Difficult, Strong and Powerful

Difficult, Strong and Powerful from Gina Shiflet on Vimeo.

An Introspection 3

It has become a tradition in our family to produce a mini-documentary every adoption anniversary (May 20th). It's amazing to see how much Andrew and Kathlena change from year to year and to see the interviews go from "alright sweetie, answer the question please" to "alright, I think that's enough (HINT HINT)" in just three years time.

This year J.Michael helped me with the filming and interviews which was interesting, to say the least. We attempted to use two cameras to capture two different angles but I think we ended up with more outtakes than actual footage. We couldn't turn both cameras on at once so there was always a delay between the turning on of camera 1 to the turning on of camera 2. Then of course, there were the times when we'd forget that one of the cameras was still recording...oops. It was also a typical hot, sultry Houston afternoon and after a while the cast and filming crew got restless as you will see but I won't spoil it. We had a good time making it and I hope you'll enjoy watching it.


So please be sure to visit our adoption blog and see AN INTROSPECTION 3

Videos April-May 2011

My boys love playing with trains.  J.Michael inherited part of this set that was David's when he was a boy and we added to it when he was little.  Then it went to Andrew and we added more to the set through garage sale finds.  Now Calvin is enjoying this set with his older brothers and Daddy who still love to put together elaborate tracks. 

Big Brother and Sister helping Calvin.

 

Our new maintenance man.

I am still working on the April-May slide show. I have had a few technical difficulties, but hope to post it soon.

Slide Show January-March

Calvin reading to himself February 9, 2011

Mommie's helpers everyone has a job to do.  Housework is so much fun for everyone.

Andrew's tree climbing adventures.

A little bit of Texas snow.  January 14th 2011 at the Ranch in Hillsboro.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Christmas 2010

I first must apologize for the long pause on updates and posting.  I have actually tinkered with the idea of giving this blog up altogether, but I do so love to share some of the wonderful moments the Lord gives our family and to be reminded myself as I look back over the year of God's faithfulness to us.  So, with this year coming to a close I have thought more about how this blog helps me preserve our memories and even though there may be long pauses and I don't get to post all the posts I would like to share that it is worth keeping.

So, here is the drive-by version of the last three months.  Calvin has grown so much especially, since his first birthday-Oct 18th.  He is walking, climbing, chattering, giggling, high five-ing, piano playing, huggy, smoochy, and just plain adorable.  Much training and learning during this sweet season.  We all are learning more about our home from a 2ft perspective!

Camping Meridian State Park November 2010

First Camp out...brrr it was cold.  November 2010 Meridian State Park

Walking

High Fives

Playing Piano

Kathlena's vision has continued to improve since her surgery.  She still needs to wear her glasses for now and we are patching 4hrs daily to continue to strengthen her left eye.  She is doing very well with the patching.  Of course having an older brother who also is patching is a great encouragement to her.
Since glasses and surgery Kathlena has made great strides in her writing and letter recognition.  We are so excited for her as this whole new world of pre-reading is emerging for her.  She continues to be my great helper.  She loves to be in the kitchen with me and run errands...especially to Jubilee.  She loves to help me with the produce.  I am so thankful to the Lord for His grace in Kathlena's life as she continues learn about putting her trust in the Lord and not allowing fear to rule her spirit, but leaning on Christ and His Word for courage.  "We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus" -Romans 8:37

Go-Cart riding/checking on the cows at Nana's-September 2010

 Sisters September-2010

Kathlena and her morning cup of camp out hot chocolate at Meridian State Park. November 2010

"Just hanging around" at Meridian State Park November 2010

Andrew has been growing in so many ways.  Growing vertically as his pants testify!  It seemed all of the sudden, but really I should know by now as it seems to happen with all of my children around their birthdays.  Andrew celebrated his 8th birthday with a little chilly swim party, but Andrew was thrilled to get to celebrate with friends so the cooler weather he didn't mind.  He is becoming quite the young gentleman.  He is a great help with his younger brother and Calvin just adores Andrew.  It is such a sweet sight.  The Lord has given Andrew such a sensitive spirit and he is drawn to babies and the elderly.   Such a delight as a parent to see their child's God given talents and personalities grow and be used for His glory.  Andrew's vision continues to improve by God's mercy and diligent work to continue to patch.  We are now only patching 2hrs a day which is a cake walk compared to the days of all waking hours, but it has paid off.  Andrew is regaining his binocular vision and can even see a couple of letters on the 20/25 line which is nothing short of a miracle considering where we started.  What an amazing God we serve!  We would be praising Him for any vision restored or maintained, but that He has given Andrew back so much of what he had lost--what mercy we cannot fully comprehend. May Andrew always know, hope and trust in the great mercies of God all the days of his life. 

