Thanksgiving

Joshua's first Thanksgiving was full of food & fun!

We had a wonderful day and are extremely thankful for all the blessings that we have received from God's hands this past year.

To the right you can see the shirt Olivia just had to buy for Joshua. It says "I don't need mistletoe". If you know Joshua, you know it is true. He is extremely loving and sweet. He loves to hug and kiss people. It is very rare for him to have a bad day!

He is beginning to say many more new things. This week in particular he has become very inquisitive. He will say "what this?" and point to several things. He can count to three. He has learned the color yellow and red this week. He is able to distinguish between them when he is not joking around!! He loves to tease people and he loves to be teased! He has a great personality!! He has also decided that he likes coke and gum! He wants coke to drink all the time (that doesn't mean he gets it) and he sneaks gum out of my purse when he knows he can get away with it!

We have begun to work on pronunciation of the words he does know. We know what he is saying, but no one else does! He has a hard time with s, sh, ch, r, l. He mainly says the beginnings of words and the endings are either left off or are nonsensical. I have been amazed at how well he understands what we are saying. Now, we just need to work on the obeying part without a fit or tears. You have to love a 3 year old!

He has started to pretend. He has gotten all my pots and pans out and pretended to cook and serve dinner. He has pretended to die with the other kids several times. He thinks it is really funny when he comes back to life! He has also pretended to be a baby a lot lately! He needs to be held like a baby and drink out of a sippy cup like it is a bottle. He loves to pretend to cry and try to fool you into thinking he is really sad and then he just dies laughing!

He has lost my keys yet again. The first time we found them in the trash. This time we have searched the house over and over and I still have not found them. They have been lost since Saturday. No telling where or when they will turn up!

He has learned to jump this week. This was a task he has not been able to do until just this week. He is so excited to know how to jump!! He is jumping all the time. He wants everyone's attention so we can all watch him jump and clap for him. He has learned that you can climb on top of things and jump off and that is even more exciting!! He knows it shouldn't be too tall though. He will jump off the hearth and it is only about 6 inches high!

Please pray for Joshua. We will be going to Shriner's next week where he will be evaluated for his medical condition. He will need corrective measures for his legs and we are still uncertain about continence. We would greatly appreciate your prayers on his behalf. We know that with God all things are possible and complete healing is our prayer. If total healing is not in the plan, then we pray for Joshua to be able to lead as full and normal life as possible and to be an example of Christ for others.

Thanks to all of you who are reading this blog! I have kept updating because I have so many friends that have kept reading and sharing my blog with others. I pray that through our experiences it may spur someone else on to the wonderful journey of adoption, especially the waiting children of China with special needs. I can tell how much our family has meant to Joshua already. He is so happy to be here and we are so happy to have him as part of our family! Adoption is a blessing to both parties!

Thanksgiving

It was one year ago this week that I found Joshua's beautiful photo on the website of All God's Children. He was one of the children that had been waiting for a home since he was found in August 2004. We adopted him almost 3 years to the day he was found abandoned. This time last year we were frantically praying, reading about his medical condition and checking out our financial situation. Since then we have been home about 3 months and we are so thankful that God has put Joshua in our lives. He has been a tremendous blessing to our entire family. He is a loving and sweet child.

The last couple of weeks he has asked me at two different times (many times each occurrance) if I was his mommy. I would tell him yes and he would ask me again and again each time I would answer him in the affirmative. It sometimes breaks my heart when he asks things like that, but I know he is wondering if this is the real thing or not. I sometimes think he must be wondering how long he will stay with us until the next place. I can tell by his actions though he is so thankful and happy to have a family and a place to call home.

So,this year at the Thanksgiving table we will have an additional child at the table for which we are so thankful to God. Thanksgiving is not just about feasting, but thanking God for all the many blessings big or small that he has given us. This week take time to thank God for the wonderful things he has done in your life.

Update on Joshua

For the last month there have been many new things for Joshua. He met both sets of grandparents, caught his first fish, went to his first birthday party, went to bible class by himself 3 times now, attempted to get his teeth cleaned, trick or treating as spiderman, rode a horse, carved a pumpkin and he has grown 1 inch since September 4th!

His teeth cleaning experience did not go as well as I had hoped, but we did find out that his teeth looked good! No cavities! I think she cleaned about 4 teeth and polished one! Maybe next time he will do better!

He loved trick or treating!! He went as spiderman and had a great time! He woke up the next day and wanted to go again!! He loved to wear his costume.

We measured him on November 1st and he has grown from 35 1/2 inches to 36 inches. He is also beginning to look a little more muscular in his legs and seems to be getting stronger every day. He can now peddle his tricycle.

He loves to go to bible class. He says "my God so big" all the time! He wants to go all the time. He was upset today because he and I stayed home from church. I have been sick and Lawrence was preaching both times so I thought he should stay home with me.

He has also begun to see the first glimpses of the Christmas holidays! He is loving looking in all the stores at the displays. He is not sure what it is all about, but he loves the trees, lights and decorations!

New Words/phrases (this is not an all inclusive list): spider, bath, one, two, three, Paul Cook, pumpkin, cat, truck, drink, cup, basketball, napkin, I love you, coffee, french fries, apple juice, thank you, Spiderman, gum, chips, brush, teeth, shampoo, shower, happy birthday, trick or treat, go to church, Leslie, Stacey, Merr (for Merritt), Merr's mom (Julia), see ya later

Answers two questions: What is your name & How old are you?

I am constantly amazed at the providential hand of God. I don't know why, but I am. I am continually blessed by the love and affection of this young child! It seems as if he has always been a part of our family. I can't believe the amount of love you can have in your heart automatically for a person you have never seen before! Not only that you have never seen them, but they can't even speak your language! God has richly blessed our lives with this little bundle of energy! Every tiem I hear his sweet voice say Mommy, I love you, my heart melts!