Monroe needs a family- and has a $20k grant!

Monroe (12) BOY, Born February 4, 2005 SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!! Monroe is a sunshine of a little boy! He is already 5 and blessed to still be at the baby house. He needs a family right away! From a missionary who visited with him in June 2010: I met with the doctor in his Groupa House who brought me back to meet him. The Head Doctor wanted me to meet the children who needed equipment. While measuring him for a chair, she explained to me what was more important was that he get a family. He will be traferred in six months to the worst institution, restrained in a crib in a dark room. She broke into tears! Monroe has spastic cerebral palsy in all four limbs and is globally delayed. He is able to recognize the voices of his careworkers and understand simple directions. However, due to his spasticity he is unable to do much of anything. No speech. With therapy he can improve but will always have limitations. I measured his head circumfeence and once home will check with a doctor regtarding whether ir not he is microcephalic as well. I will try to gather more information on him today. His temperament was sweet and his eyes twinkled. He needs a family fast! From an adoptive family who visited with him in June 2009: Monroe has CP. It appears that he is unable to use his arms and legs and is not sitting up on his own. He has the most beautiful smile and I don't think there is much of a cognitive delay. He loves to be held and his whole face lights up when you come near him." *** Monroe has an incredible benefactor who has offered a FULL GRANT of $20,000 for his adoption. He is facing imminent institutionalization, and will regress quickly once he is transferred. Families who are qualified (www.reecesrainbow.org/newfamily.html) to adopt internationally and who are approved to adopt a significantly delayed child should contact Andrea for more information. This is a very fast program and it is very possible to have him home before the end of 2010! *** Only families with at least one parent under age 50 can adopt Monroe from his country. Must be a heterosexual married couple. MORE PHOTOS AVAILABLE I have $20,000 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

What a week!

We've had a great week filled with all kinds of fun things! On Thursday evening, Shelley Bedford flew in from AL! Friday morning we set up the house for a party, got everything as packed up as possible for a weekend away, the drove to Orlando to pick up some friends and have others follow us back. Mike took 1/2 day off work and came home around noon to keep the kids until we returned and my mom pitched in to babysit until then.

We had an "adventure" with almost running out of gas (we went at least 10 miles with it saying "0 miles to E"!) and riding with the A/C off and windows down with 6 of us in the car... well, let's just say we made it back on a literal wint and a prayer! :)

We had 5 WONDERFUL girls from church volunteer their time to come and be extra hands here at the house during the get-together! There were 34 people all together including 9 with Down syndrome, 15 under 10 years old! I enjoyed visiting with everyone (and will post pic's soon!) and getting to know the Smith family (adopting Dasha from EE), and the Andrews family (adopted 4 girls, 3 w/ Ds), and half of the Dickenson family (it was a girls' weekend!). What a blessing to be able to get to spend that time with these families, and for the girls at church to willingly volunteer their Friday afternoon to come and love on all the kids and let the parents (including us!) get to spend time with the other adults and getting to relax just a bit.

THANK YOU Anna, Sara, Rachel, Denise, and Maria!!!!

After the party we cleaned up since we were leaving town and we headed over to Orlando for the weekend. The National Down Syndrome Conference was this weekend and Mike's parents offered us their timeshare to be able to attend. It was a PERFECT set up for us and we are so grateful to have been allowed to use it! It had 3 bedrooms and we had TEN of us there for the first night, then ELEVEN, then TEN again!

Why 11 for one night? Because with the 7 kids, Mike and I and Shelley, we had 10 until Patrick's mom, Lyndi, came in to town on Saturday night! Sunday afternoon Shelley flew out, so their stay only overlapped by a day. It was great getting to spend more time with both of them though! (And we're hoping that Shelley's whole family will be able to come down for Thanksgiving this year, since we did Thanksgiving up there last year!).

The conference was great-- more details on that later :)

After a weekend of BUSY, we brought Micah and Emma back to our house on Sunday evening after dropping Shelley off at the airport and they stayed the night with grandma back at our house. Though we debated back and forth about whether to have anyone stay home that night or not, we decided that they would get some extra grandma time, and the other kids would get to do some "big kid stuff". Though James and Lynae aren't exactly "big kids" yet, neither is able to be left home overnight very easily, and two littles still let us do the 'big kid' stuff without having to aim for a 7pm bedtime for them!

We went to the pool that evening back in Orlando then to Downtown Disney the next morning.

Tired, make that exhausted, we got home mid-afternoon and I was glad to start counting to 7 again (it felt WEIRD to only have 4 kids with us plus Patrick!).

