Halloween 2012

This year our Halloween was a little different than planned.  Thomas dressed up as Super Why, Jim was going to be the big bad wolf (dressed like Grandma) and I was going to dress as Little Red Riding Hood.  Well last night Jim and his Hotshot crew got ordered by FEMA to Superstorm Sandy on the East coast.  They are helping crews with the cleanup from the storm.  So only Thomas got dressed up.  Thomas & I walked Main Street with our friends Mary & Cameron Martineau.  We found Daddy's "boss" Smokey Bear handing out candy to the kids. 



Thomas & "Daddy's Boss - Smokey Bear"

Thomas & Cameron

   

Our little boy is growing up

It's official, our little boy is growing up!!  

He's growing out of his toddler bed and we got a good buy from a friend.  Thomas is so excited to be a really big boy, now.  Kind of sad, for us as parents as we look at the little toddler bed on the floor next to this big boy bed.  What an exciting time for Thomas to move up to a big bed.  The bottom part pulls out as a trundle, but we have to get a mattress for it.  So right now, it's just going to be used to store extra blankets .  

 

 

Jim said to me last night "it's only a matter of time before he walks out of his room to ask for the car keys".  They grow up so fast!!!

Papa and Thomas make front page

Click on cover to read full article

                Pick of the Patch 2012 – And the Winners Are . . .

Photos by Carol and Darrel Kinney

By Tracy Rolling - Ramona Home Journal • Mon, Oct 01, 2012

Taking third place was a 353-pound pumpkin grown by Ronald Serabia and his young grandson Thomas Huston. Adjacent to a garden filled with sweet corn, beans, peppers and zucchini, his giant pumpkins rested on six feet of topsoil and were quenched by well water. 

"Everything grows well on the property, and we don’t have to worry about a water bill,” said Serabia, explaining the semi-drip system he uses in conjunction with soaker hoses and five feet of rope. 

He tells how each time his grandson visited, he would dig in the dirt. Then he read about the Ramona Home Journal pumpkin contest and planted a few seeds a couple years ago. 

"The biggest pumpkin we grew our first year was 140 pounds,” he said. He saved seeds from that batch, and this year when Thomas asked, "Papa, we gonna plant big pumpkins again?” Serabia couldn’t resist. 

He looked online, went to the library and studied how to grow the mammoth pumpkins. "It was only by chance it got that big and didn’t rot,” he said, adding that the recent rains and hot weather gave them a run for their money.

 
Serabia plans on sharing his winnings with Thomas, and says besides the luck of the draw, he didn’t use any artificial stuff. He got caterpillars, praying mantises and ladybugs to help manage the bugs.

"Growing pumpkins has been a great blessing to our family,” he added. "Just like our little grandson Thomas.” 

Homeschool lesson & craft day

Today Thomas & I did our first Halloween lesson & craft.  We learned the Five Little Pumpkins poem, painted 5 little pumpkins and Thomas did a full packet (about 8 pages) of Halloween spelling, matching and some math.  Our little smarty pants loves to do that stuff.  For a 3 1/2 year old, his hand writing is great.  He writes some letters better than others, but we're working on it.  He's also learning how to do a lot of that at his preschool 2 days a week. 
His little toddler laugh is turning into a little boy laugh.  He has quite the imagination and can tell you some good stories.  At  his 4 year old physical (just a couple months early) his doctor was blown away at how much Thomas could talk about, how well he's eating and how great he's developing.  It's sad, but also fun to watch our baby boy mature into a little guy.  Being parents is one of the greatest things Jim & I have done.  So thankful for our answer to prayers......Thomas!!

It's a secret

Yesterday, Jim & I were looking like crazy all over the house for Thomas's Leapfrog case.  I kept telling Jim, "I remember seeing it somewhere, but can't remember where and I haven't seen it for a few days now."  Thomas who was following Jim around the house, as Jim looked for this case.  He said to Jim "I saw it last day ago.  It's in a secret place."  Jim said, "Thomas can you tell Daddy where it is?"  To which he'd reply, "Last day ago I had it.  It's a secret."  So Jim & I still combing through every inch of this (not so big) house, couldn't find it anywhere.  We called Grandma & Papa, thinking it was at their house.  It was no where to be seen.  Thomas kept saying (in his sweet, innocent, little boy voice) "It's in a secret spot."  So Jim said "well Thomas can you please tell us where the secret spot is?"  To which he looked up at Daddy and said "but it's a secret."  Obviously we'll teach him as he gets older, that sometimes it's not good to keep secrets.  But in this case, it was funny because he kept insisting that he had it in a secret spot.  He never has hide anything before, so I was wondering if he was just feeding off of our conversation.  After about 20 minutes of looking EVERYWHERE not once, not twice, but three times, we were at a loss.  Jim stepped in Thomas's closet and opened a rubbermaid box, that has pictures in them, and what to his wondering eye should appear, but the green Leapfrog case, which was laid on top of the pictures.  How in the world, did Thomas ever think to open that box, let alone put something in it.  It was worth a good laugh....

