A very special date.

I spent the day with two pretty cool kids. These guys made my day as we went Christmas shopping and out to a restaurant. We had a booth at Red Robin but both boys wanted to sit with me on my side and we all crammed in. I thought maybe they would want to get back on the other side when their food got there but nope the waitress had to put all the food on one side. We were alittle crowded, but you know me, I was loving all the attention these future little men poured on me. These two are so loving and affectionate.

My mind kept drifting to Jo's African family and how proud they would be of him. He was so very sick for the first 18 months of his life. He was in the hospital almost every week of his life fighting to survive. Then he moved across the ocean where he would have open heart surgery. He was 19months olds. It took him two months to recover. So at around 2years old he had to learn to crawl, walk, eat...feed himself he's still working on talking. The words are slow in coming but if you calculate everything he's been through I'd say he's alittle ahead.

People look at him and see how big he is (he's 3) and ask "why isn't he talking." I have to admit I've prayed myself for his words to come but for whatever reason the Lord is more glorified by Jo just the way he is right now. Can I live with that? Can I take Jo and love him just the way God made him. Do I have to have perfection before I consider him a miracle?

Not at all.

Jo is a miracle and he is teaching our family so many things. Life is not always about everything lining up perfectly it's about how you respond to life not lining up.

Cooper is just so helpful. He has an old soul about him that keeps you guessing what he'll do next.

He rushed to open doors for me and every other woman he saw.

At Sam's he wouldn't let me lift anything heavy and he packed my cart and gave the lady

our card and insisted on unloading our groceries so I could get in the car and "keep warm."

I miss some of his gentleness when I have everyone with me. It can get crazy so it was nice to sit back and be taken care of by my 7 year old.

This is one of three dates that I will have over the next few days. My plan (Lord Willing) is to make sure I spend one on one time with my kids. I want to look into their eyes and tell them over and over how proud I am of them and to make sure they know how much

I love them!