Then... I started laundry (x 4 loads) and sorting Patrick's stuff out of the other 6 kids' clothes. I *think* the only thing that was left here was a pr of underwear that he wore last night (and Brianna peed on after he changed this morning...) and a pair of PJs (and of course the PJ and underwear that I threw out after he pooped in them... and alllllllllll over). That's all we've figured out this far anyway and we knew those before he even left.

So, this morning Lyndi and Patrick hit the road to drive 13 hours back to Tennessee. We'll miss having Patrick around, and it's already weird here this morning without him! But, he will be back! He'll be visiting again when his new brother's paperwork is straightened out in Russia and the facilitators invite Lyndi to come back to finish the adoption. That trip should be closer to 1 week rather than 2-3 weeks, but I'm glad to know he'll be visiting again soon :)

And now... we're down to 6 kids! Which may just feel like a vacation after 7 :).

Is it Bathed In Love?

Or Bathed in Hand Sanitizer?

Thanks for all the questions, I'll continue doing Q&A's as long as there are questions :) There's a few more already that I'll post soon!

I was just talking to Patrick's mom on the phone and as we got off I'm pretty sure she realized I needed to go when I said "DID YOU JUST PEE ON THE FLOOR??"

Yes, mine, not hers :) Brianna and Patrick both went to go potty and somehow hers ended up on the floor and she walked through it before she finished up in the potty. *sigh*

I used to think that the idea of a bath in hand sanitizer would be a joke. But as I cleaned up the floor, her feet her legs, and she still had a certain... aroma... about her... I then wiped that sweet little girl down with Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer! She now smells like a sweet little girl too!

And I think we need more sanitizer.

There's a quart+ size one in the bathroom (not B&BW), and another in the kitchen, and two in the bedrooms and living room... But with kids potty training, it's either lots of hand sanitizer AFTER they wash with soap and water, or...

Well, let's just say it's good to have sanitizer around!

And yes, of course the kids are also bathed in love, not just hand sanitizer (and it's all far out of their reach!).

Part II Q&A

Marianne said:
You must be organized! How do you plan and do everything else like grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.? I know I asked you before (but I'd like to hear your answer again lol): When do you sleep?? Also, how many hours do you spend a week doing RR related stuff?

I’m very organized at some things and very UNORGANIZED at others :)  But, the more people in the home needing care, the more organized I have been forced to become!

I do grocery shopping often times at night, or Mike will grab the essentials on his way home from work.  Right now I am shopping at Sam’s about once or twice a month and ordering diapers at Amazon! :)  I will take 4 or 5 kids grocery shopping, but in the last 6 or 8 weeks haven’t had the need to take them all, by myself, yet.  Mike and I frequently do some of those things together- like our trip to Sam’s the week before Patrick came- with all of our kids in tow :)

I don’t clean.

LOL, ok, maybe I do!  I clean either when the kids are asleep at night, when they’re napping, or, when I hire a sitter :)  For the summer I have a college-age friend that is coming over 3 hours 2 days a week.  Two hours each day I clean or work on RR stuff or do laundry or whatever.  The other hour she and I get all the kids fed, changed, and down for naps!  With all the kids home and there being no real ‘down time’ for me during the week, this has been a great thing for the summer!

Sleep is for old people ;)  And I’ll sleep when the kids are old!  Really, though, I go to bed most nights between 11 and 12 and I get up about 6 or 7, so I get 6-8 hours of sleep each night on most nights.  There are, of course, the nights with 3-4 hours and we just limp through those days and try to sleep better the next night.

And RR… hmm.  RR really differs on the time I spend on it.  Right now I had scaled back on my own responsibilities because I knew that having all 6 kids home from school and having just gotten custody of James that things would be pretty busy here.  I was probably working about 20 hours/week during the ‘slow time’.  Now, however, the SDA is being picky and we’ve also had more families in country needing additional communications, so it’s back up to closer to 30 or more.  I love the portability of a laptop and the ease of email to be able to start and stop when needed and take care of all of my kids’ needs and my family FIRST.   As soon as ministry overtakes family, it is no longer ministry!

Marianne asked:
Do you find it difficult juggling 6 young children, including a baby? How do your days typically look?

I guess it could be said as difficult, but I suppose it would depend on how you look at it :)  I don’t think it’s difficult, but it certainly is busy :).   Here’s a look into our typical day at home for the summer:

We get up, dressed, clean diapers and potty, and breakfast.  After breakfast, or during, I do medicines then brush teeth after.  I make all the boys’ bottles for the day in the morning when preparing breakfast.  The kids will get down and play for a little while, and we often all go into the guest room for ‘structured’ play time.  I have a cabinet in there with books about colors and days of the week, shapes, etc.  We’ll sing songs and look at stories and just spend some time together and playing and learning.  The kids will play in the rice/beans bin in there and sit in bean bag chairs while we play.

