MAY

 So, guess who has two thumbs and is going to Thailand this month?  THIS GIRL!  I kind of can't believe it.  Oh boy, I have a lot to do!  A friend asked me the other day: what is my primary emotion when I think of leaving so soon.  I said my primary emotion is nervousness and anxiety over Asher, his grief and transition time.  But a very close second is excitement and happiness that we are finally nearing the end of the wait and the beginning of the parenting of this sweet little man we already call our son.  I will eat these words in about 5 weeks, but I actually love traveling.  I get excited to plan out what books to read, what music to listen to, what sleeping pills to take for the flights.  ;)  I do NOT love travelling with toddlers, so the trip home I'm not super excited about, other than it will be bringing our son home to his brother and sister.

Speaking of the big bro and sis, they are both still exhibiting the frustrating behaviors I mentioned last week.  It is still draining and exhausting, but on most days (not all) I'm feeling a bit stronger to deal with it.  These are the books I have on my nightstand:  The Strong-Willed Child; Parenting the Explosive Child; Love and Logic; You Can't Make Me, But I Can Be Persuaded; Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child and Warrior Prayers.  Each night when I lay down in bed, I have a plethora of experts just waiting to share their wisdom with me.  :)  I'm still very excited about the 21 day prayer challenge while reading through the Warrior Prayers book.  I'm sorry I didn't email back to each of you who said you will do the book with me, but I'm so grateful not to be in this alone!  Even if your son isn't getting out of time out by breaking his screen, jumping out his window, only to come back around the front of the house and into the hallway to taunt you where you are sitting in front of his bedroom door to make sure he doesn't leave the room....I hope it is a healthy and beneficial exercise for you too.  Leave a msg if you want me to email you the PDF.  I'm only on day 2, and to be honest, day 1 was hell in this household (and the window incident was last week!).  But I still read and prayed and was reminded how badly we need to take these trials to the Throne.

But on a lighter note, here are some pics from the last couple of weeks, especially of Ms. Bird, who hasn't been getting much air time on the ol' blog.  She now takes baths while her big bro takes showers, and she relishes the alone time and does lots of talking to herself and singing.  It's a happy place.  And it makes her hair crazy and fun--more than usual.

The first day we had a really sunny afternoon in March was like Christmas around here.  Everyone came outside to play and have a picnic, and while Carson was playing basketball, this one just laid down and soaked it in.  She didn't fall asleep here, but I thought she might.

 But another day she did crash on the couch.  She's still a finger-sucker, and I'm probably a horrible parent, but I'm not in a hurry to make her stop!  It's so cute and reminds me of when she was an infant.

 Carson has some friends in the neighborhood, and one is a sweet kinder girl from his class.  She has been taking karate for a few years, and so their favorite thing to do is stack up all the costco paper towels and toilet paper into a really tall tower, then she teaches him karate moves to knock them down. 

 They also have deep talks over sidewalk chalk.

 That's my girl!