Where Were You One Year Ago??

I'm the first to admit that I have a bad memory! But there are those life-changing, all important moments that even I cannot forget! One of those happened exactly one year ago today...November 25th, 2013! It's hard to believe it's been a year that we met Hudson for the first time and he became our son!

What a day filled with so many mixed emotions...thrilled to have him in our arms but hearts aching knowing he was about to leave all he had ever known and those he loved and who had loved him. I will never forget seeing his rosy red cheeks and big round brown eyes for the first time!

We are so grateful for those two weeks in China! What a whirlwind of experiencing the Chinese culture and bonding with our son! It was such a special time to just "be" with Hudson and have nothing else to do but play with him, hold and snuggle him and love him! Those weeks set such a good foundation for us!

Thanksgiving last year looked so different than ever before... we visited the orphanage Hudson lived in and met his precious little crib mates!! We are in process of trying to locate a few of them who were to be adopted shortly after Hudson. We also spent the day with our dear friends, Bryan and Cheryl and their two children, and had a delightful Thanksgiving meal of Yak and some yummy bread thingy with hot tea!

We had no idea what the next year would have for us! Those first several months seemed really long and hard at times but we really can't believe a year has gone by already! We are so thankful to look back and see God's faithful hand in so many of the details! Thank you as our family and friends who have prayed for us! What an adventure we've had! As we celebrate today we are really humbled and honored to be Hudson's parents! He is such a joy to us it's really hard to describe!

Hudson....you are so loved by God your Maker and by us your Forever Family! We love your infectious smile and laugh, your curiosity about how things work, your dance moves, the way you repeat everything we say, your compassionate heart when others get hurt, your mischievous grin, your snuggles and kisses, how you've learned to pray and sing to God, how you love to play with Ava and Coop, the way you suck on your pointer finger when you are tired, how you've learned to appreciate chocolate and chips....the list could go on and on! We love you sweet boy!

Summer!

So...summer is over?? I think I say this every summer but, "It went so fast!" Ugh...too fast! 

Our summer through a few pictures...

Hudson had his adenoids taken out and tubes put in his ears! I always hate to see my children go through any kind of surgery or procedure but I have to say this was one great decision! He feels so much better!

 Our summer birthday boys...Matt and Cooper celebrate one day apart from each other so it's always a fun and full week around here. Coop turned 6! 

 It's not a great picture but it was the only one we got...our camping trip of the summer! It's a must in Matt's book that camping must take place. Hudson's first camping trip leaves much more to be desired. He did great..it was the weather! It rained, I mean poured the entire night. No fire, no smores...can you call it camping?

We headed west to Illinois for a week for lots of different things...a little work, Grammy and Papa camp and lots of fun with family! It was Hudson's first trip to Nana and Papa's and he had a blast running around with all his cousins! Ava and Cooper LOVED Grammy and Papa camp! They had one long sleepover with their cousins in the basement, loads of soccer, riding bikes, wrestling, laughing, watching fireworks, having our own 4th of July neighborhood parade....it was so fun to all be together in the summer! 

We also had a few other trips..one to Michigan where Matt had the privilege to help officiate the wedding of some sweet friends! And a great vacation in the Ozarks with my parents which was so refreshing and relaxing. We spent lots of time at the pool where Ava and Coop learned to swim and Hudson "swam" for the first time! Wow....no wonder our summer went by so fast:)

School is here....Cooper and Ava pictured on their first day of school! We will miss you summer! 

Yesterday marked 10 months of Hudson's Gotcha Day! He experienced so many "firsts" this summer and what a joy it was to watch him learn, observe, light up, ask questions, smile, cling to us as his family!

What's in a Word

So often a common question asked to us is, "How is Hudson learning the language?" I have been thinking this week that I want to remember the words he has learned so quickly and how he says them. It is hard to believe it has been 6 months since Gotcha Day in China! We are amazed at all the words he has and how he doesn't miss a thing! Just today he was singing Jingle bells!! 

Hudson calls Cooper, "Beeber." They spend tons of time together and no one can get Hudson to laugh like Coop!  Ava is otherwise known as "Beba" according to Hudson. Oh how he loves his Beba. She is a second mommy to him....holding him, reading to him, kissing his boo boo's. One of our favorite things he is saying right now is "Watch this....Watch this..." And he will keep saying it until you stop and watch to see what he wants to show you. 

As some of you know, food/eating has been a challenge with him. Thankfully I haven't been too stressed about it but a favorite word of his is what he calls a "schnack." It is inevitable if we are out running errands driving in the car I will hear "schnack?  schnack?" from the back seat. Now that the weather has warmed up, Hudson can't get enough of being "outshide." He runs to the door and asks, "outshide?"

Some of the most precious times with him are at bedtime. He loves to go around to everyone and say, "night, night" and give kisses. I love how he gives you a hug and pats you on the back....ahhh!  He says, "la loo" which translates as love you:) And before heading into his room to get into his bed he promptly says, "book?" He loves to sit and read and snuggle at the end of the day. 

These are a few of Hudson's words right now that we hope to never forget!

Happy Birthday Hudson!!

We had a fun day celebrating Hudson today! He turned 2! Ava and Cooper loved making him birthday banners, cards and buying him gifts out of their own money! As we lit the candles and sang he wasn't sure quite what to make of it all. We did a second take on blowing out the candles since he learned from the first time around that you should blow:)
One of the birthday traditions here is to where the birthday hat! Hudson wasn't that fond of it but we did get to snap a few pictures especially when distracting him with chocolate cake!

