Adoption

If you have ever thought about adoption or have a heart for China, here is David Platt's blog (my pastor and pastor of Brook Hills Church).  He and his wife Heather have been in China for the past 3 weeks so they can bring home their new daughter, Mara Ruth!  In this blog post, David has highlighted three boys who are on the special needs list and are awaiting adoption.  They need to be adopted within the next month or they will be put back on a long list of children waiting to be adopted.  Read this blog post and allow the Lord to move.

http://bhglobalblog.org/2011/11/28/the-privilege-of-being-a-part-of-his-plan/

I am thankful for pumpkins.

Adelai absolutely loves school.  This past week she came home with a picture that she painted and on this painting she had to say one thing she was thankful for.  Eric and I both laughed when we saw her answer...and by the title of this post, I'm sure you can figure out that her answer was pumpkins.  Not really sure why pumpkins, but this is too funny, nonetheless!!

This past Wednesday her class had a little performance in front of the whole school to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The whole fam went to watch.  She was dressed as an indian princess.  They recited a poem and they also recited Ecclesiastes 3:1, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  The poem they recited was called "Hiawatha's Childhood" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,

By the shining Big-Sea Water,

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,

Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.

Dark behind it rose the forest,

Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,

Rose the firs with cones upon them;

Bright before it beat the water,

Beat the clear and sunny water,

Beat the shining Big Sea-Water.

The 4k is absolutely precious.  Here are some pictures of their performance as well as afterwards, in their costumes.



Pseudo-Celebrity Sighting

The Swanky Stork did another segment on Talk of Alabama today! You can watch the link to see my fabulous (j/k) modeling job!!

http://www.abc3340.com/video?clipId=6468014&topVideoCatNo=192263&autoStart=true

While we were waiting to model for the cameras...in walks Tribble from Sweet Home Alabama...you know, the CMT Bachelor show!

It was pretty funny! He thought our fake bellies were fun to punch!

Got a pic with him...I guess for kicks and giggles because I have not ever watched this show!

Chick-Fil-A Cows

I have a special hatred for Chick-Fil-A cows.  The ones dressed up in costume.  The ones who hover around your children while you eat and cause them to panic because they are afraid of anything in costume!  Oh, wait, it's just my children who do that. 

It never fails.  Every single time I venture to Chick-Fil-A with the girls by myself, there is a stupid cow dressed up, walking around.  We went tonight while Eric was at Young Life and before I could even get the food passed out to the girls, they had gotten the attention of every person in the restaurant by crying and screaming and panicking!!  Even though they had begged me to eat AT Chick-Fil-A (and being the wonderful mom that I am, I said yes), they started saying "I want to go home.  I want to go home!" 

So before we even took a bite, I had to pack up our dinner, our drinks, the diaper bag, and Ellie Paige and get them back in the car to go home.  Luckily there was a sweet woman sitting behind us that offered to help me to the car.  She carried Cam for me.  Cam is not normally one to go to strangers but she basically jumped into this woman's arms and allowed her to carry her out of the restaurant!  Guess she would have done anything at that point, to get away from the cow!  And I would have to!

"Skin Cancer"

Ok, before you freak out from reading the title, I do NOT have skin cancer.  But I do have a crazy story about skin cancer.

Two Mondays ago I went to the dermatologist for my yearly checkup.  While there, I told them that I had some warts I needed frozen off...yes, warts...and oh, they were on my chest.  Gross.  I know.  So, they froze the 2 warts on my chest, told me the rest of me looks good, and told me to schedule my next appt for a year from now.  It was a quick trip...I was in and out in no time.

So this past Monday I get a phone call from the dermatologist's office.  Tammy, the nurse is on the other end and she says, "We have the results of your biopsy back."  I think for a second and then tell her, "I didn't have a biopsy done.  I only had warts frozen."  She tells me that that's weird and goes on about how it's in my chart that I had had a biopsy done.  And I continue to tell her that I did NOT have a biopsy done.  But she still doesn't believe me.  She even says to me, "Well maybe it was all happening so fast that you didn't notice."  I was like, listen lady, I think I would notice if they cut something off of my body!  But she still didn't believe me!  She kept saying, "well it says it here in your chart."  So even after I told her that I did NOT have a biopsy, she continues to tell me that the results from the biopsy came back saying that I had a form of skin cancer!!  I was so taken aback!  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  And I was so confused by all of this.  So she told me that I needed outpatient surgery so I went ahead and scheduled it because just hearing the word CANCER just freaked me out. 