Shared birthday dinner with PawPaw at The Goose's Acre in the Woodlands. September 2010

A quick pic with his sister Emily while we were shopping at Hubble and Hudson after dinner. September 2010

Andrew is so sweet on his sisters.  Here is another snapshot with Kathlena in the produce. September 2010

Birthday boys-Andrew and PawPaw Shiflet September 20th

Andrew's first kid birthday party.  Water balloon fights were so fun.  Thanks DoDad for helping!

Andrew is an influential big brother who takes seriously his role.

My always inquisitive, thinking little boy.

A new bike for his birthday.  He has worked diligently even through patch therapy to learn how to be a responsible bike rider. 

J.Michael definitely has to be given notice to his phenomenal growth as he now stands just taller than eye level with me.  Literally, he grew inches over night and his clothes look like he was wearing Andrew's! What a young man he is becoming.  Working with his father and our Mr. Fix it man around the house.  He can assemble just about anything.  He is now working with his father and learning new carpentry skills. A great opportunity for him to learn from his father both skills and application of  biblical truths as he "walks along the way" with his Dad.

Kayaking with Andrew at Meridian State Park

Emily and J.Michael bike riding at Meridian State Park during our family camp out in November

Christmas 2010

Emily celebrated her 16th birthday in October.  She is such the young lady.  She contributes greatly to her father's house both in deed and in spirit.  She is still our song bird who teaches/practices with her siblings hymns of the faith.  Her beauty radiates from within.  Her love for the Lord manifests in her love and service to her family and those she comes in contact with through church and community.  Most of the pictures and videos in this post have been taken by Emily.  We appreciate that she has taken on the role of historian in our family as our family has grown.  

At church in October 2010

Emily and Calvin at Meridian State Park November 2010

 Merry Christmas 2010

As for David and I we are beginning a new chapter in our lives.  Earlier this year David surrendered to a call to the ministry as one of the pastors of a new church plant from GFBC Spring called GFBC Conroe.  A call to ministry that he has wrestled with for some time, but the how and when was confirmed through the GFBC leadership training class and the Elders of GFBC.  Through the planting of this new church it has become apparent that now is the time for us to make some significant changes that have been a long time in the works.  

So, in October David left his corporate job of ten years to dedicate more time to the church plant, developing his skills as a pastor/teacher and to explore some long time goals of starting a family business where he could work along side his sons and daughters.  He is currently working on developing a custom woodworking business.  Woodworking has been a skill he has been developing since shop class in high school and pursued a little at a time over the years.  While mostly self-taught he has had a few opportunities to take some classes, and attend woodworking conventions.  Woodworking has proved to be a handy skill that he has used to build furniture and create custom organized areas in our various homes throughout the years.  I have to say that he has spoiled me with his talent in this area.  I design or tell him what I want for a certain area of the house and he then creates the picture in my head.  I have rarely found just the item I want in the market place, it is usually a combination of pieces that David can then put together and make it fit in the space I have for it.  Now, we are hoping to share this skill with others to create custom woodworking designs for their homes and allow his sons to learn this trade (or I should say continue to learn and spend more time doing it!) with him.  Where all this will lead we do not know, but we are walking in faith, trusting the Lord to provide through our diligent, honest, hard work. 

 

Meridian State Park November

Merry Christmas 2010

In November we were given another gift.  The gift of life.  A new little Shiflet to be born next July.  My cup runneth over.  We are so grateful to the Lord for His mercy and grace on our lives.  I am feeling well.  What an amazing year 2010 has been for the Shiflet's.  It truly has been a year of learning to live Deuteronomy 6.  We marvel at all that the Lord will do and bring us through in 2011. 

Calvin 9 Months

Calvin sitting with his Great-Grandmother Davis "Mema" during our annual 4th of July celebration/family reunion. 