Around 11 I get lunch ready and do a round of diapers and pottying and then feed all the kids.  As they finish eating, they get washed up and go to their beds for nap time.  Usually this is around 12, and sometimes between taking a little time to fall asleep and then their actual nap, it will be between 2 and 3 when they get up.  Lynae generally nurses just before I get lunch going and she will go down for her nap while I feed everyone else.  She, too, gets up around 2pm.

After naps we do a round of diapers and have play time in the main house.  I’ll often turn on a tv show in the afternoon, let the kids get on the computer some, or turn the radio on.  If we don’t have anywhere to be, then they play and I play with them and also work on RR stuff during the afternoon.  Around 4 or so I will start thinking about dinner for the day and if it’s something that needs to be cooked/defrosted then I’ll start on that.  We eat between 5 and 6 most nights, and Mike gets home about 5:15 typically. 

After dinner, if it’s a night we need to do baths, we usually go straight to the tub.  I shared more about our dinner and bath routine already.  After baths the kids get clean overnight diapers and pajamas and then we’ll do medicines if we hadn’t at dinner and brush their teeth.  At 7 pm Brianna, Micah, Lynae, Emma, and James will say prayers and give hugs and kisses and then go to bed.  Right now Patrick is usually going to bed at that time too.  Kristopher goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:30 unless there’s a reason he needs to go down earlier.

The kids are all, generally, pretty good sleepers now and we have some quiet time in the evenings before going to bed ourselves :)

Part I: Q&A

Since I already had questions that will be a LONG post, I decided to go ahead and post these now.  Feel free to post more questions on this post or my Q&A post and I’ll answer those too :)

Rachel said:
I'd love to hear your system for getting so many little people ready to go, serving food, doing bath time, etc. Would you describe how you get ready for church? Do you take all of the kids when you go to a doctor's appointment? How do you keep everyone busy and happy while you cook dinner? How do you bathe kids while making sure the other ones are safe/happy at the same time?
I'm from a big family so a lot of logistical stuff doesn't confuse me but I've always wondered how you do it with so many little ones. In our family the kids were spread out so the bigger ones helped with the little ones.

That’s a fun one! And, kind of 6 questions :).  I’ll answer one at a time. 

Getting the kids ready to go… it depends on whether it’s a first of the day getting-out or if it’s later in the day, but in general here’s how it goes.  When the kids get up in the morning, if we’re leaving, then they all go straight to the changing table and/or potty then get dressed including socks and shoes (and orthotics).  Then to the kitchen for breakfast.  During breakfast we do medicines and usually while they’re still at the table we clean glasses and put them on as well as brush hair if it wasn’t done when getting dressed.  We do baths at night time so we don’t have to incorporate that in unless someone was spitty or dirty overnight.

After breakfast the kids often wait for the last to be finished, unless the ‘quicker’ kids got to the table first, in which case we won’t make them sit there forever :).  By the time they all get down from the table, we generally are corralling in the foyer/living/dining room area.  I keep the front door LOCKED so no one decides to head out to the car on their own!  I will pack the diaper bag or whatever we’re doing while the kids are eating breakfast and if I’m not done yet, then Mike will load the car while I finish getting things together. 

I keep a wagon on our front porch since 3 of our kids aren’t “full time walkers” yet.  James is really getting the hang of things, but going TO the car we’re more cautious about the kids being ‘loose’.  Micah, Brianna, and Kristopher will walk out to the cars just fine and wait for us or K and B will get in on their own.  I then keep the wagon in front of the garage or just inside it if it’s supposed to rain so that the wagon is available when we get home as well.  With 3 walkers, one either by the hand or on my hip, and 2 in the wagon, and the diaper bag and purse on my shoulder or in the wagon with the kids… we can usually even make it to the car in just one trip!

Serving food… My kitchen is gated off from the family room and porch (which is enclosed and is a play room).  There’s a 10’ opening with a long gate and a bar the other 10’ so the kitchen and family room are open air to each other completely.  I cook and can see the family room and a majority of the porch, but it is childproof and only the swing is really something that can cause trouble (and, 7 kids… they can sometimes make their own trouble without any tools!). We have a table set for 8 and at the moment Lynae’s high chair is somewhat out to the side since there are 9 of us, but it works!  I always prepare dinner and have it either ready to put on the table or already on the table before we ‘invite’ the kids to come in.  No one is to come into the kitchen without asking.

