One month later...

We've been home a month now and we are doing very well. In some ways it feels like we have always been together. Always been a family. In many ways it feels like we know each other inside and out. Like she is of my body, of my blood, shares my mind and make up.

Then other times I am reminded that I don't always intuitively know what she wants, what she thinks, how she feels. We are still learning each other, but God's grace has knit our hearts together in ways that I simply can not explain. She IS my daughter, my treasure, my love.

Hanna is adjusting so well. She still follows Caleb EVERYWHERE and says and does whatever he says or does. Caleb is also getting more and more used to sharing everything - even Mommy - with Hanna.

There are so many little things that tell me that she is really accepting that this is her forever home (as much as she "gets" what that even means). She and Caleb frequently have "My Mommy! No, MY MOMMY" spats :) which always end in big hugs for all. She also loves to play a little game with me that starts with her saying "Ah-baby" and me saying "Yes, Hanna is Mommy's baby" and her giggling her head off. This is followed by "Daddy baby?" and "Lay-leb baby?" I she wants me to say that yes, both she AND Caleb are mine and Steven's "babies" :)

We even have a bedtime routine that she is adamant about following, including me singing "My Girl" to her..."Song? Gull?" is what she says and won't take no for an answer...not that I've ever said no to that particular request :) and the either Steven or I praying over her while she repeats the last word of each sentence we speak in a tiny little whisper.

All in all we are doing GREAT, considering, and I would only ask that you continue to pray for her heart and continued bonding and grief recovery, for Steven and I as we walk the road to becoming successful parents of 2 and adoptive parents as well, and for me that the Lord would clearly show me how to mother these two precious children He has entrusted to my care in a way that would glorify and please Him.


Now, just for smiles...






Sister LOVES her boots!!!

Her first day at church...and on the playground!

Progress and the power of prayer

We have now been home with Hanna for 3 nights. The first night was NO problem because we were all so exhausted that she was literally asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. The morning, however was a different story. She woke up crying and apparently terrified that she was alone, Momma wasn't there, and she might not have even known where she was.

Fast forward to rest time, and she freaked out when I tried to lay her down in her bed, so I laid down with her and she went right to sleep. We've had to wake her at every rest time so far, so we don't know if she'd cry if she woke up then, but I'm betting she would.

Same exact story on Monday (yesterday) and I had to lay down with her at rest and bed time.

Imagine our excitement when she woke up this morning and all we heard was "Daddy!" in a very happy, playful voice. When Steven went upstairs, she was lying awake in bed and was happy to see him.

This is a perfect answer to prayer as we have been praying for her that the Lord would give her a feeling of safety and security in her room, that He would give her surety of our permanence and that when she woke up that she would remember where she was.

What a GREAT God we serve!!

A sad farewell, and school shopping

Today we went to SHIP to legally take custody of Hanna by signing the paperwork required to do so. Honestly, we had been concerned that Hanna would be too fearful to go back into the home. As I've written here previously, she loves her friends and caregivers and has been excited to see them throughout the week at different places, like church and the swimming pool, but has been very clingy to us whenever we've neared the home. For this reason, we prayed for and over her this morning that she would have peace and be able to go inside and enjoy saying goodbye to those who have loved her so well for the first 2 years of her life.

Once again, we placed our hope in a God who is more than able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine and He glorified Himself in the situation. Hanna was perfectly at ease in the home, but clearly understood that we were here for a visit and nothing more. She happily gave hugs and told her friends and "mamas" "Bye-bye!" She was cheerful and playful and it was such a blessing to watch.

Little did we know that the ones we should have been praying for were the caregivers and ourselves. It was a very emotional time as we gave out gifts, took pictures, and said goodbye. One of the caregivers who (we learned later) had fallen in love with Hanna and often took her to church, simply broke down and began sobbing. Another tearfully kissed her head and said "I release you". These women will forever have a special place in my heart for loving my daughter so much that she is now able to love and trust me easily with God's help.

After the goodbyes, we took all the school-aged kids shopping so that Steven and I could buy them school shoes and backpacks and that was a BLAST.
Everyone got to pick out their shoes (sort of :) ) and try them on, and then pick out their backpack.
The kids were all so sweet and when we were done, they each said thank you in their sweet shy ways.

