Random thoughts about middle school

It's been way too long since I've written here in this space. And--as I started to share yet another social media post--it occurred to me that I want to preserve these random thoughts about middle school in more than a fleeting way--I want to save them for our eldest to reflect on someday. I want Madi to always know just how amazing she is to me.
 
The highlight of her classes, from my view, is that she's taking band for the first time. I think this is an unexpected highlight for her, too. The testing and instrument fitting process took place last week and Madi was granted her first choice--the oboe. She was the only one chosen for this instrument in her class of twenty-some kids, and the teacher made it clear that it's a bit more complex than some of the other instrument choices. That didn't scare Madi, naturally, and she likes the fact that much of her practice will be solo. Thank goodness the Lord shielded Jimmy and me from the rental costs before the interview process, just saying, but I can hardly wait to hear the first sounds from her lips through that instrument. I know it will be one of the sweetest tunes I've ever heard.
 
I'm so proud of all the new "firsts" for our first born--she's riding the school bus home most days because the afternoon pick up is far too chaotic and boring for three over-tired little ones. She's already taken four tests in one day (makes me queasy thinking about it, yet she takes it all in stride). Heck, last night she was showing my mother a Powerpoint presentation she'd made in school, and I completely disregarded it thinking she'd pulled up the Apple website!

My favorite favorite thing about this year, by far, has turned out to be our morning drive. I thought it would be. I know many opt (many out of necessity) to utilize transportation services (bus), but honestly? I cannot say enough about how special that much-needed quality time is for the two of us each morning. We're fresh and unscattered, and we're ALONE. It's a recipe for the best of conversation, without interruption or distraction since I drop the little ones at school an hour earlier. It's kind of a holy mother-daughter space--in the form of a morning commute, and I'll take it. If there's one thing I'm acutely aware of (and have been warned of), it's that middle school has a way of churning up all kinds of hard times. And I love, love, love that we'll have our own personal block of time carved out to chit chat about anything that comes our {her} way.

Yesterday morning we talked about the fact that our little dragon is not actually "shy" but "reserved" rather, and we laughed about how far that apple fell from the tree. I learned about a few of Madi's new friends, and it went something like this: "In this class, I helped my friend (insert name), and in this class, I helped my friend (insert name) with this assignment. And, in band, I helped (insert name) with her homework. Lord, I love that Madi feels such value in serving and feels friendship with her peers through sharing her gifts and talents. That just warms my heart completely.

Actually, most things she does warm my heart completely. I am in awe of this girl...

SVF Bible Camp 2017

Bible camp always proves to be one of my favorite weeks, and this year, I went back to leading the snack station. I had done this for a few years in the past, but when Joey and Lulu came home, I switched roles to be their group leader in the camp, because I didn't want to miss a thing about the experience for our little people.

But this year, I was needed back in snack, and I knew that there would be one huge bonus managing this post again...Madi! Since she'd aged out as a camper, I had the opportunity to have her on my team. And WOW, was our team AMAZING!!! Madi and Ana seriously could have run the ship on their own. They made solid decisions, and their work ethic was second to none. These girls were exhausted by noon, and it was crystal clear why!

The down side, of course, was missing everything that the littles were up to. I must admit that I took a few extra trips to the bathroom so I could sneak a peek at them in action. Thankfully, the group leaders and other station leaders were so kind to inform me of their special attributes and happenings each day. And I know that sometimes our kids do shine a little brighter when Mommy's not around to coddle them. This is what I learned through the wonderful people who chose to share with me...

I heard that Joey has a beautiful artistic eye and that he catches on to projects at lightning speed. He needs minimal direction and supervision.

I heard that Charlie, our sweet little dreamer, asks the most deep and intense questions...ones that left even the religion teacher wondering. This year's camp was dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, and through the week, Charlie talked (at home) about numerous visions of Mary. I love that his head was filled with such beautiful thoughts and dreams of her.

 

 

 

I heard that Lulu, our determined little spitfire Lulu, is a wonderful sport who loves playing games, and even wins them sometimes. She was assigned a wonderful pal named Brooke who made her week extra-special. Lulu makes those around her become better people, because she lives out loud, makes people laugh, and doesn't see any limitations within herself.  If you don't see the miracle within her?  Search your own soul.

 

I am truly blessed each year to be involved with such a loving community of faithful and giving mothers! Yep...still one of the BEST weeks of the year.

A field of Glory

How do I explain the swelling in my heart--the utter gratitude I have to our Lord for these precious gifts?

This child, a mere ten months ago, was restricted to the confines of a building. And last night, she ran free on a soccer field--no boundaries; no limitations. It's almost too much to digest sometimes...

At the end of her first official soccer practice, the coach asked the kids to get down on one knee. Lulu lost her balance and toppled over every few seconds, but she wouldn't surrender and maneuvered back into the formation that had been asked of her. Our daughter remained on one knee until every other child--and coach--was back up on two feet. 