That said, Kristopher and Brianna are allowed to play in the living room, because they can be trusted outside of my sight and they like to play with some things like Transformers for Kristopher or the play kitchen food for Brianna, that the little ones just aren’t able to handle (because of small parts or because they just throw it all over and don’t actually play with it).  So those two are sometimes in and out of the kitchen when I’m cooking as well. 

In the morning I make 3 bottles for Micah (thickened) and 3 for James (using 1 1/3 cans of Pediasure for each, so it makes sense to just set it all up first thing).  I make babyfood for them and freeze it then defrost at each meal, or I have store-bought jars and containers as well.  Occasionally I’ll just blend what we’re eating or chop it, depending.  I’ve gone into more detail of actual diets and such before, but those two’s food being ‘ready’ before we plan to eat is a huge help!

Getting ready for church… This is pretty much like getting ready to go anywhere else!  I pack one diaper bag and leave it with the youngest child that stays in the nursery.  Emma’s area has an ‘emergency stash’ if she should need anything.  If we’re going out after church then I put a separate bag together for that.  I do label diapers for church, with an initial on each diaper so the right size ends up on the right kid.  Otherwise, aside from having nicer clothes on, that morning is a lot like any morning that we’re headed out!

Doctor’s appointments… I generally do NOT take all the kids to the doctor’s!  We are blessed to have two sets of grandparents and multiple other babysitters that we can leave a kid or two or three with so that I don’t have to do it.  I also generally schedule doctor’s appointments when the kids are in school so I don’t have to juggle too much and don’t “miss” that free time with all the kids.  I LOVE being home and having the kids home.  So I’d rather “use up” free time of mine while the kids are in school by going to doctor’s appts and then really be HOME after school to spend that time with my kids then to have to keep running in the afternoons.

Now… when I say I don’t take all the kids to the doctor’s… I guess I should say that to me, taking 4 kids is really no big deal.  As long as only 1 or 2 of them are being seen.  If 3 or 4 have appointments, and 3 or 4 will be MAD by the end of the visit, then I bring someone with me,  if possible.  Some offices are also not ‘stroller friendly’ and I really have to bring someone else along because I can’t have all the kids in the room where the doctor will be.

Cooking dinner… As I mentioned above, I can see into the play area while I’m cooking, but I will admit that I am NOT someone that sits in the kitchen and spends an hour preparing dinner every night!  One night a week we have ST at the house, and we always eat chicken nuggets or hot dogs that night because it’s quick and easy and there’s so much other activity (ST is 5-6pm at our home) that it’s just not worth it for me to try to cook!  I also buy family size frozen dinners for 3 or 4 people and that will generally feed the family, I cook a lot of boneless skinless chicken breasts where the prep time is about 10 minutes and then it just cooks for 30, and we do a lot of pasta and that type of dinners.  I love doing hams and pot roasts too that you just start them and walk away!

As far as the kids go, if they’re wanting to be in the kitchen, I have crayons and coloring books available and I’ll put them in their highchairs (whichever ones want to be in) and they can color, or they will sometimes just congregate at the gate.  Sometimes during dinner prep is the time that one of the kids’ favorite TV shows is turned on (we just got Netflix for the TV and love having it, we’ve never had cable or any other TV network).  So Barney or Little Einsteins sometimes helps pass the time as well.  I have no issue letting the TV be on because my kids will use it as a “passing thing” and will go play and just when they come to bug me while I’m cooking will be redirected to Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes or a race with Rocket.  I especially like the shows that encourage interaction!

Oh, and Lynae, not having that delayed gratification thing going on at ALL yet, will often sit and have some ‘puffs’ or Cheerios in her high chair while I cook.  She’s still little enough to break the rules of WAIT :)  (and, the kids all know to wait to start eating until everyone is there and we’ve prayed, so we all sit down together otherwise!)

Bathing kids… Mike and I generally do this together!  The way our house is laid out is really a HUGE factor in life working well for us.  The kids can play in the family room and playroom/porch without being far from us no matter what we’re doing.  Our bathroom is in a little hallway, but you can see STRAIGHT down the porch, through the family room when in there.  So, we fill the tub, and start putting kids in, washing them, pulling them out and dressing/diapering them, and the ones not in the tub are in the family room/ playroom.  The playroom can also be closed off, so if it’s after dinner and time to wind down when we’re giving baths, we’ll close the sliding glass door and just let the kids hang out in the family room instead.

Generally one of us bathes and the other dresses the kids, and up to 3 or 4 kids might be in the tub at one time.  It gets a little more crazy when Lynae is fussy, but other than that baths are generally pretty easy.  When I do baths on my own I just put two in and take them both out, dress them, then do it again.  We have a gate on the hall doorway just outside the bathroom so no one can get to the bath water while we dress the other kids.  SAFETY IS BIG around here!

