Pictures of Josh : )

I was going to post these pictures of Josh with my last post, but it was long enough already, and I have a lot of pictures. : )

Probably my favorite picture of Josh ever...my handsome boy.  ; )

 He loves to be out there working in the yard.

 Always trying to catch some critter.

 We went geo-caching once, and could not find that pesky box!  Jacob, Ben and I all gave up, but Daddy and Josh kept looking for a really, really long time at the end there.  As usual, Josh's persistence was rewarded. : )

 He's always making something or other.  He made this fun fountain a couple years back.

 Creating different shows with brothers and friends is a favorite thing to do.

 This time a music concert!

 He loves Laser Tag, Nerf guns, air soft guns--any kind of gun!

 Another little play in the backyard : )

 He loves to practice his business skills.  Here he's taking our lunch orders in his restaurant.

 Learning how to tie a cool knot

 He absolutely loves his little Sister!

 Lemonade stand...and why not try to unload some of these books, too?

 Working up at camp

 He loves to be building something.

Helping make the fire on a camping trip. 

I think you can see why Josh is so special.  We love you, buddy!

Joshua!

HELLO!

Did you miss me?!

I took a long break, as you can see.  I was trying to decide whether or not to keep writing my blog.  I spend quite a bit of time reading blogs and writing mine.  Sometimes I'm not sure whether it's always a great use of my time, you know?  Anyway, I took a hiatus, and now I am back...at least for today. : ) 

And today is an important day because..........it's my Joshua's birthday!!!

And he turned 10, which as everyone knows, is a very important milestone indeed.  Double digits!  How can it be so??  I'm so not old enough to have these very big kids running around here.  Anyway...

So, today's post is dedicated to Joshua.  And let me tell you, that boy totally deserves a post completely dedicated to him.  All of my children are awesome and special, and that is the truth.  But I can honestly say that Josh is a really unique kid.  I don't think I have ever met another child like him.  I know God has something out of the ordinary in store for him in his plan for his life.  Something really, really cool!

From the time Josh was a little tyke, he had this incredible smile.  I mean, when he smiled, it took over his entire face!  And his eyes just twinkled like little stars that had something mischievous up their sleeves.  He was a cuddler, and from those early, early days, that boy was happiest if he was WRESTLING.  Picture the smile as big as his face, those twinkling eyes, and these chubby little legs running at you as fast as they could, trying to knock you down.  That was Josh.  And he is still happiest today if he is in contact with you in some way.  Be it wrestling or hugging, or trying to show me how strong he is by showing how he can pick me up, he is not bothered by personal space issues. 

Josh is our most driven child.  By that I mean, if he gets a goal in his head, he will accomplish that goal.  The boy loves sweets more than life itself, but not long ago, he set the goal for himself that he would not eat more than two sweets a week, and he would not break that goal.  He even took carrots to a class where he knew they would have cookies.  He amazes me.  Right now the boys are all in a summer reading program.  He wasn't my most eager reader, but now that there is a goal to be reached, he is far, far ahead of everyone else.  I am always surprised by his willpower.  He has a very strong will, and he knows how to use that will for good.  (And sometimes not so good, but that is for a different post.)  ; )

Josh also loves him some good, hard work.  He is happiest when he is doing man's work.  You know--dishes and vacuuming are not his favorites.  He wants to be outside mowing the lawn, chopping wood, whacking weeds...whatever Dad typically does.  He loves to help his grandpa work up at camp.  Whatever needs to be done, Josh will do it, and do it heartily.  His dream is to spend summers up there working with Grandpa and Uncle Jimmy, and he hopes ten years old is old enough.  : )  He is also an amazing organizer!  He will spend hours cleaning and organizing his room.  Once, he had to stay home from the park because he had had a bad attitude.  When I got home, I thought he would be sad or angry.  Instead, he greeted me with, "Mom, close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you."  His room was spotless, and everything was in its place, including the closet, desk and shelves, everything.  He spent hours cleaning and scrubbing the bathroom not long ago just because he wanted to do a great job.  I'm not sure he's actually my biological son...