So i get off the phone and am talking with my co-worker, telling her how I KNOW I didn't have a biopsy...and that none of this makes sense.  She encourages me to call back so I do but I ask for the office manager.  I speak with her and tell her what's going on.  She tells me that she will look into it.  She does and has Tammy, the first nurse, call me back again.  I tell her how this is all so confusing...that she needs to look further into this because I did NOT have a biopsy and it looks like my chart got switched with someone elses.  She tells me she will talk to the nurse practitioner that I saw that day and call me tomorrow.  So I get a phone call the next morning from good ole' Tammy and she says that the nurse practitioner remembers me and she remembers that one of my warts was not a wart, it was a growth.  That the growth was cancerous.  So I believe her and am just scared to death.  She tells me that the doctor wants me to come in, though, and clear everything up.  So Eric and I go to the Dr....wait 45mins to see the doctor and when the doctor and the nurse practitioner finally come in to the room, I show them my chest...they both examine it and seem puzzled.   I'm like, ok, here is one wart that you froze and here is another.They are just searching all over my chest and I keep saying, i did NOT have a biopsy!!!  They finally believe me but still have no clue why my chart would say I had this so called biopsy.  They apologize but don't seem too concerned that they have told me I have skin cancer, when I really don't.  They then tell me that they will go back through the patients from the day I was there and see who had a biopsy but didn't get a phone call.  They tell me it may take a few days!!  I told them to call me when they figured it out.  Two hours later Tammy calls and tells me that a "temp" was in the office that day and she switched my chart with someone elses!  I'm like, yea...no kidding!  Thanks for clearing that up!  Needless to say, i will not be going back to this doctor!!!

Sucker Fairy Update

So "the sucker fairy" idea has not been working lately.  Campbell has not been doing well at all when we put her to bed.  She cries a lot and is basically inconsolable.  We try to be consistent with disciplining her but nothing is working right now.  We need all the prayers we can get with her.  She is definitely our most difficult child and pushes both of us to our limit.  We want to learn how to love her well in the ways that she needs.  Needless to say, she hasn't gotten a sucker in a while.  :(

Halloween 2011

We don't necessarily "celebrate" halloween but we do love starting new traditions with our kids and allowing them to enjoy halloween in some ways.  So we decided that we would carve pumpkins this year.  It was supposed to be a fun family event, however the kids lost interest pretty quickly.  And of coarse Eric had to make the pumpkins unique and not just your every day pumpkin face.  So he FREE-HANDED a dora face as well as a Tigger face.  He then spent hours carving them out.  He even got out the electric drill to finish the job. We were pretty proud of our pumpkins and the girls loved them.  That's what we wanted the most; was for the girls to have fun and be happy.

Then we went trick or treating on Halloween.  The girls all dressed up like UT Cheerleaders. I tried to get Eric to dress up as a male UT cheerleader too so that we could all go as a squad, but he wouldn't do it.  Such a party pooper! :)  The girls had so much fun, though.  Plus they got a ton of candy that they aren't going to eat.  Guess I'll have to...

"Chickie Mischief"

This is what happens when Ellington is left to entertain herself.  She crawled in there all by herself. 

What can I say... she loves the bath tub!

(Look at that hair!)

"The Sucker Fairy"

Due to the fact that we have three kids in a span of 4 years, and a 3 bedroom house, two of our kids have to share a room.  Which I don't have a problem with, until it's bedtime.  Campbell and Adelai share a bedroom and every night it is a battle to get them to calm down and go to sleep. Campbell thinks it's playtime.  Eric and I can hear the squeaking of her bed as she jumps up and down in it.  Lovely.  And because Campbell is "so annoying" to Adelai, Adelai gets out of her bed and comes to tell us that Campbell is keeping her awake.  Now Eric and I are much smarter than she realizes because we know it isn't just Campbell making all the noise.  She is just as guilty!  Plus she is amazing at coming up with reasons for why she is up; "my toe hurts...I forgot to dry my hair...Campbell woke me up (note that it is only 2 minutes after we have put them down).  So in an effort to stop the madness, I called on some friends on facebook for some help.  My A-MA-ZING friend Brooke Tigtig said that it was time for a visit from "The Sucker Fairy."  She told me to tell the girls that if they were quiet and went to sleep without making noise and without getting out of bed, that the sucker fairy would come and put a sucker under their pillow while they were sleeping.  The joy and excitement in their eyes when I told them about the sucker fairy was beyond enough confirmation to know that this was a good idea.  So, after explaining the sucker fairy over and over (and over, again), we gave it a shot one night.  COMPLETE SILENCE.  It was like someone had come in and stolen my children out of their beds!  Victory! It feels good.  So the next night we went for round 2.  It was not at all what I call a victory.  So there was no sucker fairy.  Night three round 3....complete  silence.  We'll see if it takes and if it's something that will keep working for them.  Though I have to say I am concerned about their teeth in this whole process.  Best part of this experience is walking into their room in the morning at 7:30am to Campbell sitting up in her bed sucking on that sucker!  She was so happy.

"Bless you, Keep you."