I definitely can see where having the kids more spread out, even with a large family, would be a much different dynamic.  With us, Kristopher is only 6 and the only one that can really express any complete thoughts or concerns and is DEFINITELY not old enough or responsible enough to have much responsibility with the other kids.  He can, however, stand at the side of the bathroom and every minute when I say “are they ok?” he can look at them and say “yes” if I need to run and grab towels or pj’s, or answer the phone, or whatever else.  So he is a big helper!  He can also investigate a crash or a cry if I’m cooking and can’t see that area of the porch.  Generally, he made the crash or caused the cry so he can give us a pretty good assessment ;).

Having lots of little ones is BUSY, and yet so very rewarding at the same time!

Becky said:
I am just curious why we havent been able to see James yet :) Is it because the adoption is not final? Love reading your blog

Yes, it’s because the adoption is not final.  He’s still in state protected custody right now, so  we aren’t allowed to show photos of him publicly or put many personal details out there.  Once the adoption is final, I promise that I’ll have plenty of pictures of James to share!  And, I’ll likely un-password the other blog at that time and integrate them together :)

Isra asked:
We're all looking forward to when you'll be allowed to share pictures of James! (Congratulations by the way! :-D ) What is the time frame for finalization of your adoption of James?

Thanks! :)  We will have had James for the required 90 days before finalization on August 12th.  His 4th birthday is August 14th! :)  We are hoping to finalize shortly after that.  We’re ready! :)

Anjie asked:
Did I read that you are coming to the conference in Orlando? Are you staying at the Coronado Springs Resort? I hope I get to see you there. I've been following your journey since the beginning & would love to meet you & your clan.

Yes!  We will be there :)  We’re not staying at that resort, but we’re staying in a timeshare nearby on Disney property.  I hope if you see us that you’ll stop me and say ‘hi’!  I love “real life” meetings and to put a face with names from the Internet!  It will be Mike and I, our 6 kids, Patrick (for most of it at least), a friend that’s coming down and staying with us, our babysitter, possibly a friend of our babysitter’s, and Lyndi (Patrick’s mom) may be joining us near the end of the weekend when she flies home!  I think it’s going to be a lot of fun in our hotel room :D

Anonymous asked:
How did you start doing respite care for families?  Why do the kids or families need respite?  Are all the kids you do respite for adopted? I saw that the last family you did respite for is adopting again.  I guess the child is home and doing great now?  It must be a ood feeling to be able to help them that way. 

We didn’t really “get into” doing respite necessarily, it just happened be be an area that we could serve hands-on in.  Our first “respite” was for an extended family member that had no support system and was having another baby.  We kept her 14 month old son for 5 weeks when Brianna was 2 months old and Kristopher had just turned 2.  It’s been on our heart to provide a ‘safe haven’ for kids that need somewhere to go during major life-obstacles of their families.

When Michael was a young child his brother had cancer and he went to ‘respite’ type care for a short time so his mom could be with his brother out of state and his dad could continue working his 48 hour shifts at the fire department to provide for their family’s financial needs (at least that’s the way I understand it LOL).  So all different families may need respite for all different reasons.

Respite is not just for adopted children, but the community we’re involved with right now means that all 3 of our last respite kids have been adopted previously and all 3 have some level of disability.  As far as the reason for needing respite- some, like Michael as a child or Patrick that we have now,  and Elijah that we had years ago, go to respite care because their family needs to take care of something else (generally another child) and it would be in the child’s best interest to go to a “babysitter” rather than have to endure what the parents are going through.

Other families ask for respite because their adoption is having difficulty or they are specifically struggling with the child.  We have done those respite placements twice as well.  Once the child went back home, the parents and child worked through things more, sought counseling, and really tried to make things work.  We are very proud of them for trying, and in the end we are proud of them for determining that their child’s needs were greater than they could manage.  That little one was adopted by a mutual friend of ours and is doing well in his new home.  I do stay somewhat in contact with his ‘first family’ and it is definitely a good feeling to be able to have helped them by giving them time to make the decisions that they needed to make and for them to know that they explored all their options before making such a big decision.

The last family that we provided respite for is in fact adopting again.  No, their child is not back in their care, though he’s no longer with us.  I don’t know what the current status is there, but since you seem to be familiar with them, I would suggest you ask them directly.

When a family willingly participates in the child’s care and tries to ‘make things work’, respite is a great experience and a very fulfilling one.  Sometimes, families don’t actually want the interaction with the child or with us, and see it as an ‘easy out’ from responsibilities.  Finding out which are which before taking placement of a child is difficult.  It’s definitely a fulfilling experience with those that are in it for the best of their child and family, though!
 