 

Before we left, the coach handed out the jerseys for the "Pink Flamingos" team. My heart started to race as I hoped it would all go down in a good way. And then he pulls out jersey number one. If he only knew how this Mama's heart begged for my daughter to have that number. It means the world to her. You see, for five-and-a-half years, she never knew what it was like to be number one. All kids are treated equally in orphanages (for the most part), and it's only now that she's learned what it feels like to receive the honor of being first sometimes. It doesn't always end up "good times" in our home because of this, but on this occasion--on that soccer field--it did. 

"Who wants to be number one?" the coach shouted out. In a split nanosecond, Lulu's hand nearly touched the night's sky as she screamed out, "Me! Me!" I nearly melted. There wasn't an ounce of competition, praise the Lord. The other kids, and the coach, chuckled as they handed Lulu the jersey and bestowed upon her the honor of donning number one. It was so much deeper than they even realized.

Parenting Lulu isn't the easiest job we've ever had. But, Lord knows (and our mothers, too) that parenting us wasn't easy either. It's a privilege, and that's not lost on us. Sometimes in these moments, I feel so small and humbled when I sit back and reflect on all she's been through, yet she possesses such determination and might in spite of it. We learn many lessons through these children, and we thank you, Heavenly Father, for calling us to your field of Glory.

Eight

Our Joey turned eight last Saturday. We had a quiet celebration over at Bubba and Grandpa's house where she made his favorite dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Grandpa Murphy and Miss Suzanne joined us, too. I made an attempt at a Pokeball cake, which he loved.

 

Our son, our treasured son, is such a homebody that he opted not for big festivities this year. I ran twenty different scenarios by him of fun things we could do, but when it came down to it, he just wanted to be home and asked for his best friend Mason to sleep over on Sunday. I love that about him--he's so easy to please with the simple things. We ordered Chinese food and the boys played Xbox and enjoyed their time together.

I have a hunch this is going to be a good year for Joseph. He's working on overcoming some big hurdles still, but I feel some major breakthroughs coming his way. He's grown so much and continues to amaze us. He's such a good boy. And eight looks great on him.

Survivor

After Lulu's MRI in the fall, we received a follow up call that pretty much indicated "nothing really new" was learned from the images, so when I made Lulu's follow up appointment that required us to wait a couple of months, I hadn't expected to learn what we did today. And, honestly, I wasn't prepared to see the images that I saw. I won't be posting them publicly because they belong to her, but I wasn't prepared--at all--to see such a sizeable gray space on our daughter's brain images that it forced me to gasp for air. She is a walking miracle. And, honestly, Lulu amazes me even more now knowing what a fighter our girl is.

The images gave evidence of a significant bleed, and based on the nature of the damage, the neurologist believes that Lulu's brain injury occurred before 28 or 29 weeks of gestation. And based on the placement of Lulu's not one--but two--injuries on opposite sides of her brain, she also surmised that Lulu may have been injured intentionally--that she may have survived an abortion attempt. Yes, you read that right. I can't even type it without tears flooding in. I don't want to engage in a pro-life debate here, but to think that this beautiful child may have survived an act that would've erased her presence from this very world? How do we even digest that? How do I ever thank God enough for this precious gift? We'll obviously never know the whole story of Lulu's rough beginnings and whether this is truly what happened to her in utero or not, but we can surely praise our ever-loving Father for breathing life into Lulu, for protecting her against all odds, and for giving her to us.

As far as the damage, we can also thank God for making babies brains with such incredible plasticity. Had Lulu suffered this type of injury later in life, it may have taken so much more of her movement and function away. I asked how all of this will affect her. The neurologist said she's not one to predict the future. Lulu is dealing with a compound effect given her institutional delays, but she is doing so incredibly well, and God made her with one heck of a determination. She is crazy bright and so full of personality. The doctor explained the damage in this way: Imagine a small office of ten people who are maxed out in their workload, and then three of them are let go. Now you have less people with an overcrowded workload and that results in some issues...some things fall through the cracks, some things are forgotten, some mistakes are made, and they get angry and handle things the wrong way. You get the picture...that's what's happening in Lulu's pretty little head.

When Lulu was recently baptized on the fourth Sunday of Advent, as we waited to celebrate the birth of Jesus with expectant hope, my mom and dad gave her a beautiful "Simple Blessings" cross and wrote this, "The small simple cross is a symbol of the power of simple blessings. Lulu is twice blessed; first by surviving a difficult birth, and secondly by catching the eyes of Lisa and Jimmy Murphy.  That is “Spiritual" fate." When my mom wrote that, she had no idea how much of a survivor her granddaughter truly is. I pray those waters of baptism will continue to heal her and protect this precious child even more...I pray that her life will glorify God in the same miraculous ways in which she was born to live on this green earth. We baptized her with the name Jane (her middle name) meaning "Gift from God." And that she surely is. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of Endless Glory.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."