After shopping the Piet family and the Burns family who are the directors of the home, took us to lunch in Baguio City center at a restaurant that was beyond delicious. It was Mongolian, and I WILL be trying to cook like that at home!

As for the rest of our afternoon at the market, you'll have to wait until later, but I will leave you with this little tid-bit...chicken heads...see, now you can't wait, can you? :)

Further proof...

So, if we weren't convinced before (which we WERE!) that Hanna was born - created, designed by our Mighty Awesome God - a Reutter, this picture should cinch the deal!

First a pic of Caleb from years past -









Now a pic from this morning -


Check out the arms!






PS - I often sleep like this, too, but I'm not about to show ya'll that! :)

Philippines Day 3

Yeah, I know. What happened to day 2? Well, I'll tell you. A bus ride happened to day 2. A bus ride at the beginning and a hotel with no wi-fi in the room at the end. But in the middle...Oh, the middle!

We met our Hanna yesterday. We spent the better part of 8 hours on a bus from Manila to Baguio City. When we arrived in Baguio, it began to pour rain. The directors of the home Hanna has lived in met us and our local social worker at the bus station and took us straight to SHIP, the home where Hanna has lived.


She was a little shy at first, but warmed up to Caleb pretty quickly. They were playing and running around together after just a little while, and he had her laughing not long after that.

Now they are thick as thieves...monkey-see-monkey-do totally describes how they behave as she follows him everywhere, and does everything he does and TRIES to say everything he says. He has been so helpful to us and to Hanna and made it so easy for her to trust us.

The first time she said "Mommy" was an accident - she was repeating him - and it seemed to shock her that she had said it. Now she says to me, "Mama? ... " and then tells me what she wants - "Up" "Ma" (more) "Snack" "Socks" "Shoes" (those last two were to take them OFF) and so on. She still isn't terribly verbal, but when she does talk, it is to the point or absolutely adorable! Her laugh is heart-melting.

So all in all we had a great day with our girl. And we found out in the morning just how much of a "Reutter" she really is...

24

24 hours.

Twenty. Four. HOURS!!!

We left Nashville at 3:20 pm on Wednesday. The time at the Nashville airport and the flight to Denver were uneventful. We were very fortunate in that our gate in Nashville was next to a play area, so Caleb had fun for the 2 hours we waited.

When we arrived in Denver, we got to have a delicious dinner while we waited and finished just in time to board our plane to Vancouver. Steven had warned me on the way into Denver that it was often VERY turbulent landing there. I prayed ALL THE WAY TO THE GROUND, and thought I was out of the woods. Little did I know that the only thing as turbulent as landing is taking off.

I will spare you the miserable details, but suffice to say that I was miserable throughout that flight, for the entirety of our time at the Vancouver airport and until I was able to go to sleep on the plane to Manila.

Again, we were fortunate. The plane from Vancouver to Manila was not full, and we were seated on a row of four with an empty seat and the row directly in front of us was ... EMPTY!! Can you believe that?!? I jumped up on that row and was able to fall asleep after awhile and slept for about 12 hours. Well, I thought, when I woke up, for SURE it was 12 hours. I also thought the flight was only 13, so I woke up HAPPY. Then I asked Steven how long was left in the flight. About 7 hours, he says. At first I thought, surely he's kidding. Nope. The flight was 14 hours and I had slept for half. Once I sat up for a little bit, I started to feel sick again, so I laid back down and slept a bit longer. After that nap, I felt much better.

Caleb slept for about 6 hours on the flight and spent the rest of it charming every person on the plane who looked his direction. Most of the flight crew told him to say "hi" to his sister for them as we were getting off the plane. The nice woman who sat across the aisle from him gave him her maze book and chatted with him for at least an hour, maybe more.

All in all, a pretty good trip.

Here we are. 24 hours later, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, resting up to go MEET OUR GIRL TOMORROW!!

Hopefully, I'll be able to post tomorrow night with pics and lots of fun stories.

Love to you all ~ The Reutters

Hanna-baby, HERE WE COME!!

Well, the day has finally come. We got the call today from our social worker telling us to get our travel plans together, we can go get our girl!

We are SO very excited and relieved because her Visa "interview" happened so quickly, so we are able to leave when we hoped we'd be able to. We'll go get her in about a week and finally be a family of four physically not just emotionally.