Feel free to ask any other questions you have, I’ll do a few Q&A’s that are shorter if more questions are posted rather than one LONG one, since this was really long already!

Time for Q&A

Ok, so it's been a LONG time since I've done an open Q&A! If anyone has questions, feel free to post them. I know I occasionally get Q's that I should go back and answer, but I haven't gone back lately. So... ask away and if anyone asks anything, I'll post next week with the answers :)

Sometimes

I need reminders as to why I am working. And sometimes, I look at my kids, and realize that they are the reason. It's not money, it's not 'glory', it's not even self-fulfillment (though I do receive some self-fulfillment even if I get no money or glory LOL). It is, most definitely, because of the knowledge that kids like Emma and Micah are coming home to families.

And nights like tonight when I'm tired and it's been a week full of unimaginable issues with paperwork and different families with difficulties that I've had to step in on more than normal, I sometimes need the reminder.

But then, getting on to a blog or facebook or another avenue where people openly vent their frustrations with different areas of their own lives including their perceived status of our available help... it can knock a person right back to the "why do I do this?" question pretty quickly.

I think, more than anything else, that if you are going to serve in ministry, if you are going to help people who aren't going to necessarily like everything that you have to say (such as when their documents are wrong... again...), or if you are going to openly share about your life, family, or beliefs... that you have to know that you know that you know that you are following Christ first and that no one's opinion of you or your activities or family can be more important than that. Otherwise, it could be downright discouraging sometimes.

PS- a Patrick update- he's doing great, is a sweetheart, and we're enjoying him! He had several 'potty accidents' overnight for a few nights but tonight successfully deposited it in the proper porcelain commode, so I am hopeful that he's now adjusted a little more and is settling in! He's also sharing his "true colors" and is trying new tactics with us and in trying to find ways to make trouble. It's almost like he's just a typical 6 yr old boy. Oh, wait, he IS! :) His family is doing well, and you can read an update at www.lyndishupp.blogspot.com if you'd like to follow their journey!

Well, half the battle!

The washer is installed and working...

and the new conversion kit for the dryer should be here on Monday or Tuesday!

So we're in business, just hooked up the old dryer for now and I'm catching up on all the laundry I didn't do yesterday!

So sad...

The conversion kit for my dryer... is for the wrong dryer :(. Waiting for a call back from the place we bought it to find out whether they can order the right one. In the mean time, I have no laundry appliances! Waiting to hear whether it can be ordered, and if so, how long it will take to come in. If not... or if it takes too long... we'll have to return these and try to get something else.

And of course it won't be on a good sale like the one we found on the 4th of July weekend sales :(.

Not loving LG today :(

The silver beasties

I got the conversion piece!  Which means… that on Wednesday I should have our silver beasties delivered, and on Wednesday or Thursday it should all be hooked up and USABLE! :) 

And no, I didn’t spend the extra $500 on the drawers for underneath!  YIKES!  I think I’ll deal with the bending and be glad that I don’t have to run it nearly as often as my current ones. 

Today I brought Kristopher out on a ‘date’ at lunch time and Mike fed the other kids and put them down for naps.  It’s definitely a blessing having a husband that not only “believes in what I’m doing” but fully agrees that it is what *WE* are doing, and takes an active role in ALL of our kids’ lives! 

In fact, now that I’m back home, Mike needs to run to Lowe’s so he’s taking Kristopher and Patrick with him.  They’re buying exciting man-stuff like a door knob for the office/closet room, network cable to run to our entertainment center and master bedroom, a new ‘thing’ for our front door to be able to latch the bottom of the second door (I have no idea!), and a replacement hose for my dad’s pressure washer that Mike managed to bust :) .  And I’d say it’s a ‘girls day’ for me for a while, but I’m pretty sure that Micah and James would be offended by that :)

I’m excited about my new washer and dryer, though, and even more excited that it might mean that laundry eay gets easier- or at least faster- at our house! :)

Last night when my parents came over for the 4th I begged my mom and dad to take a large basket with ALL of the kids’ and the guest room sheets in it back to their house to wash in THEIR large capacity washer rather than having to run it in 4-5 half-loads here.  I provided soap, they did the labor!  So we’re not overrun with laundry even though the machine isn’t working right.

The clothes that a certain little boy had a poop accident in overnight have had to go through twice already now, though, and they still hold a certain odor to them.  We may wait 2 days and wash them in the new washer then bury them if the smell is still there.  So, Lyndi, if you find you’re short a pair of pajama pants and a pair of underwear when Patrick comes home, you’ll know that we have added them to the graveyard outside ;).  I’m pretty sure we’ll have no problem coming up with something else for him to wear in the mean time :).