Our Preschooler

Our little guy is growing up so fast.  This year he has started preschool (part-time) only 2 days a week for half days.  We figure this will give him a little structure to set a foundation for homeschool.  We bought him a backpack, a lunch bag and some new clothes.  I have him go shopping with me for his lunch stuff, so he feels like a big boy.  I kept telling him every day, that soon he'd be going to school.  I'd tell him his teachers names' and all the fun things he'd learn.  I also would reassure him that everyday I'd pick him up and couldn't wait to hear about his day.  Right now they are still doing the "summer schedule" so things aren't like they will be come Sept-June.  It's a Montessori program which is allowing children to learn on their own while being guided by the teacher. Montessori teachers do not correct work and hand it back with lots of red marks. A child's work is not graded. The teacher assesses what the child has learned and then guides him into new areas of discovery.  The Montessori School's is devoted to helping each child grow toward independence by building confidence, competence, self-esteem.  Thomas was so excited on his first day (which was Tuesday).  Tomorrow is his second day, and since it's still summer mode, it's "water day" where they play with water.  Perfect for a day like tomorrow, since it's been in the low 100s here.  Jim is gone on a fire and will be home next week (after 18 days).  I'm bummed he missed the first day, but next week he can take Thomas to school.  I'm thinking he can pick him up and go get an ice cream or something special.  We sure do miss Daddy when he's gone, but we know that this is what he does to provide for our family. 

All ready for Preschool

If you can't tell by the smile on his face.....He was SO excited!!

Meeting his new friends on the playground

Adoption made our family complete....1 year ago today!!

 

A year ago today, a judge made our family complete by finalizing our adoption of Thomas.  As I look at this picture, I remember the way I felt that day.  I was so excited.  I was so relieved.  I was so ready to sign the papers.  As the judge pulled the papers out and handed us a pen to sign them, I couldn't stop crying.  It was such a surreal feeling.  To know that day, and that moment, God revealed to us the answer to our prayers of becoming parents.   I read this story to Thomas last night before he climbed into bed. I'm not sure he understands what it means now, but I hope that as he hears this story and his story that he'll know why this story is precious to us.         

(I'm gonna change the story a little)

The day God found Us You  (by Lisa Bergen)

 Little Fox cuddled up to Mama Fox one night

 and said sleepily, "Mama, tell me again about the day I came home."
"Oh, yes."  Mama said with a smile. "That is our favorite story of all. When God found us you, it made us the happiest mama and daddy in the whole world."

 

"Just by comin' home?" Little Fox asked with a yawn.  "Especially by coming home," Mama said. 

"For so long, we dreamed of you." she said snuggling closer. 

"Bout me?"

"About you. I dreamed of how you would look, smell, even what you would sound like. And every day I thought of how wonderful it would be to hold you in our arms."

"I started seeing you everywhere, in the leaves of the giant oak and in the bark of the pine.  Even in the stars!  Oh how I longed for the day that you would arrive, when God would find us you."

"And then I came?"

"Oh, no.  No matter how much I prayed it would happen.  We still had to wait."

"You waited and waited and waited?"

"And waited.  But I knew that someday you'd arrive, when God would find us you."

"It made it hard to see other mommy and daddy's with their children," she said, like she was telling a secret.  "You were lonely for me?"

"Very, I could not wait until the day you'd come, the day when God would find us you."

"I'd go up to the cliffs and watch for you.  I stood there day....after day.....after day."

"Did you ever want to give up?"  Little Fox asked.

"Sometimes,"  Mama said rubbing Little Fox's cheek with hers.  "But I trusted that God knew you, and knew us and knew when we'd fit perfectly together."

Little Fox paused.  "How come I couldn't stay with the mother who had me?"

"She must have had very big reasons to have to give you up."

"Did she have fur like mine?  Eyes like mine?"

"Most likely."  Mama smiled softly.

  

"She must have been as beautiful as you are handsome."

 

"I think she prayed like crazy that you would be safe, Little Fox.  I think she prayed for me as much as I prayed for her."  Mama's voice got all whispery.  "And God answered both our prayers."

"I came then?  To you?"

Mama nodded, happy tears in her eyes.  "You came then.  When God found us you, you made us the happiest Mama and Daddy in the whole world."

Mama Fox tucked Little Fox into bed and he giggled through her last kisses.  They said their prayers and whispered, "nighty night," just as they always did.

Little Fox was glad that he had a cozy home and good food and a Mama and Daddy who loved him very, very much.  And he went to sleep dreaming about the day he came to the big woods.....

  and first smelled his Mama and Daddy....

and knew he was loved....

and finally was home.

"When God found us you," Mama Fox whispered in his dreams, "you made us the happiest Mama and Daddy in the whole world."