God is SO good, and His timing is perfect. Please pray for us, our travels, our final packing and preparations, but also pray that the Lord would continue to prepare sweet Hanna to make such a huge transition. Pray that He would speak to our hearts and guide us to be sensitive to her needs. Pray that He would knit our hearts together as only He can.

Now to the One who can do more than we can think or hope or imagine be all the glory, power and honor. Amen.

Caleb-isms X

Today was a bit of a rough day for Caleb. It wasn't the worst on record by a country mile, but it was rough. Rough enough that HE noticed! This was the conversation we had after I sent him to his room for rest time. When I sent him, he argued and I told him his consequence.

I walked in and found him face down, hugging his "blue doggy" and crying silently.
Mommy: "What's wrong, baby?"
Caleb: "I'm just having a really bad day"
Mommy: "Why is it so bad?"
Caleb: "I want to obey you, but I can't stop arguing."
Mommy: "I'm sorry you're having such a hard time today."
Caleb: "Every time you tell me something, I want to obey and my heart says 'I want to obey my mommy' but then an ugly weed sprouts up and I argue and disobey. It's like that game we played at that place when you hit the shark but another one pops up so you hit that one, too. (BTW - my 4 year old is referring to a variation of "Whack-A-Mole"!) When I punch down one weed another one sprouts up before the good seed can crack open and sprout up.
(Bear in my - HE IS 4 YEARS OLD!! I was a little dumbfounded...)
Mommy: "I'm sorry you're struggling with those weeds today. I'll pray for you during rest time that God will give you the grace and strength to obey without arguing, and you can ask Him to do that, too. He won't MAKE you obey, but He will remind you to obey and give you the ability to do it."

YIKES!! He's gonna pass me up any day now :)

Lord, keep me at least one step ahead!
Amen

Getting ready...

Ever since we got matched with our beautiful sweet daughter, we've been in this strange transition where there are only two speeds, slow motion and hyper-warp-speed.

Last night we watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". In it there is a part where Flint, the main character, makes a giant jello mold that you can go inside and it's like a mansion. Watching this part made me think how this part of the wait feels. At one moment, he and his friend are bouncing all over the place like pinballs, the next second, his friend does a canon ball into the jello pool and just stops, frozen in place in the jello. That's what this part is like, a pinball ricocheting off of every "next step" placed before us, or frozen, unable to get traction to move forward for lack of a solid surface anywhere around.

There is so much to do, to plan for, and it's confusing at times trying to figure out what she'll need since we're kind of jumping in right in the middle of the "baby stage". With Caleb, we got infant stuff and then got the things we needed as we went along, but for her, we have to start with older baby, or early toddler stuff and it's hard to remember or figure out what all we'll need.

It's really fun too, though! Planning, thinking about her and what she'll want, need, etc.

Today, Steven and Caleb are painting her room. It's going to be lavender and girlie and adorable, but what's adorable right now is my men getting our girl's room ready.

Take a look:

Caleb-isms IX

This weekend was a VERY busy weekend at our house. I am co-director for the children's choir at our church and our Christmas Musical was Sunday night. I was at the church...well...all weekend. On Saturday after dress rehearsal, I met my men for a quick lunch. While we were eating the following conversation happened:

(Conversation set-up: Last week was also a Global Summit at our church and my Caleb got to meet 2 of my friends from Africa. When he met my friend James, Caleb said the when he was "9 or 10" Mommy would take him to Africa with her...ummm...probably not....but I love his heart! We did ask him why "9 or 10" and he said, "You know when I'm a grown up" so we explained that 9 and 10 year olds are still kids and he wouldn't be a grown up until he's at least 20 (; )

Mommy: So, buddy, you want to go to Africa with me when you're 9 or 10.

Caleb: No, probably when I'm like, um, about 20. (NO JOKE HE TALKS LIKE THIS!!)

Mommy: Oh, like 20?

Caleb: Yeah, when I'm a grown up.

Mommy: What will you do there?

Caleb: (coloring...) I want to give out the food to the people who don't have any. I'll go and I'll give them some. I'll hand it out.

Mommy: Wow. That's a good thing to do.

Caleb: (still coloring...) Yeah, and maybe if I find my honey, I mean my wife, she can come too and she can learn them about Jesus while I hand out the food if we don't have any kids yet.

At this point I just smiled. I mean what do you say to that? Got to love his heart...and his mind...though!