I other news, Patrick is doing well aside from that Oops (which really he didn’t seem to mind, but you could tell it was an unusual thing for him) and he’s LOVING the computer and the swing.  He also likes that Kristopher thinks so highly of him and they both entertain each other quite well!  He’s getting a little gentler with Brianna… or maybe we’re just watching those two a little closer ;).  He and Micah and James just bounce right back as they all three steal toys from each other, push each other out of the way to get in the swing, and manage to be boys :).  Actually, they’re interacting pretty well and they’ve found an ok ‘groove’ with each of them letting out their respective ‘yell’ every once in a while for assistance but mostly just getting along ok.

Emma and Patrick haven’t really interacted much- by Emma’s choice.  Lynae is around and under his feet and he pats her on the head and keeps on keeping on. :)  Lynae doesn’t have to wait for P to make trouble, though, because she’s looking at me when I say ‘no’ and continuing to put the stray Cheerio or piece of fuzz or whatever into her mouth, or, she’s looking at me then LAUGHING as she crawls away faster.  Yep, she’s figured out how to make trouble all her own without any help!

Off to do dishes, if only they made extra-large-capacity dishwashers with a 15 minute cycle like they have at restaurants for installation in a home kitchen… (and yes, they probably make something but I like Andre’ (our dishwasher) just fine!).

Pictures!

Our Buddy Patrick :)

This is a friend, Teresa, and her boys are volunteering with two of our kids at the church as their “buddies” in children’s church!

Patrick and Kristopher playing computer.  Patrick LOVES the touch screen and that’s his favorite thing to do so far!

 

Brianna wants the booster OFF her chair to be like Patrick :)

 

All the towels after bath—:)

 

Nathan and Emma- He did great with her at church today!  Nathan is very good with ALL the kids, and he seems to be enjoying it as well!

 

And Nathan’s big brother, Aaron (yes, he’s REALLY that tall- 6’4”!) is Patrick’s buddy at church :)  They had a blast, and the little kids in the 3-4 yr old class loved having Aaron in their classroom too!

Moving about!

We got up the gumption to get out of the house yesterday and the nine of us headed to Sears to buy a washer and dryer. The kids were good for the most part, though Patrick educated Mike on what the word "Runner" really means. He took off and Mike grabbed him in about 10 steps. Patrick wasn't so sure about that! LOL But he didn't run again :)

The guys at Sears were very patient with us, with our quad stroller, wheelchair, and 6 yr old boys by the hands. We DID end up with a new washer and dryer set, 4.5 sq foot capacity washer and a 7.4 sq foot capacity dryer. BIG. And necessary! And on sale, so less expensive than many of the other models we'd looked at previously.

Now we just have to locate an LG gas conversion kit for liquid propane. That should be fun!

Patrick is really doing great. He comes up and says "Mama?" to which we tell him Mommy is meeting Freddie and will be back soon, but he's staying with us for a little while. He seems ok with that (so far). He's not napping, and he's up with the crack of dawn, but aside from that he runs the same schedule as the rest of our kids and is doing very well.

Patrick LOVES to hug and gave Mike a huge hug this morning which quite made his day! He hadn't 'picked' him yet so that was nice :). He and Brianna have a little 'thing' going... I'm pretty sure he just doesn't realize he's twice as big as her. They seem very similar in their communication and understanding of most things, so maybe he just thinks she's the same age as he is? Not sure! But she's gotten pummeled with things a few times LOL. And, he hugs hard :) But she lets us know and he's said 'sorry' and we just keep on going!

Today is church, so we're off with all the littles in tow! We met with two young men from our church yesterday and they're going to be 1:1 with Patrick and with Emma. I know they'll do GREAT and I know that both sets of 'kids' will LOVE it!

For our Independence Day celebrations we're having a little cookout and opened the pool and invited family and a couple of friends to come by and hang out. We have no idea who is coming but look forward to just a lazy day and hanging out :)

Of course, remembering and thanking all those who have served to give us the freedom that we enjoy today, and those who continue to serve and preserve that freedom!!

I'm TRYING

My washing machine is dying. Which is a blessing and a curse. I'm disappointed to have to do it, but I'm also GLAD to get to finally replace it with a machine that will do a larger load at a time!

Now, I'm just STRIKING OUT though!

I've researched, and researched, and finally decided on FOUR different washers and dryers. And each time I try to order them, it says they're out of stock! It is driving me NUTS! I liked one, tried to buy it, didn't work. Found another. Didn't work. And another. And another! Now, 'm tired of looking.

