Tabitha is 5!

I'm having a very hard time believing that Tabitha is 5 years old!  Since we adopted her when she was 2 and a half, this also marks the point in time that she's been with us as long as she wasn't with us!  That's really strange to think about that we've only known her for half of her life.  I'm excited though because now I feel like we've reached the real starting point.  Almost like we started 2 and a half years behind, so now we're caught up and it'll just get better from here.  I know that's not logical, and I also know there's no magic number that takes care of orphanage/adoption issues, but in my strange little mind it makes sense!  So, here's to celebrating Tabitha's 5 years of life and her 2.5 years of life with us!

We had a little party for her at Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City.  Despite the fact that it was 90 degrees that day, it was really fun!  The kids got to ride a pony, we went on a tractor ride, pet the animals, walked through a pine-tree maze and enjoyed the bigger-than-life nursery rhyme characters and scenes throughout the park.  It was pretty fun.

Even though I can't believe Tabitha's 5 already, she certainly doesn't have any problem with it.  Since her actual birthday was a couple weeks ago and she turned 5 then, she was convinced that she was turning 6 at her party!  I didn't realize she thought that until I heard her arguing with Jesse about it in the car.  She was adamant that she was turning 6, and got all teary-eyed when we told her she would still be 5.  Nothing like crushing a little girl's dreams.  Oh well, I think she had fun turning 5 (twice), and I'm glad she won't be 6 for quite some time!

Happy Birthday, Tabitha!  We love you!

Orthodontic Success!

Ethan in May 2011 (notice the underbite)

 Ethan with his retainer in October 2011

Ethan is now finished with his retainer!

(squinting from bright sunlight, not from pain)  =)

School is Over!

Saturday was the culmination of our school year.  We went to the Botanic Gardens in DC as our final field trip (since we'd been studying botany this year).

Then we had a little celebration for the kids:  Ethan for completing 2nd grade, Jesse for graduating from kindergarten, Tabitha for finishing her first year of preschool, and Rayanna for not completely preventing it all from happening (though she did try)!  

I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer, and hoping to be refreshed and ready to start another school year when the time comes!  Congratulations, Kids!

Clothing Dilemma

Tabitha is very difficult to find clothes that fit well.  She's SOOOO skinny and has a VERY long torso, so there's always a big gap between her shirt and pants, unless her shirt is double her width in order to be long enough!  We've gotten a lot of her clothes as hand-me-downs, so I don't really bother with the size on the tags, I just try it on her.  So for the past few months she's been wearing this really cute shirt that I LOVE because it actually fits right!  Slim enough for her, but long enough to not show her back when she bends over.

Cute shirt, huh?  Well, one day I noticed that the shirt has what looks like belt loops.  How odd, I thought.  Upon further investigation it turns out that it's a size 2T.  Not a shirt at all, but rather  . . . .

a dress:

And I thought the girls were built so differently they'd never be able to share clothes.  Silly me!  =)

Ethan's Debut

I had my studio piano recital tonight.  I usually have 2 each year.  This one was special for a couple of reasons.  One of my students is graduating this year.  I've taught him since he was 9 years old!  And now he's going off to college and will even be majoring in music.  It's exciting to see all he's accomplished and sad to be letting him go!  The other thing that made this recital special is my newest student . . . Ethan!  This was his very first recital, and he surprised me by actually wanting to participate!  He got a little nervous ahead of time, but stayed calm enough to play well.  I'm very proud of him!

Updates

I have some updates on extended family:

My aunt Lisa, whom I posted about last August, continues to battle cancer.  She's been through numerous treatments and surgeries.  Things look good for awhile, then they look bad, then they look good, then they look bad.  It's been a very hard time . . . for her and also for the whole family.  She's been going through a clinical trial, which has seemed to be having good results.  But now she has to take a break from that to get radiation on some tumors causing intense pain.  She has been such a trooper through all this, and is trusting the Lord.  It's been great to see her responding to this in a way that glorifies God.  But, as wonderful as that is, I think the human side in all of us is desperate for this trial to be over and Lisa restored to health.

Meanwhile, my uncle (also on my dad's) side, just had a severe stroke this week and is in the hospital.  Both Lisa and Jeff are young--nowhere near the age where you expect to hear about health problems like these.  It's really strange because on both sides of my extended family, we've never dealt with big medical issues like this (at least to my recollection).  My mom's the oldest of 4 kids, my dad's the oldest of 10.  Both sets of my grandparents are still alive and healthy, and our extended family has always had good health for the most part.  I guess that's a pretty unusual blessing, but it's kind of made me feel that "all that stuff" happens to OTHER people's families, not mine!  Anyway, Lisa and Jeff are on opposite sides of the country (NC and CA), which I'm sure is putting an added toll on my grandparents and aunts and uncles.  Prayer for all of them is definitely appreciated!