PS - stay tuned for my soon to come series on Advent...

Broken arm, broken heart

My sweet baby has not been so sweet lately. Precious, yes. Cute, yes. Funny, absolutely! Sweet...well not unless you consider continued, persistent disobedience sweet. Me, not so much.

So yesterday, when he was PLAYING during NAP time, this was just another in a long line of examples of the current state of his heart. And when he fell from the top of his HIGH footboard to the floor, I felt pretty comfortable calling the fall a "natural consequence" of his disobedience.

As is often the case in scripture, the Lord will cause a small amount of temporary pain in order to teach us a lesson of eternal significance. The Lord knew that what Caleb was dealing with in his heart was the fact that he is "wise in his own eyes", always thinking, "I know what you said, Mommy/Daddy, but I'm sure I know better!" And as the Lord sees the heart, He knew exactly what would reach the heart of this child.

Since his fall, we have been talking and he told me that he fell because he disobeyed. He told Steven that he "won't do that again". Now, he is 4, so we can all safely assume that he will, in fact, disobey again. I do think, however, that the lesson landed. Mommy and Daddy have rules that he must obey, yes for his safety, but more because God teaches us to obey our parents...that this is pleasing to Him.

This morning we found out that the arm IS broken. He has to go back
to the hospital in the morning to be sedated so that the arm can be set and a permanent cast can be put on. He will be in the cast for 6 weeks. Again, my "mama's heart" wants to cry for how frustrated he will become over the next 6 weeks with his RIGHT arm in a cast...then I remember how desperately I've prayed that the Lord would work in his heart, showing him where he is wrong and prompting him to change. All I can say is that God is good, God is sovereign, and He sees and cares for the hearts of men...and 4 year old boys.

6 weeks of training in being grateful in all circumstances,
here we come!

Peru, here I come!

***Update: As of today August 13th, $710 has been given toward my trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please consider giving if you have not already, and feel free to forward this post on to anyone you know who might be interested in giving and/or praying for our team. We leave in 5 weeks!

I know it has been a long while since I have posted anything to my blog, but you’ll soon see why! I have spent the better part of this summer working toward a brand new children’s worship camp our church is putting together called e-camp. The “e” stands for “everything” as in “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6.

We are SO excited about this camp and the opportunity it presents to share the gospel and teach kids about their awesome, majestic Father in heaven. We were each created for the purpose of worshiping our Creator. The purpose of e-camp is to give children an opportunity to spend a week of their summer in a fun engaging environment where they learn about worship - what it means, why we do it, how to do it and where to direct it. The camp will culminate in a Family Worship Night, Friday night, where the kids will be given the opportunity to express their worship to their Creator. True worship takes practice and discipline. It needs to be explained, demonstrated and taught. We believe that e-camp will be the perfect environment for kids to learn, experience and grow in their adoration of the Father.

We have been overwhelmed at the response to our fledgling camp. We have seen the numbers swell from the 20's to the 30's to more than 90 children registered as we prepare to launch this coming Monday! The Lord is drawing new worshipers to Himself and we simply stand in awe as He moves to accomplish His purposes.

As if this isn’t enough of an honor to work on, the Lord had more (as He usually does!). The same day that our children’s ministry department got the green light for e-camp, our worship department approached the staff member working on it, just in conversation, and told him that our sister church in Comas, Peru had asked the worship and arts department to bring a children’s worship camp to Comas in September! Coincidence? I think not!

So here we are 2 weeks from e-camp and now happily and excitedly planning for “camp-t” - Campamentos Todos. We will be taking e-camp’s format, 16 team members and a documentary crew to Comas from September 18th - 26th. I am overjoyed that the Lord has again asked me to participate in going to another part of the world to love on children!

Here’s where each of you fit in:
Pray!
First, I would so appreciate each of you praying for our team as we prepare and translate e-camp. Would you pray that e-camp would have a deep impact on the worship of the children who will attend. Will you pray for each of our small group leaders as we prepare to teach the children about dramatic speech, percussion, singing, dancing and art, each as an expression of worship. Will you pray also for the hearts of the children that the Lord would prepare them to meet with Him and be eternally impacted.

