Back to School

It's back to school time and we are exhausted!  It is always hard to get back into the routine that the school year demands of us.

Our school had Meet the Teacher the Friday before school started.  Blake had been anxious all day wondering who his teacher would be.  He and his friend checked out the list together... and found out they are in the same class.

Blake and Robert, along with Brynn and Barrett found their way to his teacher's classroom.   They sorted supplies and found his desk.

 Next stop was Barrett's classroom.  We are so excited that his speech class has been moved to our school due to space issues.  The school the program was housed at last year ran out of room, so the district moved the program to our school.  We are so excited about Barrett being with us this year!

Last stop was Mommy's room.  I got to hear all about their night when they came by to visit my classroom. 

 Twas the night before 2nd grade... and we were all anxious!  Blake was excited and nervous about his first day and I was anxious about the demands of a new school year.  Barrett was sad about Blake going to school the next day because he was going to miss him.  Brynn was sad about mommy leaving for work.  We all enjoy our time in the summer together so much, it is hard to start a new school year!

 We awoke bright and early ready to conquer the day.

Blake was very opinionated about his 1st day outfit.  I normally like him to dress up a little more on the first day... but I wanted him to feel confident, so I let him wear what he chose.

Mommy and Blake on our first day of school 2012-2013. 

Blake and his teacher. 

 I had a surprise delivery from one of my friends.  Nothing like knowing you are being prayed for and thought about on such a hard day!

We all survived the first day!  Blake had a wonderful time in 2nd grade!  I am excited to see what is in store for him this year and he learns and explores even more.

Summer Sleeps

We have enjoyed our summer sleeps!  Several nights a week the boys have slept together in Blake's bed.  They love reading books together and talking until they fall asleep.  I remember doing this with my older sister and I love how they are now making the same memories.

 Brynn has gotten to sleep on a pallet in our floor as her fun summer sleep.  She loves being close to mommy and having these special nights.

Fun memories of our summer!

Saturday Ramblings

The stormy weather we've had the past couple of days has brought some cooler temps, which we gladly welcome!

 We were able to spend the whole morning outside playing and exploring.

 You can see the debris all over the driveway from the previous night's storm.

 During nap time, I did laundry and picked up the house.  As I was picking up the house I was reminded of how quickly time is passing.

 There are some days we think our kids will never grow up and we will forever be tired from having 3 young children.  And then there are the days that I am reminded how quickly they are growing up.  Blake will soon start 2nd grade, Barrett will be spending his last year at home before he starts kindergarten, and Brynn only two years away from kindergarten.

What a wonderful blessing our children are to our lives, toys all over the living room and all!  I want to freeze these days, as hard as they are... because I know they will be over far too soon! 

 After our quiet time, it started to storm.  Such a difference from the beautiful morning we spent outside.

 We are thankful for the rain, and boy did it come down!!

Monday I start back to work, which means another summer has passed.  As always, I cherished every. single. second at home with my kids this summer!



It's Over

The Olympics officially came to an end the other night.  We had our family over to watch the ceremony.  We are sad to see it end, but I guess we can't sit on the couch for the rest of our lives.  Time to get up and get back to life now.  It was fun while it lasted!

The Box

We are finally getting around to completing Brynn's readoption.  This isn't something that is mandatory, but highly recommended.  When it is complete, she will have a Texas birth certificate, which will be very helpful in registering her for school, sports, etc...  We have put it off because it involves more paperwork and more money.  Not two things we were super excited about!

This means, I had to get the box out of the closet.  The box that is filled, and I mean filled with stacks and piles of paperwork.  The box that contains all we know of our daughter's history.  There are three specific documents that are needed in order to file for Brynn's readoption in our state.  The first being her Chinese birth certificate.  I knew exactly which stack this would be in, so I got it right out.  I opened it, read it to be sure it was the correct form, and then swallowed the huge lump in my throat.  "Her birthplace and parents are unknown". Although I have read it before, there it was again, printed in black and white. It is never easy to read those words. Moving along to the next document, her Certificate of Abandonment.  The last sentence on the document states, "so it is confirmed that she is an abandoned child."  Tears now join the lump in my throat.  How can it be that a precious child has documents that state these awful truths?  How can we live in such a fallen world that a mother and/or father would lay their baby on the ground, more than likely in the cover of darkness and turn and walk away?  As I stood there with tears streaming down my face and these questions plus many more running through my mind, I dug down further in the stack to get the last document I needed.  The Certificate of Adoption.  The last sentence on this document states, "The adoptive relationship goes into effect from the date of registration".  At this point I was reminded of God's wonderful grace.  He didn't leave Qian Ai Xin as an orphan.  Just as Psalm 68:6 states, He sets the lonely in families... and John 14:18, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.  He turned the evil of the world to beauty just as Isaiah 61:3 says: to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  Knowing that God has a perfect plan for Brynn is a healing balm to my broken heart.

Will we have hard days?  Yes.  Will there be sadness and grief?  Absolutely.  Will there be questions and a lot of whys?  Of course.  Will I have to one day sit down with Brynn and the box, for her to see and read this part of her history for herself?  Yes, and my heart will absolutely break.

I am thankful for a God who loves the orphan.  I am thankful for a God who loves me.   I was once an orphan, but because I believe in Jesus and have accepted His free gift of eternal life, I have been adopted into a new family, an eternal family.  I am now a child of God.   There is no better family to belong to than that of Jesus Christ! 

Phone Dump

Unadopted

I love the new page that has been added to the MS website!  Almost all of Brynn's little friends have been adopted. Only two little ones who were at MS at the same time as Brynn still remain unadopted.  Unadopted.  Such a big word.

