Happy Birthday!

Where has the time gone?  That is what I keep thinking when I look at Micah; I can hardly believe that he is already 5 years old!  He will be starting Kindergarten this fall.

Micah’s journey has been an adventure that is for sure!  He is a miracle baby and one that I had started to think would not happen the traditional way.  Oh, I knew there would be a Micah John one day but I had started to think that instead of growing him and birthing him, he would come to us through adoption.  As a matter of fact we had started down the very early road of that process not too many months before finding out we were going to be welcoming a new baby into our lives the old fashioned way! ha!

And now it has been five years; five years of joy, happiness, struggles, heartache and tears! But all so worth the smiles, giggles, wonder and growing Micah has brought to our family.  He is so is own person and has the personality to match!  Although it is a struggle some days, I know that that same personality and determination will serve him well as an adult!

Here are some pictures of my little man!

 

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

 (This is a republished post. That being said, the thoughts and feelings in the post are still applicable today.)

Do you remember where you were September 11, 2001?  I do.

I was sitting in my living room in Pennsylvania in the house that we has just bought 4 months earlier. Josh has left for work earlier, around 8 am and some friends that had been invited over for a playdate/see the new house time had arrived. We sat around talking as we waited for a couple more moms and little ones to arrive.  I remember that the t.v. was on, but we really weren’t paying all that much attention to it.  Instead, we were more focused on the latest accomplishments of our children, things that our husbands had done, what our upcoming plans were.  We talked about how later I had to bake and frost a cake and decided if we were going out to eat or if I was cooking a special dinner at home.  All for my husbands birthday.

I remember the phone call that changed the light heartedness of the atmosphere in the house.  Josh called to ask if I was watching the news. I said not really and he said turn it on.  So I did.  I remember us moms sitting there in shocked silence as we watched and listened to the news accounts of plane #1 flying into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.  We then watched in disbelief and horror as plane #2 deliberately flew in to the South Tower of the World Trade Center.  It was unreal and felt like we were in a nightmare that we hoped that we would soon wake up from.  I vaguely remember the moms packing up their kids, opening their cell phones, making phone calls and leaving.  But I strongly remember sitting on that couch with my baby girl on my lap and tears streaming down my face as the stunning reports of what just happened played over and over, on and on.

It was horrific to watch and numbing to think about what had to be going through a persons mind to be able to carry out acts such as these.  I can not even imagine, even to this day, what the families of the victims, survivors and rescue crews went through.  I can imagine that their pain and suffering, their thankfulness and their sacrifice goes on; it is something that will stay with them for the remainder of their lives, never letting them forget that day.

And although we try to move on as a country, as we limit the mentioning of those horrific acts or the showing of the images (except on the anniversary), as we are told that terrorism is really not that big of a threat any longer, we can not forget what happened on that day. Nor should we!  People gave up their lives that day, knowingly or unknowingly; willingly and unwillingly.  We should not take for granted those that were lost and why they died.

The following pictures were saved to my computer in the weeks and months that followed that memorable day.  However, I no longer have the documentation of where they came from or who to give credit too as I lost my PC hard drive.  Thank you to the many, many people that shared these photos with the world.  They are in no particular order.

American Idol Top 12

So we are watching the results show and I am not really expecting any major surprises tonight. 

Bottom Girls
1. Erika **
2. Elise
3. Shannon

I figured it would be Elise and Shannon as the bottom to girls since neither of them preformed to their best abilities.

Bottom Boys
1. Jermaine
2. Jeremy
3. Joshua**

I can’t believe that Joshua was in the bottom 3.  Come on America, he is a much better singer than Deandre for sure!  I am glad that he was voted safe and not in the bottom 2. 

I am sad that it was between Jeremy and Elise.  I like both of them.  I am sure it was hard for the judges to chose which to send home but when it came down to it I thought it would be Jeremy.  I sure hope that Elise does better next week.

Let the fun begin!

American Idol- Finalists

So I actually got to watch the show on the night it aired! Tonight was an easy night, got home from church at a decent hour, not arguing with the kids and both went to bed with pretty much no problems.  So I just had to wait for josh to get home and then we got the party started! lol!  So here are my thoughts, take them for what there worth.

Colton- great job

Erika- she did good. better than i was expecting

Elise- i think changing her song was not a good choice.  sad that she didn’t do well because i really like her voice

Joshua- one of my faves tonight! (one of my picks for finalists)

Deandre- one of the best performances of his, however I couldn’t really understand several of the phrases of the song.  i like his voice when he doesn’t sing in his high-pitched voice.

Shannon- Josh said it was a train wreck, I don’t think it was that bad but it wasn’t good! Which is disappointing because we know she can sing! and i think Whitney would really fit with her voice

Jermaine-  good performance.

Skylar- i thought she did a great job, i think the advice that Mary J gave her was spot on! i was worried about her singing Whitney but she brought it! (one of my finalist picks)

Heejun- i think he always surprises me when he sings, you just don’t expect him to sound like he does.  his voice is so smooth.  and he’s so funny!

Hollie- agree with Randy “you nailed it”  way to go!

Jeremy- i really like his voice. not sure if it was his best but ok

Jessica- brave little thing! but if any of them could sing it, it was her for sure!! she did it!!!  big voice in a little body (one of my finalists picks)

Phillip- love his voice, love him! my favorite of the night.  and he was probably the only one who could follow Jessica’s great performance! (one of my finalist picks)

My favorites of the night were Phillip, Jessica, Skylar, Joshua and Colton.

I think the bottom two girls are Elise and Shannon and the bottom two guys are Jermaine and Jeremy.

But as we all know, the bottom performers are not necessarily based on how they actually sang.  It is really up to those voting.

American Idol- Top 13

So I finally got to watch the elimination episode. I think for me this was a tough one because there were so many that I really liked and wanted to go through that couldn’t. But I honestly have to say that there was only two people that went through that I didn’t think would! So I think I did pretty good in my picks.

Here are my favorites.
1. Skylar Laine- love her, she is my fave girl
2. Phillip Phillips- my favorite guy! love his voice
3. Shannon McGrane
4. Elise Testone- her voice is so unique
5. Joshua Ledet- great voice
6. Holly-
7. Colton-
8. Erika Van Pelt- so glad she made it through.
9. Jeremy Rosado- he has a great voice, he is so lovable, so nice
10. Jessica Sanchez- has a great voice, i just haven’t been into her performances
11. Heejun- i really like Heejun but I just don’t think he has what it takes. I was really surprised that he made it through. But he is funny!
12. Jermaine- very surprised! I love his voice and think it is so nice but I just don’t know if he has the versatility to make it.
13. Deandre- so disagree with this choice! I really think that Reed or Jen Hirsch should have been in this spot! Josh’s prediction is that Deandre is going to be the first to go home! Do I agree, I think he should but who knows whats going to happen

Out of all the ones that they gave a second chance to sing, I really don’t think that I would have had Deandre or Brielle sing. Instead of them I would have chosen Aaron and Creighton.

So there you have it! Can’t wait for next week