Give!
Second, there is a cost associated with this trip. The cost to each team member will be $1400. I am asking each and every person who reads this post to consider giving just $10. If 140 of you give $10, my trip cost will be covered! If more of you do this, then the overflow can bless other members of our team and help us with other costs such as the gifts we love to take to the people of our sister church. There are two easy ways to give. First, send a check to Fellowship Bible Church at 1210 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37027. Write “Peru trip Mandy Reutter” in the memo line. Second, go to www.fellowshipnashville.org/globalgiving and click on Peru Worship Trip and choose my name.

Thank you all so much for your concern and love for our family, for your prayers and for your support.

Caleb-isms VIII

Shortly after Steven met Francis, we invited her to our home for lunch so that Caleb and I could get to know her. When she came in, she and Caleb started talking, and she asked Caleb if he was looking forward to being a big brother...

Caleb: "Yep! My stister is in ma Phiwapines" (the Philippines - HA!)

Francis: "That's right!"

Caleb: "Yep. That's where Goliath is from...oh..no...wait, that's the PhiliSTINES!"

CRAZY KID!!

Family time in Holy Week

In 2007, we bought a book that has become a favorite family tradition for the Christmas season. It is called "The Advent Book" by Jack and Kathy Stockman. When we bought it, we were added to the Stockman's email newsletter "Celebrations and Traditions" that they send out in correlation to holidays. It gives wonderful ideas for creating Christ-centered family traditions for various holidays. We received one for the Lent season with ideas, also, for Holy Week that has been wonderful.

On Tuesday, the focus was Loving God. Below is the anagram Caleb did (mostly on his own) with Steven. He came up with "Love" and "Trust" all by himself. Steven tried to explain that "Trust" wouldn't work because the word starts with 'T' not 'R', but Caleb was so excited about "Trust" that he told Steven, "It's okay, Daddy, because there is an "R" in "Trust"!"Steven helped out with "Obey" and they both came up with "David". Then they prayed and asked God to help us love Him, trust Him and obey Him and have a heart for Him like King David.

Caleb had the best time coloring the word "Lord" and writing all the words "All by myself"!

This was the most precious time we've had during Holy Week so far. I can't wait until Sunday morning!

Caleb-isms VII

Another example of how much my Savior loves me...

This morning, after sleeping poorly in a separate bed from my sweet husband because he was THAT sick, and being absolutely exhausted not only by the break-neck pace of the past few days and weeks but also by the thought of the content and length of the day ahead of me, this is how my Lord used my baby to wake me up:

Caleb: "It is weeeelll, it is weeeelll, wif my sooouuul...it is weeeel, it is weeeel, wif my sooouuul!"

And mine, as well. Thanks for the reminder, Father. Amen.

It's been awhile...

So, a dear friend informed me last night that I have gone far too long between blog posts and promptly instructed me to post something immediately. It's nice to have friendships close enough that we can speak the truth in love!

What we've been preparing for over the past month is our upcoming fundraiser. It is the most unique fundraiser that I've ever come across and we are so very excited about it. For today I'll just give you an overview of our project in the form of the letter we - and our team - have sent out to raise awareness of what we're doing. Stay tuned to find out more...

________________________________________________________________

I am writing to you to enlist your support in an unusual opportunity to serve. More about that at the end. For now there are a few people I want to tell you about.

The Widow

Francis Lee is a precious woman who’s been through a lot in the last five years. After marrying Harold Lee, and having two children Michelle and Amanda, the family began building a home in Nolensville, TN. Harold and Francis did not want to take on a large 30 year mortgage, so instead they began building a home on their 11 acres piece by piece as they were able to save cash to buy materials. They would go to Home Depot, fill up their Yugo, go back to their property and build the house themselves, from footers to trusses!

On their 24th wedding anniversary, Harold began having pain and heaviness in his chest and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 66 years old. With Chemo and radiation, they battled it into remission only for it to return within the year. After one month in the hospital he was released to hospice on January 7th, 2005 and passed away January 9th.

In July of that year, Francis went in for a routine colonoscopy and was diagnosed with colon cancer. Following surgery, chemo, radiation, blood clots in her lungs and double pneumonia, she was forced to retire after 31 years of teaching in the inner city.
Since the loss of her husband and the decline of her own health, Francis has been unable to continue work on her home, and is overwhelmed at the outpouring of support and help that our team is offering.

