Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Friday, December 20, 2013

unashamed...

Can I just say how proud I am of my little girl?


I know.   Every parent beams with pride as your kid takes the stage at their school Christmas performance.  I get that.

But I just look at my little girl,
as confident and talented as she can be,
standing up in front of hundreds of people,

UNASHAMED of her baldness.


She even sang a beautiful solo.  (Go, Caroline!!!!)


It's been such a loooong road coming to terms with alopecia,
and now that I've found acceptance with it,
it thankfully doesn't occupy my thoughts as often.
There is so much more to my Caroline than her bald head, afterall!

But you know, as I think about it, that bald head has helped form her into the beautiful girl she really is.
She will learn lessons of beauty and differences that other children will not understand in the same way.
I pray she will not see her baldness as a problem, but as an opportunity.

It is my hope she, like Jesus, will see the outcast, the poor, the different--
and run towards them, and not away.
That she will PURSUE, not shrink back.
That she will LOVE, not just tolerate.


I couldn't be more thankful for this school, where her classmates feel more like a supportive family.

Where one of her best friends feels the difference of only having one hand.

Where the school's art teacher is a bald woman with alopecia, too.
And wears no wig.
UNASHAMED.


As our world increasingly becomes more pressured towards a higher standard of visual beauty,
I pray that Caroline would stand as a remarkable testament
that beauty doesn't have to conform to that standard,
that He creates each of us uniquely,
and that we need not fear other's approval.


Christians, let us remember we already have all the approval we need in Christ.


Thank you, God, for both of my children.


And help us all to live in light of the Gospel--
UNASHAMED.
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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

pleas for sleep...

Oh Jameson,


It's a good thing you are sooooo cute.

Because this Mama is soooooo TIRED.  I can barely keep going.

For two nights straight you have screamed and cried at all hours of the night.

You're not hungry.
You're not happy.

You're not feeling well, but no amount of ibuprofin or rocking or snuggling or bringing you to bed with us will console you.

Are these finally the first teeth coming in??  I've given up on that hope.  (Though, if it is teething, you'd better be getting 8 in at a time if this is what it will be like...)

I know what I want for Christmas.... SLEEP!

(You know things are not well when you are literally shouting OUT LOUD at God from your bed half-insane in the wee hours in the night, "God, what am I supposed to DO!?!  I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!"

To top it off, today at lunch Marc told me he enjoyed hearing me pray out loud last night.

I about choked on my food.  "Pray?!?  Um, that was more like screaming at God," I said.

"Well, that counts, too.  Just look at the psalms."

Huh.  "Well, you wouldn't hear those kind of prayers at church," I snarked back.

To which he replied, "We need more prayers like that.")


So Jameson, I'm going to fill up this blog post with your cuteness.

I'm going to remember the good times while the times right now... ain't so good.

(at least at night...)


I mean, how can I be upset at a face like that?  


Maybe it's a good idea to think about how much your sister loves you,
even when you specialize in messing up her toys and activities, too.


Perhaps the most consoling thing might be to look at this very important paper that just came in the mail.

Your adoption finalization is complete in the courts!


You're legally and officially a Corbett now!  Yayyyy!

So it's high time you started sleeping like one...  ;)
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

what a year...

What a difference a year makes.

So much change.


Between last December.  (1 month)


And this December. (13 months)


One thing has stayed the same.  She was kissing him then.


And she's still cuddling with him now, though he's not quite as still for it.


Last year, it was easy to take a picture.


This year, one of my subjects runs away... ain't nobody got time for that, Mom.


Last year, Mommy held him near the tree full of breakable, glass ornaments.


This year, he can walk right up to a tree adorned with shatterproof decor.


This was about as much excitement as he got last year.


This year, we have no shortage of it.


What a year.


What a pair.
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Sunday, December 8, 2013

stradivarius...

Christmas came a little early around here the other day...

Before Jameson entered our family, Caroline and I had started piano lessons together.  (there's a GREAT music series for  teaching piano to preschoolers that my mom found and sent us!)  We had made it into book 3 when we got "the call" and our lives turned upside down with a new baby!  It probably goes without saying that, at that point, we dropped our daily piano time together as Mommy now had her hands plenty full.

Six months ago, though, Caroline began asking for violin lessons.  "I want to play up on stage at church with you, Mom," she'd tell me.

I told her she needed to finish Book 4 of our piano lessons before I'd let her switch to violin.  (Just a little two cents from a music teacher here-- piano is by far the BEST foundational instrument to start your child on musically.  All the concepts learned on piano will then transfer to any instrument of your choosing after that.)

That was all the motivation she needed.

Around the time school began this Fall, we began "lessons" again.

Now, that may sound all glorious and heart-warming, but reality was often much, much different... many lessons ended in drama and screaming, especially if there was something challenging that she couldn't master on the first attempt.  (umm, hello?  Welcome to life, baby.)

But we persevered.  And last week, she was thrilled to reach the end of her Book 4.

"Mom, can I get a violin today?"
"Mom, when can I get my violin?"
"Mom, I want to learn violin SO bad."
"Mom, can we get the violin right now?"

Relentless.  She was filled with SO much anticipation.

Initially, I was thinking the big reveal would be Christmas morning.


But she wasn't the only one who couldn't wait any longer!  I was giddy signing up to rent a violin.  She's going to LOVE it!


And this was the moment she realized what was under the tree.  :)


Open up the case and try it OUT!  (she's not been allowed to touch mine at all.  I know, I'm mean.)


Like mommy, like daughter!  Now there's two violin gals in the family.

I don't know which one of us were happier.


It was time to start teaching my eager learner...






We spent hours together that day.  It was truly a BLAST.

"Mommy, I'm going to listen to everything you tell me to do."

Yeah.  We'll see about that.  :)


But for a day, at least, she did.


And since then, it's been get-it-out, put-it-away, get-it-out, put-it-away.

Over and over again.

Who knows what this will be the start to.

But I'm beaming with pride.


What a joy, my sweet Caroline.  What a joy.
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