Growing Up Luke

In the past, Luke would play with a piggy bank I have and put the coins into the bank. He has done that for months with no thought of putting the coins in his mouth. So, even with a (near) 4 year old, you think you can trust them. 🙂
Last night, as he was playing and our backs were turned, he came up with the idea of putting a bunch of coins in his mouth. A moment later, we heard choking. After a few tense moments, he was able to cough up (out) four pennies. After that, he seemed to be breathing ok, and he was able to blow (it seemed like a good test to try at the time). However, he was saying “it hurt” and pointing his finger to his throat. He even took my finger and tried to put it down his throat to be sure I knew it hurt.
So, without being sure if he had more coins that might be stuck in there, we bolted for the hospital. We considered an ambulance, but figured an X-Ray would be involved and that would need to be done at the hospital. As we sat in the waiting area, Luke was obviously feeling better. We were starting to feel a little “silly” for bringing him as he is bouncing off the walls and such among so many other children that are obviously not feeling as well. However, we knew that if we had not brought him, we would have been second guessing that decision all night.
After some time at a very busy hospital (which is great even when they are busy), we were informed that he did not have any more coins in his system.
Just another evening in the life of raising this little fellow that continually brings us so much joy. He makes every day an adventure.

PS. That remote thing didn’t last long either, since he found the nurse call button.

Luke saw the step down on the tailgate of the truck and thought it would be a good idea to put his “Mator” truck in the back. I can only guess what would have happened if he had been successful….

We were at Walmart and we walked by a buggy full of Cheetos. I just had to shoot this video.

Tammy and I would like to thank everybody that helped make Luke’s adoption party a ton of fun this past Saturday. Here is a short clip from him having fun with one of the many gifts that people gave him. We appreciate you guys so much. Thanks again!

Today is a very exciting day! TODAY, WE ADOPTED LUKE JOSIAH BROOKS! He has been a big part of our family since we picked him up from the hospital when he was just three days old. When Tammy and I decided to become foster parents, our goal was to just try and help keep sibling groups together while their parents worked through whatever issue caused the children to be removed. Our kids were all grown, and we just felt we could provide a safe loving home for some children.

We had no intention or even thought of adopting at the time. Since then, 21 foster children have stayed in our home. One little fellow was only here for 8ish hours and others were here for months. In Luke’s case, he has been with us for over three years.

As I say, we didn’t set out to adopt, but there were times in Luke’s life where it didn’t seem like he was going to have anywhere else to go. Tammy and I both felt that if we didn’t step up and “speak” for him, he might end up as just another child potentially “lost” in the system.

Today, Luke is a big part of what makes our house a home. He is so full of life, curiosity, and excitement that every day is an adventure. He is so happy when his nephew Oliver comes over to play (yes, Luke is an uncle with a nephew that is only 8 months younger than he is). Tammy and I are so blessed to see these two boys together and look forward to watching them grow up as brothers.

Here are a couple of pictures of Luke taking charge at the court house (Special thanks to the judge, who helped make the event very special).

The people who lived in our house before us kept a garden in the yard. Tammy and I are both pretty clueless about how to grow a garden. To us, it was just a big pile of dirt (or mud when it rained). His playhouse (which we found on Craigslist) was in another part of the yard. We decided to re-purpose the garden into his play area. We spread out some of the material you put under a mulch bed and added some rubber mulch. That, along with 3 bags of sand in his sandbox, and he was a pretty happy camper.

At one point, he was downstairs watching TV. I looked over a moment later and he was gone. He had went right back to his sandbox with his “blanky” in hand.

Luke is a natural on the gym. I was giving him a little help, but he was having a great time.

This is a short 8 second video. That is about how long it takes for Luke to beat us up the steps and head to the kitchen. It looks like I will be trying to find a way to “lock” the lazy susan this weekend…