And finally, some good news!  My brother Michael is home!!  He's still a few thousand miles away from me, but having him in Alaska is a much better feeling than having him in Afghanistan!!  We're very thankful for his service to our country, and we're very, very thankful for his safety!  Welcome home, Michael!!

For the first time since 2007, our family took a "just-us" vacation!  We went to Massachusetts to see Plymouth and Boston.  It was a good trip for the most part.  We did have the 9-hour drive (and the accompanying whining and bickering), plus the serious conflicts over who gets to push the elevator buttons at the hotel.  But other than that, we had a lot of fun!

The first day we visited Plimoth Plantation.  They have a Wampanoag Village and the English Settlement, both authentically portraying what life was like 400 years ago.  It was really interesting!  They had actors playing the parts of the English settlers, so you could talk to them about details of their lives.

Tab & Jesse in front of a Wampanoag home

The Indians made these canoes by burning out the inside of a tree.

Enjoying the "English Village" at Plimoth

Everything was authentic . . . even down to hand-made nails,
clapboard siding, and thatched roofs!

Beautiful view of the ocean from the high end of the village

I can't imagine living through such difficult times.  It was nice and pleasant on a sunny day in April, with a stroller full of snacks, and having slept in a bed the night before and taken a hot shower that morning.  But just imagine arriving there in December with half of your people dying from sickness, very little food, no housing until you build it yourself . . . it would've been horrible!  

Next we drove a few miles up the coast to where Mayflower 2 is docked.  This is an exact replica of the original.  This one was built in 1959 in England and then sailed across the Atlantic, just like the first one did.  It was fun to see.  But again, we were on it for maybe half an hour, while it was still, while the weather was beautiful, and with only a dozen or so people on board.  Imagine spending over 2 months in this ship with 100 other people, on a stormy sea during a freezing winter.  Instead of a nice, clean smelling boat, imagine the smells of 100 people (many of them sick) all crammed into the tiny ship.  NOT my idea of a fun adventure!

The Mayflower 2 (1959 replica of the original)

66 days in here?!?!  Rayanna couldn't sit still for a 10-second photo shoot!  

 Next we walked over to "Plymouth Rock."  Fortunately, we'd learned ahead of time not to expect anything grandiose.  There's really no evidence that the Pilgrims actually landed here, and the rock itself is . . . shall we say . . . not much to look at!

The very unimpressive "Plymouth Rock"

Jesse on the lookout for pirates

 After our day of touring we went back to the hotel for some swimming.  Jesse said that was his favorite part, and he complained every time we had to leave the hotel.  Next vacation, we'll just find a hotel with a pool right here in Maryland and skip the long drive!

The hotel pool was the main attraction for the kids.

 Friday night we went to the Boston Children's Museum.  It was pretty neat, but it was "dollar days" on Friday, so I think the entire city of Boston was there.  Way too crowded for my taste, but the kids had fun.

at the Boston Children's Museum
(very scary claustrophobia-inducing climbing structure, but the kids loved it!) 

Saturday morning we went back to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail.  We started here at this beautiful park, which was the only relaxing part of the day!

at the Boston Common park

 The two-and-a-half-mile trail is a literal red line, made of red brick in some areas and just painted on in others.  It goes past many famous sights from Revolutionary times.  It was pretty neat, but very tiring with 4 children!  Thankfully Ethan is big enough to steer the stroller now, since Jesse and Tabitha requested several piggy back rides.  We did manage to walk the entire thing, with several snack breaks and without losing any of the kids!

Paul Revere's house

a fountain near the Old North Church

We finally made it to the end of the Freedom Trail

After the long day in Boston, we went back for more swimming of course.  Sunday we drove home, vowing to never drive anywhere with children again.  But I'm already thinking about where our next vacation will be.  I guess travelling with kids is like labor pains . . . after it's over you forget how painful it is until the next time rolls around and you're wondering why on earth you did this again!?!  =)

But, all-in-all it was a good trip.  We made some fun memories, learned some interesting history, and enjoyed a break from the routine.  God blessed us with safety, lots of fun, and perfect weather.  I'm really glad we went!