Calvin helping me unpack the food at the hotel in San Antonio for the Baby Conference. 

 

Calvin has changed so much in the past month.  He is on the move and so curious about the world around him.  He understands and can respond to Daddy and Mommy's voices when we say "no,no" he can and will stop.  It is great fun to train him and see him capable of learning self control at such a young age.  He is still a very calm and joyful little boy.  He is a little man of many faces and cracks us up with his endless cuteness.  He now boasts a mouthful of teeth-7 well, 8 to be exact as #8 has just emerged. His latest accomplishment is cabinet or couch "surfing".  He is loving the mobility and loves exploring his new 2 ft high world.

Calvin Crawling

Calvin learning to crawl.  He took off quickly and within a week was pulling up and trying to stand to play.  Here are a few video clips we put together of him taking off.  He is growing so fast!  I love all the videos of him chubby.  I am sure that now that he is crawling he will be losing a lot of his chubbiness.

Thank you Emily for helping capture some cute moments on film and preserving these precious memories for your family.

Introspection Video 2010

Another year has passed. We celebrated today our second family day with Andrew and Kathlena. Here is the post about our day on our adoption blog.

Here is Emily's Introspection Video for this year. To see how much they have changed here is the link to last years. Emily thank you for this special gift of interviewing and videoing these precious moments with Andrew and Kathlena.

Beach Vacation Slideshow Days 3-5

Here's another slide show Emily did for the remaining 3 days of our vacation to the beach. We had a great time.

*remember to turn off the music in the sidebar.

For some interesting silhouettes Emily took at the beach house visit Pixelation Exploration.

Returning to Tucks--1st Time to the Beach

We first discovered Tucks Landing four years ago. In fact one of our pictures from that trip we included in Andrew and Kathlena's photo albums we left with them while we were waiting on our court date. So, they have been wanting to visit this place for over two years now. We had planned to visit in late September of 2008, but hurricane Ike changed our plans. As a result much of the landscape has changed from when we last visited, but thankfully Tucks was still standing. We enjoy Tucks because it is off the beaten path therefore the beaches are not usually crowded, in fact we only saw a few people the entire time we were there. This particular area is also known for it's large variety of shells. We still found this to be true. When we went in 2006 we were picking up sand dollars every time the waves went out. While we didn't find as many sand dollars we did find many very nice and intact shells that we brought home as souvenirs.
For Andrew, Kathlena and Calvin encountering the ocean was something they had only heard of or read about in a book. The excitement and wonder you can see all over their faces in the slide show video below. Kathlena was cautious at first, but once she got a taste of the waves she was hooked. Andrew just ran to the waves without much hesitation and loved laying on his belly in the sand while the waves rolled over him. Calvin did not care to much for the cold water and sand, but enjoyed the serene atmosphere that lulled him to sleep.






My favorite part of the trip was laid back time with my family. Sitting and talking. Laughing and playing. Discovering and discussing. A nice introduction to summer. Below is a ten minute clip of our trip that Emily our video/slide show expert put together. Thank you, Emily for digitally preserving our beach vacation memories.

*remember to turn off blog music in the sidebar to listen to video

Furry Muffins--Emily and Kathlena's Story

It was already a stressful morning, the day we leave for vacation always is. We had woken up well, let's just say not as early as we would've liked, we still had most of the packing left to do, and we were trying to get to the beach in time to swim, but we hadn't even got breakfast finished yet. Mother was making Blueberry Muffins when Kathlena and I (Emily) came in to help. After what seemed like forever the muffins were at last ready to go into the oven. I greased the muffin pans and set them on the counter between the oven and the pantry. I heard footsteps above me "I guess somebody's in the attic" I said. "Dad's looking for another Rubbermaid tub" Mom replied. (This time we decided to go to tubs instead of suitcases). I turned to empty the dishwasher, we all were relieved that the muffins were finally going into the oven. Mom went over to pour the batter into the pan, Kathlena went over to watch. I was bent over the silverware drawer with my back to them when I heard a loud crash behind me and Kathlena scream.. I turned to see Dad's right leg hanging from the ceiling directly above where Mom stood.

There was a yellow cloud of insulation pouring down all over Mom who was still pouring.

It was all over her, the floor, the counter, and...

