Summer fun

It has been while since I have posted but hey, better late than never right? We have an ongoing joke that we are the family that helps others feel like they really have their stuff together:) While things are crazy that does not seem stop us from doing many wonderful things and creating life long memories for our boys.

The big news in our world is that I am officially on summer break. While I love teaching with all of my heart, and I know without a doubt that being an educator is my true calling in life, I am also a mom, a mom who worked very hard to get my two boys home. This summer to me is very special because this last year I have known with every fiber of my being that Isaac needed me, and not the me one gets after a long day of work. Knowing this, and then turning it around to quality family time is a bit different. I have to admit that when I went back to school after being home with him for 6 weeks, I would say with all honesty that I was going back to work to relax before my evening shift.

This go around though has been wonderful. First off I am getting to garden again, and I love it. I feel this immense sense of purpose as I grow food for my garden. I am also able to free up John's schedule because I am home so that he can accomplish a lot more with our business, The Backyard Pantry. As far as the boys we have decided to switch our schedule to a siesta schedule and it seems to give us all some much needed time together and apart:
6:00am Karon and John are up and working in the garden while it is cool.
7:00am the boys get up and play outside while it is cool.
7:30am breakfast on the porch
8:00-9:30 the boys play around the property while John and I do outside chores or building raised beds for our clients. This usually involves the boys running around in the sprinklers as I do my morning watering.
9:30 get ready to go to the pool
10:00-12:00 Karon and the boys swim while it is in the 90's
12:30-1:30 Lunch
1:30-3:30 naps for all
3:30-4:30 Movie time if behavior has been good (mind you it is still in the high 90's so moving fast is pretty hard:)
They boys then play until we have a dusk dinner
more outside play as a family while it is cool then stories and bed time.

Both boys are loving so much time at the pool and Isaac is a great little helper in the garden. Emerson tells me almost daily how happy he is to have his new brother Isaac. Isaac is learning how to play with Emerson and becomes more sociable every day. Tomorrow I am taking them to the library program and we are going to go as a family to the water park on Thursday.

What I love right now are the litte moments that I hope will be strong memories for the boys. I love that they help me pick the vegetables we eat for dinner or that if a song we like starts playing during dinner we all get up and dance. I think it is hilarious (and slightly disturbing) that when we work the farmers market selling our raised garden beds, that Emerson will tell people: "My dad builds the best raised garden beds ever! You should get one and then I can come to your house and watch movies while he puts it in. OK"

There are other times when I look at the boys and I am so thankful that we all found each other. I don't think of us as their saviors, yet I do find myself so thankful that they escaped the system. Kazakhstan is closed now and that means that there are many kids piling up in the orphanages. When or if it reopens, I worry that families will only want the little girls and the toddler and preschool boys will be left behind. I think of Isaac, a little boy trying to get adopted from China where most people expect to adopt a girl. At Kazapalooza I found myself so thankful for each and every child I saw with each family that opened their hearts, minds and homes to a different way of making a family.