuts.


Thank you all for your prayers! He had a fabulous time and we are so glad to have him home!

8 Months Old!

No eight month old pictures until Clint gets home with my camera - he comes home tomorrow night. We cannot wait!!!

At eight months, Sydney Kaye is:

• eating like a champ! She takes three-four bottles and three containers of baby food daily.
• still sleeping wonderfully. She will go to sleep anywhere, anytime! The past two nights we have been at friends' houses during her bedtime. No problem! Just put her in the middle of a big bed and she'll suck her thumb and go on to sleep.
• not mobile yet. I'm seeing some progress, though! It's so hard to not compare her to Jack, who was a champion crawler at 8 months. She's just not interested in moving around (plus she's a little....rotund :)
  
• sitting and playing very well. She likes to look at toys and turn them over in her hands very intensely. Ha!
• extremely fussy in the evenings. Poor thing has been at daycare from 6:45- 3:00 and when she gets home she demands her mommy! Can you blame her? This may be another reason why she's a little behind on being mobile....she screams every time I put her down, so I am guilty of holding her too much. Oops!
  
• still the sweetest baby girl there ever was. I'm so blessed to do life with her!

Sunday I'll post Guatemala pictures. Can't wait to see Clint tomorrow!!

No Pics, just bullet points.

• I don't have pictures because Clint has my camera in GUATEMALA!! He is gone for a whole week and I cannot WAIT to hear all of his stories.
  

• I guess you gathered from #1 that I am on my own this week. Whew! I will make it through with Chick-fil-A and a half-gallon of Blue Bell Cookies and Cream.

• Jack was a beast for his second race today - ran every single step and got a thrill from passing other kids up. Where oh where does he get his competitive nature?

• Sydney is starting to get mobile, little by little. I mean, those thighs are ginormous and quite cumbersome. Plus, Jack brings her everything she needs and I carry her everywhere she wants to go. What's the point of crawling? :)
  

• Our home development worker is coming on Tuesday afternoon for our safety visit and walk-through. She'll be checking out the square footage in the foster bedroom (which is no longer pink, by the way), the fire extinguisher, and the smoke detectors. We will also be talking about the type of child we are willing to accept and sorting through our million questions.
  

• That last point makes me nervous. We could possibly have a child by the holidays. Holy moly.

• I think I need another half-gallon of Blue Bell.

7 Months Old!

Oh my goodness....we're past the half-way mark to one-year-old! It absolutely doesn't seem real.

At seven months, Sydney is:

• eating lots of baby food. She will only take one bottle at daycare, but takes three containers of baby food while she's there.
• wanting to scoot and crawl, but not quite there yet. While on her belly, she will rock back and forth while flailing her arms and legs. I've tried showing her how to scoot, but her belly is just so heavy. HA!!
  
• sleeping great at night.
• gaining more coordination while she plays with toys. She likes to sit in her high chair and throw toys off of her tray.

• loving music! If she's is really fussy we'll turn on a CD and she'll immediately calm down.

First Race

Jack had his first athletic event on Saturday! The Rapides Junior Runners is a great organization that puts on a race once a month for five months. Jack is in the five and under category, and they run a half mile. We had to get there an hour early to register, and Jack played really hard on the playground. He was hot and tired before he even began the race! He ran for a couple of minutes, but he definitely brought up the rear of the race...ha!! I carried him across the finish line. We told him how proud we were of him, but he was very disappointed in himself. Even after he got his medal he wouldn't smile. He said that he wanted to practice before the next race.




He was so proud when we put his number on him! Look how red and sweaty he is before the race.



My Aunt Budda and Uncle Bill came to watch Jack run. He loves them! Aunt Budda and I are running a half-marathon in February.



Sydney does NOT understand why anyone would EVER run in the heat. She's mad just sitting in her stroller.



Jack is checking out his medal. He was so not proud of himself. Ha! (By the way, the shirt they gave him to run in is HUGE!! I'll have to doctor it up before the next race, which is October 16th)