Thanksgiving

Sorry for the lag between posts. It seems like ever since we returned from our Thanksgiving trip, every day has been busy and there's been little time to blog.

We had a really good time at Thanksgiving with Jon's family. There were 13 of us total plus two dogs. It was fun to chat with everyone and get caught up, plus we had all kinds of food. The guys went trap shooting and most of the women went to see the movie Enchanted, which I liked but Jon would have hated.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, both of Jon's parents got the flu, and Jeremiah wasn't too far behind. Since it was the weekend and no clinic was open, we decided to go to the Orange City emergency room to have Jeremiah checked out before we started the drive home. It wasn't anything serious, and he's feeling a lot better now. But we felt better having seen a doctor.

I don't know what it is with us and holidays in Orange City. This is the third year in a row one of us had to go to the ER or the clinic. Last Christmas it was Jon getting bit by the cat. The year before, I had severe muscle spasms and passed out. This year, I made the mistake of saying to my in-laws, "Well, there won't be any trips to the ER this Thanksgiving!" Guess I should have kept my mouth shut.

Random Photos

Before we head out of town for Thanksgiving, I thought I'd post some photos from the last couple of weeks. The group one is from a shower tea some friends of mine had for us this last weekend. And the three babies are all sons of Duncan Flight Department members.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Adoption

Adoption. It’s a beautiful word of how families are knitted together out of difficult situations. Yes, it’s something that is comprised of things both beautiful and wonderful and things difficult and hard.

Today is National Adoption Awareness Day, so rather than writing about what Jeremiah is doing, I wanted to take some time to think about adoption.

Of course we think Jeremiah and his adoption is something wondrous and beautiful. But we also don’t want to forget that the journey to this point has also had its share of difficulties. Jon and I had our hard times as we’ve waited to see how God might answer our prayers for a family. But we also know that Jeremiah’s birthmom had hard times too. We’re very thankful that she chose to give Jeremiah life and that she chose us to be his parents. However, we understand this was not an easy decision for her, though it was born out of a deep, deep love for this little boy and her desire that he have the best life he could possibly have.

I heard a speaker on Family Life Today talk about adoption this week in terms of “grafted into our family.” Jon and I were discussing this last night, and we both really like that image. When a branch of one tree is grafted onto another, it becomes part of that tree. Even though the branch and tree were originally from two different sources, they very quickly become united.

We’re very thankful that Jeremiah has been grafted into our family. And we’re also very thankful that God has chosen to graft us into His family. As Christians, we’re adopted too, in a spiritual sense, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Eph. 1:4–6, NIV). I also really like how J.B. Phillips puts it in his translation of the New Testament: “For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ—that we might learn to praise that glorious generosity of his which has made us welcome in the everlasting love he bears towards the Son.”

We’ll be celebrating adoption today as we spend time with Jeremiah and as we thank our Heavenly Father for making us His children.

More pictures

Some of you who read this blog have been clamoring for more pictures of Jeremiah. So, here are just a few that I snapped of him yesterday.

Kids' Clothes

Jeremiah and I went shopping today. We're attending a baby shower later this week--a combined one for Jeremiah and another pilot's little boy who was born the day after Jeremiah--and we needed a gift. There are so many cute kids' clothes out there. Of course, some of the cutest had hefty price tags attached. (Why pay $30 for a 0-3 month sweater when the child will barely wear it?) Jeremiah is just starting to wear some of the 3-6 month clothes that people have given him, like the outfit in this picture that came from his great aunt and uncle and cousins in Chicago.

They definitely have cuter clothes for kids than when I was little. When I look back at some of my childhood photos, I often wonder, "Mom, what were you thinking?" The below photo of me in the green and orange polyester pantsuit is a prime example.

When I've expressed my thoughts to my mother, she always responds with, "But that's what was in style back then." I guess that's what I get for growing up in the '70s.

And now I wonder if what I consider to be cute today will be the cause of Jeremiah saying down the road, "Mom, what were you thinking putting me in that outfit?" And I'll respond, "But that's what was in style back then."

Hot Stuff

No, we didn't take Jeremiah trick or treating for Halloween. That would have been a little obvious who the candy was for. But we did borrow a cute costume from a friend. I had hoped to have all kinds of smiley baby chili pepper photos to post, but it wasn't to be. Jeremiah did not like that Mommy stuffed him into this hot outfit with floppy things around the neck that kept getting in his face. Plus, she put this weird hat on him, and he does not like hats! So, I was able to snap a few pictures between the crying and before the spit up.

In other news, we had Jeremiah's two-month check-up on Monday. He's really grown! He now weighs 11 lbs. 11 oz. and is 23 1/2 inches long. He had to get his first shots that day too. I don't know who it was harder on--the happy boy who suddenly had this lady sticking four big needles into his legs, or his parents watching him cry.