What glorious hair!!

Seriously, that Hb has some glorious hair. It never ceases to amaze me. I mean, can your hair defy gravity? My hair sure can't. Though it has been and is quite the learning curve to my only slightly wavy hair, I've come to appreciate textured hair with all its ups and downs. Hb's hair is made up of zillions of tiny perfectly tendrilled curls, so tiny that if not moisturized properly they'll end up frizzy and knotted, and even THEN, we love that glorious hair. I'm learning and studying from those that I think do it well (many of them have blogs listed there to the right) and still have a lot to learn. Cornrowing, plaiting, two strand twisting, parting, co-washing, these words have become normal in our house. I'm the only one who understands it most of the time, but nevertheless they're here. So, here's to you Hb and your cutie curls! Girl, all of your hair is good!

How'd she get in that swing?!

We looked outside the window tonight and saw two year old Hb sitting in the infant swing buckling herself in...how in the heck did she get in that swing? I mean our three year old Mr. Incredible is strong, but not that strong. We asked her to show us and this is what we got...I don't think this is normal...

Hb's got hops!

You'll be tempted to think Chris was pulling the lightweight up onto his shoulders, but do not be deceived...he merely provided a little boing, a jumpstart if you will, for this child has springs in her legs.

National Foster Care Month

Did you know May is National Foster Care Month??? Well, it is!

I bet you didn't know this...

There are nearly 5,000 children in foster care in South Carolina. That's right. Nearly FIVE THOUSAND. And to make matters worse, there's not near enough foster families to provide a safe and stable and environment for those young hearts.

Have you ever checked out the SC Heart Gallery? Just do it. You won't regret it. Please pray for these children all over our state that deserve a safe haven and a forever home...

Introducing....

Hannah MIZE!!!
It's officially official! Our adoption of Hannah Belle is finalized!
Father has fought for this beautiful sweetheart. He has won the victory. He has gone before us into the battlefield, won the victory, and given us the prize. What a GOOD God.

"You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you."
2 Chronicles 20:17

Sealed

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into the bondage of fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry blissfully, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:15

A page has turned in the battle for our daughter and God has done it all. She is unofficially official (we still have to do Adoption Decree stuff), so she is not legally a Mize as of yet.

These are the words that are listed on Adoption Decrees. As I read them today relishing in what this means for sweet Belle, I couldn't help thinking about my own adoption to Father God.

"biological rights in and to her terminated and forever barred"...in Christ, that which we were formally bonded to is FOREVERMORE BARRED.

"IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the name of the minor Defendant shall be changed"...He gives us a new name...literally.

"IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the papers and records of this adoption shall be sealed"...we are sealed with a promise (Eph 1:13), bound and bonded to Father.

Glory to God! God's fingerprints are EVERYWHERE. What a joy to be adopted into His love...even as I write this, you know what's playing on the radio? Mark Schultz' "Everything to Me"...a song about being physically and spiritually adopted...I'm not even kidding. I'll soak this one up.

"IT IS SO ORDERED."

Who done it?

That is a lot of sand. A whole bowl full actually. When asked who done it, neither child would fess up. Each said they didn't do it. I'm surprised they didn't blame it on Luda, the dog. So, here the victim sits, in a cooler.

"Hannah, did you put sand in your hair?"

"Hannah, listen to me. Did you put sand in your hair?"

"Hannah! Did you put sand in your hair?"

Good grief.

Just a reminder...

...if you decide to bake a cupcake in the microwave, it doesn't take as long as you think.

Shenanigans etcetera

Goodness knows we've had our share of shenanigans lately. It's like whatever I say not to do, they do, for crying out loud! In an attempt to stay positive in this moment I'll chalk their disobedience up to curiosity and in that case, my what bright children I have! My nerves are shot today, I'll save the endearing "I love being a stay at home mom" post for another time.

What part of "Don't play in the water" and "Don't play on top of the sandbox" isn't clear?

Don't let that adorable quivering lip fool you.

I don't mind the kiddos getting dirty, it's fun to get cruddy in the mud. I get that. HOWEVER, this scene took place right behind the pool and what you don't see is Hannah playing in the pool pump hence all the mud.
Note: the pool pump is not dangerous, just not a fitting play place

Notice that orangey splotch around the hairline... Carolina red dirt. If there's mud that close to the hairline you better believe there's dirt IN the hair, too. Dirt and sand in those curly locks do not fare well together...seriously, atleast a week later we were still scrubbing out a gritty head. It's definitely not boring figuring out how to manage her glorious hair.

Who cares if it's low 50's outside? If you're covered in dirt from head to toe,
sounds to me like you need a good hosing off.

Anybody out there recognize this? Whoopsies. I'd like to blame this on the kids, but it seems I'm the one changing diapers around here. So yes, that is what happens when the item below gets thrown into the wash cycle. Perfect illustration for the term "Swoll up".

Onto a more cheerful side of my psyche, here's Zeke the Wonder, donned in cowboy attire, cape, and skullcap and below an adorable fire fighter.

And lastly, here's Zeke in the toilet. Pure to the tee Tomfoolery.

I'm Spiicy!

I know, we're terrible. Actually, I will place all blame on my groom, whom is notorious for testing accuracies of the Scoville scale on young palettes. Bless her heart.

Zeke's First Rollercoaster

Zeke's first rollercoaster with Mom at the Magic Kingdom. Love how my hands go down to grip the bar before Zeke's do. Don't be fooled by that panicky face...we rode it three more times after this one.