Josh is also my entrepreneur-in-the-making.  He loves lemonade stands, garage sales... any kind of money making venture.  Not long ago I had to spend the day at a homeschool used book sale, selling my old stuff.  Josh wanted to come.  I explained that I would have to be there all day, there would likely not be lots of customers at this particular sale, and that it would be BORING.  He insisted on coming.  So, he came and was a huge help.  He helped carry boxes, helped set up, and sat, sat, sat there with me, even though the sale was largely a dud.  And when we left hours later, he said, "That was fun."

Does he like to play?  Yes.  But he typically doesn't like to play with cars and trains, Star Wars and Legos as much as the other boys and most of the friends do who come to call.  Josh would rather be building a fort, or stringing up a high ropes course on the swingset, or fashioning a parade float out of things he finds in the garage. He loves to shoot guns and whittle with knives, but  he also  loves to put on magic shows for his friends, and create shows on the trampoline or on skates in the driveway.  He just got a great puppet for his birthday.  I have an idea what will be brewing in that boy's mind in the coming days.

He collects rocks.  He loves his little sister so very much.  He wants to play the violin and the guitar.  He loves to sing, and especially loves singing southern gospel harmony with our family. How many boys do you know who love to wear ties?  And better yet, a suit and a tie?   On the flip side, he has very little fear, including when it comes to catching all kinds of critters and frogs... and snakes--snakes that bite and even draw blood.  It doesn't faze him. He loves it! 

He loves to spend time with you.  Spend the afternoon playing a board game with him or hanging out at the mall, and it will make his day.

He gets really, really excited over little things.  Those eyes still light up like mischievous little stars on a regular basis. 

And he is goofy and downright silly. 

He is one of a kind.  He is our own JOSHUA! 

Happy birthday, wonderful boy!!  We love you so much, and are so very proud of you!!!

p.s.. I want to post pictures on here, but I ran out of time tonight. Check back tomorrow, and I will add them.  : )

Happy Independence Day!!!

I am working on a post about our nation's forefathers,  but it is taking a long time to do all my research!

So, in the meantime, here are some fun pictures of our 4th of July festivities from yesterday and today.  We are so very blessed to be American citizens! God has blessed our nation.  May our nation always praise and glorify Him.

 Smoke bombs!

They love these things.  Can't figure out why...

 Fun popping thingys!

 Ben was going to march in the parade with the his Gymnastiks Unlimited float...but then he got too nervous.

 They give away CANDY at these parades?!

 My red, white and blue kids at the parade. : )  (Jacob is away at camp this week, and Cassandra was working.)

 We had friends over for dinner...fireworks hotdogs, and red, white and blue snacks. : )

 We even had a patriotic drink!  Kool aid ice cubes in 7 up. : )

 After dinner...a magic show!

 by Joshua the Magnificent!

  And we made fun t-shirts!

 Then...some backyard fireworks with our friends!

They were a hit!

 Even though many of them were from the dollar store and looked like this...; )

 This little American girl loved them!

 Then we went and saw the real ones!  (Sarah wasn't really out of it.  She just liked the blanket when we first laid it down.)  ; )

But we hadn't been on the road long, when it got very quiet in the backseat. : )

We had a wonderful Independence Day.  We are so thankful!!

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD...Psalm 33:12

Cassandra!

TA DA!!!!


This is a post about my blog neglected child...a mystery to you, bloggy world...hidden in the shadows of my blog...but now brought out to the bloggy light.................CASSANDRA!!!  ; )

I don't talk a whole lot about our oldest girl, but not because she is not ever present in our lives.  She is just not around as much as the others, I suppose, because she is busy in many ways as most big girls are.  But Cassandra is a very special young lady.  And when I say that, I don't mean it in a "everyone is special" kind of way, a la the Barney song that Sarah loves to sing.  She is really and truly special in the truest sense of that word.  With her permission, I would love to share some of her story with you.

