Some pictures

Well, things continue to go well.  I just can not put into words how God is using little Jake to change our lives.  He was using Jake even before we knew him.  Just the thought of adoption some ten years ago was beginning to change us. 

 

I've included some sweet pictures.  Tonight we went trick or treating which is a pretty new thing for us.  Earlier in the afternoon the children (minus Jake) along with a couple of their friends passed out invitations to our church's walk through drama.  They did this without me as I stayed back and prayed, worked, etc. while Jake was napping.  So we then followed this up by going to just the few doors on our street and one street over tonight for goodies.  It was a good time connecting with neighbors and a precious time watching Jake receive (hmmmm....take might be a better word...but with a smile) some candy.  For the first time he said "thank you" just as clear as day.  Don't get me wrong.  He totally knew what thank you meant and when he should say it, but for some reason he always choose to say that in Chinese which was "gum" (just spelling it phonetically).  He beamed ear to ear as I strolled him about.  It was precious.  His favorite goodie by far was gummy bears.  I've included a couple of pictures.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 Jake thought smashing up his three Ritz crackers (which then looked like 30 or so) and riding his car through them was a great way to finish off his lunch today.

 

 Getting ready to go out the door trick or treating.

 

 My sweet older three just love their little brother and are happy to experience everything again with him.  I am really looking forward to watching them with him over the holidays.

 



 Jake has had a couple of haircuts but got this one day yesterday.  He is so agreeable when it comes to things like that.

 

Jenna is helping Mommy with Jake. 

Beach fun!!

We just returned from a 3 day trip to the beach.  We had a great time....though it was a lot of work since we went without Jeff.  We had such awesome weather and just enjoyed being together so much.  Enjoy the pictures!!

 

He's 2 really......and more

Just thought I'd share another funny thing that tells me that Jake is so 2.  For over a month or so now when he has been playing with his cars, sometimes he'll be sitting on the floor and he'll pick his foot up and try to get in.  No kidding!!  It's really funny.  And if he happens to find one of the matchbox cars that have doors that open, well then he really wants to get in.  He looks at me and grunts like "help me".  It is so funny.  I think now he just knows that it makes me laugh so he does it all the more.

Okay, I wrote that about a week ago.

Tonight Andrew, Jake and I brought home a sub from subway.  Jake ate black olives, yellow banana peppers, red onions, green lettuce (notice the color adjectives......I know, I'm weird), ham, and a little cheese.  He was in heaven.  He followed that up with some applesauce and grapes.  I was waiting for him to pop.

Some other things that I'm noticing changing is that Jake is able to control himself a bit more.  He'll get ready to hit and have his hand raised and start to hit but end up rubbing his hand on your arm and saying "saw -ree" instead of hitting.  It is so precious.  And I've figured out a little better how to help him with the very, very loud squealing / yelling / vocalizations that he makes.....which is to cover my ears and say, "oh, that hurt my ears" which is true.  And since he's so compassionate, he right away gets the connection.  I don't overdramatize it because I know that he's really just trying to express himself most times.  We follow that up with lots of talking so he's still communicating and lots of reassurances that we love him.  I've figured that all the rest of us need a little lesson in self control from Jake.  There's still a ways to go and you factor in that he's two and so if you see him doing all these things, just remember that we're all a work in progress.  And oh is he.  I look at his little head sometimes which is a constant reminder of his background and I just love him so much.  I wander at all that God has planned for Him.  Why did He see fit to bring this little boy to us?  What does He want from us when it comes to Jake?  How can we honor Him best in rearing Jake? 

Thank you for praying for us!  We are grateful.

Enjoy a picture taken by a precious friend's sweet son!  I love this smile....it's Jake up and down.