Crossfit Claire

Claire stands up on Mommy's hands and goes "up" and "down." Keep an eye on Sara wandering into the picture. Also, this video shows how "strong-willed" Claire can be.

Holes in Nana's House

Nana and Pops (Grandma and Grandpa Hood) had a fire in their house that started in the chimney. We took the kids to see the aftermath, hoping to make it an object lesson about the dangers of fire. Mikala was utterly enthralled with the wreckage. She jumped up and down with glee. Amy, however, was devastated.

Last Saturday Night, Amy was asked to offer the family prayer. She told Heavenly Father that "Nana's house had a fire, and Nana's house has holes in it." She asked that Nana's house could be fixed.

If you are wondering, the cause of the fire (as determined by the Fire Marshall) was faulty construction that did not allow for proper clearances between the chimney and the frame of the house. Nana and Pops are completely covered by their insurance, but will be living in an apartment for a couple of months. Pops will be doing the general contracting and much of the labor associated with the repair work.

And the result of our object lesson for the kids? As far as we can tell, Amy will never so much as roast a marshmallow over a campfire as long as she lives, and Mikala will probably burn our house to the ground as soon as she learns to strike a match.

SC "Snow"

It's white . . .



It's cold . . .

Maybe it's snow!

All I Want for Christmas is...

Sara's two front teeth! It's been a full six months since Sara cut her bottom teeth. It seems like she's been teething that entire time--drooling, gnawing, smacking, biting. I just hope she gets some more teeth soon (not another six months from now) so we can get this stuff over with and start eating some REAL food!

Top Ten Reasons Why it's Good to Have All Girls #2

#2: You Get to Poke Holes in Their Ears.

(For those of you who are new to the blog, you can catch up on the other Top Ten posts here)

I have wanted to pierce my girls' ears ever since Amy was about 6 months old. Joseph was dead set against it. Our compromise was this: At the age of 5, the girls should be able to understand pain and the responsibility associated with taking care of pierced ears and can then decide for themselves. So, for the past year, I have subconsciously convinced Amy that she wanted earrings. We just happened to be in a mall in Savannah on Black Friday (another story for another time) which was the day after Amy's 5th birthday. As we entered the mall, Claire's was right there. I asked Amy if she wanted to get her ears pierced and--surprisingly--she said yes. We went and picked out a pair of earrings, but after watching another girl get her ears pierced, Amy said: "That hurts. I don't want earrings." We walked out of the store, but she kept looking back. She changed her mind at the last minute, and decided that she did want earrings after all. She was very brave and only cried from the initial shock. She has been modeling her pretty blue-green earrings ever since.

Leaves

Anniversary Post!

To mark the 1st anniversary since our first blog post, we're posting our family picture taken after Sara's adoption was final. I thought it only fitting since our first post, entitled Sara Christine Hood, was about introducing her to everyone.

This is what we wore as a family to the court room. We had a hard time getting everyone to settle down . . . and we're lucky we got them to look toward the camera, much less get any smiles.

So, in celebrating our blog's 1st anniversary: here's to you--all ye who dwell in the bloggernacle--may your posts be fun and your comments be many!


While I'm at it, I may as well mention some milestones from the past year:

1-The kids are all still alive, and relatively well (this was harder than you think to achieve).

2-I'm not crazy . . . yet. But I am suffering from some sort of Post-finalization Depression (I went through PPD with the other three and it's fitting for it to happen with Sara--just means I have truly accepted her as my own) who knew!?!

3-Our cars are still alive, but our HVAC system, washing machine (twice), dishwasher, stove, alternator, 2 car batteries, and the radio in the van all died beyond repair and had to be replaced. (yes, all while paying for a VERY expensive adoption)