Cassandra grew up in the inner city.  The church we were members of ran buses to bring kids in her area to our church on Sunday mornings.  I taught the 3-4th grade "bus" girls' Sunday school class, and Scott taught the children's church service for all the "bus kids."  It was a special ministry set up so that we could help meet those kids' unique needs.  Their prayer requests were different...I remember listening to their stories of gunshots outside their homes, and gangs and drugs in their neighborhoods.  It was a sometimes difficult but rewarding ministry to be involved with, and we really loved those kids.  Cassandra was in my Sunday school class.  We could tell something was different about her from those early days.  She really wanted to learn and grow. 

Cassandra grew up with a single mom (and a stepdad for a time), and two half brothers.  Those were the siblings who grew up with her in her house.  But all together she has a lot of half siblings-- several on her mom's side, and several more on her dad's.  She hardly saw her dad growing up, since he was in prison until she was around 13.  I won't go into a whole lot about her family.  Suffice it to say that her mom had a rough life, and did what she could.  We have gotten to know her well over the years, and we love her and Cassandra's brothers and sisters that we know.  Most of Cassandra's family, immediate and extended, still live in the same area.  Most of them struggle to get along in the world for various reasons, and we wish we could help them all.  We wish many of them would realize their need for help and their need for a Savior.

Anyway....Cassandra moved in with us when she was seventeen.  We already loved her like part of our family at that point, and when the need arose, we were happy to add her to our family--while sharing her with her first family. 

Cassandra is 23 now, and God has done and continues to do amazing things in this precious girl's life.  From a young age, she has had a special love for children and orphans, and decided long ago that she wanted to devote her life to working with them in an orphanage somewhere someday.  She is in the process now of praying and preparing for when and where that will be.  She loves her family--her adopted one and her biological one!  She has a very special place in her heart for her nieces and nephews that she grew up with (they are only a bit younger than her), and her little half sister.  She often goes out of her way to spend time with them and help them in any way she can.  Her mom has been sick after battling cancer and a surgery that didn't turn out well, and she often spends time with her. She takes time out for her younger siblings here, too, and does special little outings with them that she calls "sister days." 

 Cassandra at her high school open house in our backyard with her mom, brothers (left and front) and uncle.  (Paul is the one on the left.  He was such a wonderful brother to her growing up, and is such a great guy.)  As you can see, Cassandra doesn't really look like she fits in in her family!  They are Mexican, but Cassandra's blue eyes and pale skin kind of set her apart, don't you think?

 A recent picture of Cassandra and her little sister on her dad's side.  We think they look a lot alike!  (Their dad is half African American.  But you can't tell by looking at them!  We love Cassandra's diverse family background!)

Cassandra and her niece, Brittney, at her high school graduation last month.  She loves Brittney like a sister.

Doing what she loves best--holding a baby.  : )  This is one of her baby cousins.

 In Ch*na in the foster-type home where she worked with special needs babies last year

Lovin' life with a precious bunch of babies.  : )

 Our boys love their big sister. : ) 

 This is an old picture now, but I've always liked it. 

 Up at camp, ready to climb the rock wall/high ropes course. She is fearless about almost everything!

 In her dorm at New Tribes Bible Institute

She loves to climb trees! This was as far as she could get up in this one! ; )

Cassandra loves Sarah and the feeling is mutual.  She is honestly the best big sister Sarah could have hoped for.

 They're twins! 



 Ben loves a good hug now and then, too!

 Family fun!

She loves Grandma and Grandpa too.  (Of course she does...it would be impossible not to.)  She is so thankful to have them in her life!

We have often said over the years that we know that God has a great plan for Cassandra.  Her unique start in life has prepared and equipped her, and given her a unique perspective that most of us simply don't have.  We cannot wait to see what will be in store for our girl. 

Happy birthday, Cassandra!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!