Disney World

Ahhhhh. Disney World. Now THAT was a fun trip. We were nervous the kids were too young (Z 3.5 and Hb 2), as people tend to give lots of advice surrounding when to take your kids to DW for the first time. Well, I'm glad we listened to our friends, because we had an amazing time. I would go back RIGHT NOW. At the drop of a hat I'd pack the car up with a dozen costumes and enough stuff to stay in Central Florida for a month. Seriously, it was a fantastic vacation for our little ones. I mean, we definitely had to mold the trip around their needs, the adults way outnumbered the kiddos, we stayed in a house with plenty of space, we took breaks from the park everyday, picked our battles very carefully, and had to remind ourselves (i.e. myself) to reeellaaax all the time, but it was worth it. Because of all the dog-whistle pitched squeals, exuberant hand claps, starstruck look in their eyes, ear-to-ear smiles, and car rides jamming to Tarzan's "Son of Man" we will make this a more frequent vacation and thusly we will go through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University because Disney ain't cheap. I only posted a handful of pictures because it overwhelms me having to go through all of them for this blog. If you want to see more, bring yourself to the house.

Some fave moments:
Zeke tipping his Woody cowboy hat to Princess Tiana when he first met her
Zeke not wanting to wear his Buzz costume to meet Buzz because "that's HIS outfit, I'll just wear his shirt"
Watching the kids experience the magic every time a parade rolled through the streets
Riding Splash Mtn with Liss, Chris, and Zeke...oh yeah, he said Sixty foot drop I'm ready for you! I mean he didn't technically SAY it, but his actions did.
Laughing HARD with my sis Liss
Soaking my aching tootsies in the hot tub every night
Coming home with a tan in the beginning of February

Give thaaaanks with a grateful heart

Zeke usually shies away from saying the blessing at dinner, but tonight he jumped right in. Here is how it went:
"Handa, hold my hand."
"No, I don't want to hold Zeke's hand."

He lets the rejection from her roll right off...shocking really, then proceeds with this...

"God.. bless our food.......... bless our family.......bless our house, God bless America [you'll want to sing this part] to the oceans, to the city, to the mountains..... to Clemson,...... thank you for those things...what's those things called over there...our cash registers, our beds...Amen."

So funny to me.

Snow much fun...twice!

Two great snows so close together. The White Christmas was the first one in like 47 years and it was glorious... So dreamy. Here's our first snow in pictures:

He's a hugger, what can I say? Poor Hannah.

Ow ow!! That's sayx-eey!

End of snow one...beginning of snow number two. Lots and lots of snow. It was beautiful. Until the next day when the thick sheet of ice settled over the top of the powder. Zeke loved throwing the sheets of glass, I mean ice, and hearing them shatter.

It was so fun that Chris got to stay home with us. Thanks Wells Fargo. We spent the day with good friends, our snow tradition. Hannah missed out on much of the snow due to naptime, deep snow that was hard for short legs to plow through thus lots of faceplants, and meltdowns due to the aforementioned. Chris and Zeke went to Holly Tree golfcourse and sledded for hours with the big kids.

Zeke and JoAnna, she 's the one with the neon orange man hand mittens.

Karen, me, Lindsey, and JoAnna

The mamas got some sled time in the backyard after the dads got home from the golf course. It wasn't quite the golf course, but we had fun while the dads were stuck with hungry cranky kids. Nothing says snow day like hot chocolate, sledding in freezing rain, kids crying because of "frostbitten" hands, Wii Just Dance, chili, and staying in your pj's all day.

A costume kind of Christmas

Yes, it was indeed a costume Christmas. The picture below isn't even of Christmas Day, it was just a taste from Aunt Gigi and Uncle Lucian of what Santa would bring a couple days later. Now THAT is a snazzy Woody costume.

"What the heck has she got on?" says Parker, the cutie in the middle of my two cowkids.

Hannah Belle's great-grandparents got her just what one well-balanced two year old needs:
a two year old sized balance board. Now isn't that neat.

Mimi and Papa George helped out in the costume Christmas theme, too, with dynamite Fireman costume...and Zeke DOES have the hat on backwards. We've all tried to reform him, but he persists that he likes it that way, he doesn't want to protect his neck from the fire. Cousin Cayden looking good in his police costume. They were a tight emergency squad in those gettups.

It was SO fun this Christmas! Zeke was SO excited going to bed and was super excited when he woke up. Hannah isn't in the picture because she slept til almost 10am! That might be the last year that happens on Christmas morning.

Oh yeah, show us those muscles Superman. A sweet friend handed us down multiple awesome costumes that Zeke got on Christmas morning. He was in hog heaven. And still is. He is crazy about those costumes. Thanks Rachel, I mean Santa.

Even Hannah got some dress upstuff. Mimi got her some cute kitchen stuff and Santa brought her a cute little kitchen. I love getting more pink stuff in the house. This Christmas was the best one yet. It was so fun watching them and enjoying the day with these two kiddos. Not to mention the magical snow. What a great holiday!

A few weeks before Christmas Zeke got on the big Iron Man kick. Its amazing what a kid will pick up in Walmart. So, he pulled what the modern world knows to be a Power Ranger costume, but he made up his mind it was an Iron Man costume. Like he knows what a Power Ranger is...Iron Man it is!

Minnie Mouse is ready for Disney World...we're heading there in February. That's hilarious...the picture, not the DW trip. Grandmothers, especially ones whose names begin with a Di and end in a Anne get a little crasee with the gifts. Hannah doesn't seem to mind.