Why is it that more people don't adopt?  Why are there more than 140 million orphans in the world? Why is there still a little boy and a little girl at MS who were there with Brynn 2 years ago... and remain unadopted?

The Bible speaks of orphans over and over again.  Jesus loves the orphan and commands us to care for them. 

Religion that is pure and faultless before the Father means that we must care for orphans...

 James 1:27a

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling. ⁶ God sets the lonely in families,

^{Psalm 68:5,6a
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Proverbs 31:8}

Statistics show that there are about 147 million orphans and 2 billion professed Christians.
What would it look like if our churches and families were known as the people who adopt babies and children.  What if Christians were known as the people who take in orphans and make them beloved sons and daughters?  ~ Russell Moore, Adopted For Life

So why is it more Christians don't adopt?
Is it because the church doesn't teach enough about God's love for the orphan?  Is it because people are scared to mess up their "perfect" lives?  Is it because the cost is too high (can you put a price on a life)?  Is it because they are unaware of the orphan crisis going on around them?

And while God may not be calling everyone to adopt... He IS calling every one of His believers to care for the orphans.  There are many ways to care for them, other than adopting.

*We should all be praying for the orphans.  Praying fervently for them.
*You can support those families who are in the midst of adopting.  If you are interested in donating to a family who is in the midst of an adoption, please email me at: mcintirehouse@gmail.com and I will give you the information needed to donate to a family. 
*We can also give to the orphans.  There are so many orphans who are hungry or need surgeries.  We can send money so that the ones who are physically caring for the orphans, can give them the best care possible until God sends a family for them.
There are many websites that are devoted to caring for orphans, and offer an option for online donations.  You can click HERE to be directed to the place that is most dear to our hearts.  There is an option to donate online on the left column of their site.

God isn't calling your neighbor or your best friend to care for orphans (well, He is, but not in place of you).  He isn't calling each country's government to care for the orphans.  It is a mandate for Christians, His people.  He is calling you and me.  These are real babies/kids in real places, with real needs, and no families.

God has been working on us for a few years.  I am excited about allowing Him to lead us in His call on our lives to care for the orphans!  He is doing big things... and we are going to let Him!

Real joy is not always found in obvious places.  Instead it hides in corners, waiting to be discovered when we sacrifice our desires for God's desires. ~ Tom Davis, Fields of the Fatherless

Over Here

We are Olympic junkies over here.

 We even went so far as to rearrange the furniture for optimal viewing.

 We don't just watch it though...

We reenact it.

 A stopwatch was present at this event.

 Yep, in my hand (that wasn't holding the camera) I had a stopwatch running.

 We don't mess around when it comes to the Olympics!

 The kids have a list of new sports they are ready to sign up for!

 No matter what, they will always be gold medalist in my eyes!

Friends

Today I had lunch and a swim date with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Our friendship dates back to our years on the gymnastics team, beginning when we were elementary school age.  We spent many long hours in the gym together, a lot of fun times and laughter as we grew up and experienced life together.  Also a lot of times of hard work as we worked on new skills and perfecting the old ones.  We traveled to meets and exhibitions all over... one of my favorites being the Junior Olympics in Corpus Christi!    The three of us will always have a special bond!

Amy's daughter, Logyn, is Brynn's age and had fun swimming too.

 Not only did we catch up on life, we also had a lot to talk about with Olympic Gymnastics going on right now!  Which led to the conversation about us not being as young as we used to be!

On another note, our adoption agency is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year.  They are putting together a scrap book of all the families who have brought babies home from China through our agency.  They are going to present the completed scrapbook to the founders of our agency, a wonderful Christian man and his wife who moved here from China soon after they got married.  Their story is amazing! 

 I got our scrapbook page sent off today so that we can be included in this wonderful book!  

The Patient

After putting off getting his deviated septum fixed for a couple of years due to adopting and our kids' various medical needs that needed attention first, it was finally Robert's turn.

 He got all geared up and ready.  Don't let that smile fool you, he was a nervous wreck!

The doctor came out and talked to me after the surgery, while Robert was in recovery.  He showed me the scope pictures and explained how bad his nose was.  I guess that's what happens when you put it off for a couple of years.  I am so glad he was finally able to get it fixed!  We are hoping it will provide him some much needed relief!

He's been able to stay comfortable for the most part.  He has moments of being miserable, but has done really well.  He has spent his days on the couch and nights in the bed.  

Our 2012 blog book wouldn't be complete without a medical procedure or trip to the hospital recorded!  Thanks Daddy!

Fully Charged

After our first trip to the circus last year was such a success, we knew we wanted to do it again this year.

 We got there early enough this year for the pre-show.

 Which meant first standing out in the heat to wait for the doors to open.

 Luckily we didn't melt before they unlocked the doors.

 These brothers are two peas in a pod!

 Walking into the arena made Brynn very nervous.  It took her a little bit to realize it was ok.

 Fun circus tattoos 

 A beautiful Chinese performer.

 I love this picture of Barrett and Brynn.  There was way too much going on and it was way too close to us for them to look at the camera!

 Once the pre-show started getting crowded, we made our way to our seats so we could get ready for the big show.

 Brynn started feeling more comfortable and started dancing and having a great time!

 There were some new performances and some we missed from last year.

 There were even elephant protesters outside the arena when we arrived.

The elephants were one of Brynn's favorite parts!

 This cute little guy's eyes started getting very heavy.

 The grand finale!

The kids laughed, oohed, and aahed. 

It was a fun night for us!