The Adoptive Family

Steven, Mandy and Caleb Reutter live in Franklin, TN where they attend Fellowship Bible Church. Steven and Mandy have known since before Caleb was conceived that they felt God’s call on their life to adopt, but did not know when that would happen or what it would look like. In the summer after Caleb turned 2, God’s adoption plan for their family began to take a shape they could see. Since Steven’s family on his mother’s side is Filipino, the Philippines seemed a natural choice to begin research of international adoption. Their paperwork was submitted to the Philippines in July of 2008 and they were approved by the country’s adoption board on August 21, 2008. They are now in the middle of the 12 - 18 month estimated wait time to receive a referral. They are expecting to be referred a little girl between the ages of 6 and 24 months. The stories of the ways that God has both lead and blessed this journey are many. If you would like to know more about the Reutters’ adoption story, please visit the weblog they are keeping at www.ephesians15journey.blogspot.com.

How do you fit in?
We’re not all called to adopt, but each of us is called to care for widows and orphans 
(James 1:27). First, please pray for the Reutter family in their adoption journey. Second, please pray for Francis as she continues to adjust to life as a widow and that her health would continue to improve. Third, the adoption process, while more than worth it, is incredibly expensive. The Reutters are trying to raise a portion of the money necessary to bring their little girl home. They are trying to raise $20,000.

Both Hands - www.bothhandsfoundation.org
To do that, we are having a workday at Francis’s home. I am part of a team of folks who have come alongside the Reutters to help them on this journey they believe God has called them to. The team will spend the entire day Saturday April 25th installing all kinds of trim-work throughout the house, and kitchen countertops, as well as cleaning, decluttering and organizing inside and out to let Francis know that she is loved and not forgotten. Think of it like a charity golf outing; but instead of us golfing to raise money, we are going to support a widow in need.

With your tax-deductible sponsorship of my work that day, you will accomplish three things: 1) You will help serve the needs of a widow who deeply needs it 2) you will be helping an orphan find a forever home and 3) you get a tax break in the process. How often do you get to feel that good about yourself in a single act of kindness?!?

How to Help
1.) Pray for Francis, Mandy, Steven, Caleb and the precious little girl waiting in the Philippines.
2.) Consider sponsoring our work.

Caleb-isms VI

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything from the mouth of my crazy son, but tonight, he said something so sweet and so cute that I couldn't resist:

At bedtime, Steven was tucking him in and he said,

Caleb: Daddy, what's this ring? (Steven's wedding ring) Where's your other ring, the Auburn one?
Steven: I take the Auburn ring off every night, but I never take this (his wedding) ring off. This ring tells everybody that I love your Mommy and I never take it off because I always love your Mommy.
Caleb: (with an awed look on his face) I want a ring to tell everybody that I love my Mommy.

He never stops surprising me and making me feel LOVED!

Falling Whistles

Today I am brokenhearted by a story I read.

I know this blog is supposed to be about the process that our family is walking through in our adoption story, but today, it's going to be about more than that.

Today, it's going to be about the story of precious babies on the other side of the world who have been ripped from their homes - if you can call them homes - and their families. Babies who have been abused, neglected, used and then forced to kill or be killed.

Today it's going to be about the story of the helpless children in the DR Congo, Africa.

The link at the end of this post tells the story of some of the children of the Congo. They have been abducted and forced fight in a war they did not start.

But more specifically, this story is about the youngest of these. The ones, too small to hold a weapon, and so, given a whistle to scare off the enemy, are placed on the front line to be a human barricade.

Read it. Then bring these precious ones before the Father.

http://fallingwhistles.com/SOS-82644-FallingWhistles.pdf

Caleb-isms V

This is my child. He is crazy, kind, thoughtful, sweet, and knows how to work me like nobody's business...

Tonight, when Steven and I thought he was in bed asleep, this is where we found him:

Fast asleep... face down...

at the top of the stairs.


Notice, he didn't forget to bring his lion.

He never fails to surprise us.

When Steven and I had gotten our laughter under control, I moved him to his bed. He never even blinked and will probably be surprised to find himself there in the morning.

Crazy kid.

Caleb-isms IV

While stalling before his bath tonight, Caleb said he needed to go to the bathroom. Steven was standing in the bathroom with him when he said,

"Daddy, could you close the door? I need some practicey."

I mean, really. What more comic relief could we need with him around?