Numbers 6:24-26

"The Lord Bless you and keep you.  The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.  The Lord turn his face towards you, and give you his peace."

We had the honor of spending 2 years in a small group of amazing people who will prayerfully be my friends for life.  And during this small group we studied the book called "The Family Blessing".  Basically it broke down the concept of blessing your children.  Eric and I had never heard of this but we were excited about a new way to incorporate scripture into our children.  What you do is, pick a verse that speaks one of God's blessings over his people, and at night while tucking your children in, place your hand on their chest and recite the verse while looking them in the eyes.  It doesn't sound like much, but first of all, speaking truth over your children is so essential.  And secondly, they need to hear you reciting scripture out loud.  It allows them to see your dependence and faith in God's word.  It also allows them to hear God's word.  AND it allows them to eventually memorize God's word.  Now at night as we are tucking our children in for bed, they ask for their blessing.  It has now gotten to the point where Campbell will say "Bless you, Keep you.  Bless you, Keep you." , in sort of a worried voice...like we're going to forget.  And if we don't place our hand on her chest, she pats her chest until you do.  Blessing our children has gone from this foreign idea that we read in a book to this amazing gift that the Lord has given us.  Adelai now recites it along with us.  So like I said, not only do they hear God's word, they now KNOW God's word.  And that's the best gift you could ever give your children, as far as I'm concerned.

My Beloved, Mine, I His

This morning I woke up to Adelai breathing in my face asking me for Cheerios.  It's a typical Sunday morning already.  This week has been fast paced with so many things going on, but I am looking forward to church so much.  I'm ready to worship the Lord in music and hear about his truth.  But the truth of our household hit when Ellington woke up with a fever, therefore putting an end to my church experience for the day.  The other two girls and Eric headed out the door and I have to say I was sad to see them go without me.  But then I found myself somewhat thankful for the time I would have to spend with my sweet Ellie Paige.  We played for a while but due to her fever, she was ready to go back to bed.  I put her down, started cleaning around the house, and then found myself stopped dead in my tracks as the words to the song "My Beloved Mine, I His", were playing in the background of my house.  The spirit called to my heart.  I was struck by the words..."Mighty God.  Faithful One.  My Beloved.  My Beloved.  You're the lamb of God.  You're the Holy One.  My Beloved.  My Beloved.  My Beloved."  Words that pierce my heart and rock the core of me.  The peace and comfort in these words has at the same time brought perspective of my sin of putting my selfish desires before Him and His will for my life and my family's life.  HE is the Mighty God.  HE is the Faithful One.  HE is the lamb of God.  HE is the Holy One.   NOT ME!  How wonderful is the Savior's love for me...I am HIS and HE IS MINE!

Jesus change my heart...
I long to live for you and you alone...

(Song:  My Beloved, by Chris Tomlin)

Look at you living the mini-van dream...

I'm sure all of you out there have just been dying for this moment, but the Hoskins family finally has a blog!!  Three kids later, and I think I have some things to blog about.  It's not going to be some awesome, super-mom blog where I look like I have everything together because then that would be a blog full of LIES!  So here you will get an honest look at life for us as a family of 5 with three small children, on Young Life staff.

Where to start..We are a Young Life family of five.  .Adelai is 4, Campbell is 2 1/2 and Ellington is 1 1/2.  My three sweet, precious girls keep Eric and I busy but we would have it no other way.  Eric and I have been married for 6 years now and it keeps getting better with age!  My 30th birthday is coming up and I feel like I should be turning 25.  So driving my minivvan still seems sureal.  But as the card my great friend Jenna sent me, says, "look at you living the mini-van dream", it just seems to fit me like a glove.

Adelai started preschool in August.  She is attending Webster Christian School in the 4k class.  We are so blessed to have been given a scholarship to this amazing Christian school.  We feel so blessed and I find myself thanking God daily for the gift of her school.  She is learning so much and absolutely LOVES school.  She is so smart.  One day she came home and asked me if I had ever heard of the Luve.  You can imagine my amazement since I'm pretty sure I didn't know what the Luve was until I saw The DaVinci Code a few years ago.

I am working at The Swanky Stork and love it.  It's a great way for me to work for friends who I adore and for me to be out of the house using the other side of my brain.  Thanks Bryson, MaryAnn and Beth!!  I also am helping out Torry Patton with some MasterMinds research.  Thanks Torry!! :)

We have been having lots of fun here at the Hoskins household.  We've been to the McWane science center, we've been watching some UT Football...Go Vols...seen our first movie in the theatres (well the first movie for Adelai and Campbell), had a daddy-daughter chick-fil-a date night, $1 haircuts, and just having silly time around the house.  Here are some pictures...

The Lord is faithful.  He is merciful and He is powerful. 

And we are so thankful for these truths in our lives.