...the freshly poured muffins.

It wasn't so funny when it happened but by the next day we were able to laugh about it and the following week after our vacation we had it repaired. After we paint over it you'll never even be able to tell that the hole was there.

However, the incident was quite traumatic for Kathlena, for some time afterwards she was shaking so badly that she couldn't speak other than "it was so scary". But after awhile even Kathlena was able to laugh at it...at least a little. Now she has fun telling the story over and over again for her brothers who missed out on the action.

Here's Kathlena's side of the story captured on film:

We arrived at the beach house without further incident though we didn't make it in time to swim. Andrew and Kathlena were simply beaming with excitement as you can see in the pictures below.

Kathlena's 5th Birthday

Our sweet, active, keeps us in stitches laughing Kathlena has turned 5yrs old today. It seems impossible that 5 is already here. Just yesterday she was this little toddler/infant who was learning to speak only a few words of English and now she is talking and asking questions about everything around her. Her witty sense of humor and keen observations of life around her are evidence of phenomenal growth in such a short time.

She loves to run, jump, and play with her big brothers. She loves to sing hymns with her big sister Emily-her favorite song being How Firm a Foundation. She also loves to listen to Emily on the piano. She has such a love for music. Her swing in the backyard is a favorite place to pass the afternoon away. She continues to enjoy books and has begun to "read" the pictures and read books to her dolls and Calvin that she has heard so many times that she has memorized them. A few favorites are The Very Hungry "Caterkillar", The Grouchy Ladybug (well all Eric Carle books) My Big Green Pocketbook, Lentil, Harry the "Dury" Dog, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie and The Napping House to name a few.

Kathlena is very proud of being able to hop on one foot and can hop on either foot. She has also learned how to march and enjoys marching around the house. Her favorite job is still helping Mommy though. She is great at helping me in the kitchen always ready to sample Mom's new creations as well as old favorites...just to make sure it is still good! She makes sure everyone has a neatly folded napkin at their place and forks or spoons according to the menu. She is a great "food runner" too as we get a plate ready she runs it to the table to whom it belongs. She is also a big help with her little brother Calvin and is enjoying her new role as "big" sister. A role she has transitioned into pretty smoothly. Sharing Mommy and Daddy in a big sister role has been a good growing experience for her. She continues to grow in confidence in her place in her family.

Kathlena began her birthday with breakfast at Eden's Cafe with just Daddy. Below are pictures from their breakfast. Kathlena had scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, fruit, and water. Kathlena said Daddy had Coffee, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, and fruit also. Kathlena said her favorite part of the breakfast was that Daddy gave her the rest of his scrambled eggs. It is no secret that Kathlena's favorite food is "scrambles" eggs. I believe she could eat her weight in them if we let her! :)
It was also special because their server is a friend of ours from our church youth teaching days. Thank you Amber for making Kathlena's breakfast with Daddy special!


Later we all went to a special concert that our friend Inna told us about. A friend of hers was doing a piano concert benefit for autistic children in Russia. Irina Svrovna is the friend who put on the concert. She played beautifully and we enjoyed listening to her. Here is a picture of Emily with her. Kathlena enjoyed getting dressed up and an evening out of listening to a piano concert.

After the concert we headed home for Kathlena's special request birthday dinner. She wanted beef steak, stir fried carrots and vegetables, and mashed "uhtatoes". Her favorites which Mommy is glad to fix for my sweetie just turned 5 year old daughter.



Kathlena with the Very lonely Firefly by Eric Carle that Emily gave to her. She knows her sister well!

Cash!!! Kathlena opens her gift that came in the mail from PawPaw and
Grandmommie. The look on her face says it all.

Another favorite book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake...thank you big bubbie!

Andrew picked this out for Kathlena. It is a great game that we can play as a family. It helps kids to use synonyms for the word or act it out while others try to guess.

A wooden baking cookies set from Daddy and Mommy. Kathlena loves to pretend cook and really help cook in the kitchen. I look forward to eating some yummy pretend cookies soon.

The part K has been waiting for...drum role please! Blowing out the candles!

Great Job! You got them all!

Chocolate cake with ice cream in the cake. It hardly gets better than this! We love you sweet Kathlena. You are growing up too fast, but with each passing year we love you more and praise the Lord for you.