Matt and I have had several conversations over these last few days about Hudson's birth family and oh how their hearts must ache to know how he is, where he is, what he looks like, if he is happy, if he has siblings and more.How their hearts must ache with love for him from a distance. We pray for them as a part of our family in a unique way that today they would have a sense that Hudson is incredibly loved and celebrated today and will be forever.

We really tried to get a good family photo....but today wasn't our day...will you look at each child's expression? This was the best we could get...it really doesn't depict the fun that was had and the celebration of our sweet little 2 year old today!!!

I Get To Be His Mom!

This has been my thought lately...."I can't believe I get to be his mom!!" I seriously have had this thought this week many times....

I've marveled at how much he is learning! He is constantly watching and mimicking especially Ava and Coop! They have been so good to include him in their play usually. 

I have had this same thought...I can't believe I get to be his mom!....while holding him and trying to comfort him while he is sick! Below is a picture Matt took with me cashed out and Hudson finally asleep during one of our rough sick stretches. *Notice the pool of drool on my shoulder:)* Don't get me wrong...I've had my moments especially in the middle of the night with lack of sleep trying to comfort him and it has been hard! I've battled those thoughts of wanting to hold him all night long because he hasn't had a momma to do this most of his life swinging to thoughts of I cannot do this right now because I am exhausted!

Hudson is a true joy! I am so very thankful God chose me to be his momma! He has been through so much in his short life and God hasn't left him in any of it! We are learning how much he loves life....

I love his laugh,

how he loves to make other people laugh,

how smart he is,

how hard he is trying to communicate with us,

how he is wants to be independent in some ways,

how he plays with cars and balls and babies and his eyes light up with new things,

how he ventures out but always seems to circle back to make sure we are still there,

how he lays his head on my shoulder at night and "sings"along with me as I sing at bedtime - ok,this really might be my favorite melt my heart thing right now:)

Here are a few pictures of a moment we captured where Hudson learned how to say "cheese" for the camera! We had lots of laughs which means he did it over and over and over and over to get more laughs:)

Grateful = Hard

 I just finished a book that had been on my shelf for about a year on being grateful! It had me thinking and evaluating my own heart which by nature seems to be one that is pessimistic and looks at the glass half empty rather than half full. Ugh!! I have found myself grumbling about the weather around here lately. I'm not a lover of the cold! God is in the process of helping me find what I can be thankful for...like even though it's bitterly cold today the sun is shining which brings my heart great joy! I have so far to grow but am hopeful that He will transform my thinking and perspective!

I admit I had a hard week not whining about being at the doctor's office several times this week! Sweet Ava has had a time getting rid of a nasty cold/sinus junk which has led to double ear infections for the second time this month. Anybody else have more snot at their house than they care to see?? Hudson thankfully had a vision and hearing screening and both found some issues....a mild hearing loss due to fluid on both ears that more than likely will be corrected and a need for glasses! Oh my...at 22 months! We've been practicing around here:) Don't worry the real ones aren't neon green with a unibrow!

I am thankful for Coop playing basketball this year! It's a first for him and he is loving it! He had his first game today:) It is comical at times and fun to watch them all learning! I think this might be a sport he sticks with? Matt is his assistant coach and they are doing a great job making it fun but yet instructional! This has been a great outlet for the winter blues!!

Can it be??

Can it really be that we have had 4 full nights of sleep in a row??? I am loving this!!! Thank you for praying for us!! After jet lag seemed to be over for Matt and I Hudson continued to have a hard time sleeping. Some one said it may take a child up to 3 weeks for them to get over jet lag - wow!! I think part of it for him has been jet lag but also just needing to feel safe and secure after so so much change in the past month for him.

Let's see...these are a few of the things we've done since being home and I can only imagine how Hudson is experiencing some of this craziness:)

We celebrated Christmas here in Xenia! I love the tradition of going to our church on Christmas Eve and worshipping Jesus together! We made a day trip over to Indiana to my parents and Hudson met his aunt and uncle and cousins and great-grandma! The kids had so much fun...Hudson was literally asleep the moment we put him in the carseat to drive home.

We celebrated more when Matt's family from Illinois came for a visit. Hudson met another great-grandparent, Matt's grandpa and his Nana and Papa and aunt and uncle and cousins!! We had so much fun, Hudson did great and Ava and Coop were very very sad to see them all leave.

We played and played and played and played some more! It's so exciting watching Hudson explore and learn whether it's the freshly fallen snow, a toy dinosaur that moves and makes noises or learning new words like "bye-bye" and "night-night" and "more" and "please."

 
There was also a very big birthday celebrated in our family! Ava turned 7 years old on December 23rd! Where has the time gone?? I remember that day so vividly in my mind meeting this baby that we had prayed for for what seemed like so long. She is a precious gift to me and it was a delight to celebrate her! She has a sweet tender heart and has grown leaps in having courage this year. I'm a proud momma! She really wanted a Build A Bear party this year so that seemed to make so much sense to me...let's see...I don't have to plan anything(it sneaks up on me every year), lead any game, entertain anyone, put together any goodie bag:) It was a big win for her and me as well. The kids had fun together and all went home with a cute fuzzy bear.

Hudson had a ball going from one side of the store to the other picking cute things off the shelves and putting them on another shelf....Matt was a busy dad following and retracing his little footsteps!