Sears is having an appliance sale with 20% off this weekend... and I can't seem to order a washer and dryer for anything!

Tomorrow I think we're going to be taking a little road trip with our crew of nine down to Sears to pay a visit and find out what I can order, and to ORDER it! Most things take 7-9 days to come in, some more like 14-21, and I don't want to wait until August and have to wash 1/2 loads of clothes in the mean time.

Our current washer the top of the agitator isn't agitating, and clothes are coming out with soap on them still from not being moved around and washed and rinsed. So, 1/2 loads (in an already smaller-size... but not as small as my last one...) it is until we get a new washer!

They're on their way!

The Shupps are on their way overseas, and Patrick is settling in well here! I'm sure in a few days the shock of when are they coming back?? will settle in with Patrick, but for now he's just playing and having out with the kids and doing amazingly well.

Here's a little info about Patrick for those of you that haven't followed the Shupp's journey:

He is 6 years old, just a month older than Kristopher!
He is POTTY TRAINED completely, so no additional diapers (and I'm very thankful for that!)
He wears glasses as thick as coke bottles, but does amazingly well navigating without them as well!
Patrick speaks a lot of very clear words and the general instructions and responses I can understand easily.
He also has his own little language that he jabbers in some, and I'm pretty sure he might speak Jameseneese just like James does :)
He's a stocky little solid kiddo but not nearly as hefty as I was expecting him to be!
He's a good eater, very polite, and aside from saying "NO!" to just about every request at first glance, he's still doing great (and when I say "not no, YES," he's following through and doing what's been asked anyway.

I'm looking forward to getting to know him better over the coming weeks and will post some pic's of him with the kids in a little bit.

Kinda sad now that I can post pic's of our visitor but not our James :( But, some of the photos will just have to be over on the my normal family blog so they can include James (and be passworded) too :)

Have a great Friday!

The rest of the story

What, you figure there's more to the story than just a crazy Meredith and her wonderfully and equally crazy husband Michael??

Yes, of course there is!

Today, in about 2 hours, a little boy and his mom will begin an adventure. That adventure involves 13 hours of driving to a place they've never been, to greet people they've never met, and to get that little boy settled in with his pseudo family for the next month.

And so the next adventure begins... Tomorrow I will get to meet Lyndi for the first time and get acquainted with Patrick! He will be staying with us while Lyndi, Bill, and Jordan (big brother) go to Ukraine to adopt 15 yr old Freddie. We are looking forward to getting to know Patrick and are glad for the ability to help the Shupp family out in this way.

Life is about to get just a little bit crazier, but hey- we can deal with just about anything for a month... right? :)

The new crew:
Emma (7, Ds)
Kristopher (6)
Patrick (6, Ds)
Brianna (4, Ds)
James (3, Ds)
Micah (3, Ds)
Lynae (9 mos)

And... even with an extra kiddo in the house... I promise to blog more about our activities this month so that Lyndi can see what her little man is up to during his time with the Cornish crew :)

(ps, yes, our social workers and even their supervisors are all in the know about our arrangements and are supportive of our keeping Patrick for this time :) ).

The 'hose' for a shower head

doesn't work very well as a rope swing.

In case you were wondering... Kristopher found out for us.

I'd rather be called Crazy

than Disobedient.

More details later. For now, I'm clearing out the house a bit :)

Diaper Heaven!

I've been exploring diaper options for Emma here lately since she's hit 40lbs and has all-but-outgrown the Overnights size 6 that she has been wearing.

I don't really have anything great to share about that, BUT... I got on Amazon.com and discovered some GREAT diaper deals!

Now, please understand that I have five, yes five children in diapers right now and only ONE of them might be coming out of the diapers any time in the near future (Brianna). So, savings on diapers is HUGE around here!!

I don't know how long this has been available, but you can "subscribe and save" on Amazon by choosing to have an item delivered at monthly, 2, 3, or 6 month intervals. You generally save 15% by choosing this option. Right now, however, there is a 30% savings! That is ON TOP of sale prices :)

Since there are some great sales right now, I chose to do 2 boxes (with the 30% off for the subscription) and the sale price. I subscribed to receive 2 boxes every 2 months as well. I can change the subscription at any time.

What kind of deals did I find? I'd be happy to share!

For Lynae, that breaks out from most everything except Huggies, I found Huggies Little Movers (nicer ones than I usually buy, I generally stick to Snug and Dry) and got 124 size 3 diapers for $17. (original price $40)

For Emma, I ordered Goodnights size S/M 27 diapers for $12.25. (original price $20)

For Brianna, I found regular Pull Ups, 44 for $7.75 (original price $20)

I didn't order anything for the boys because I am well stocked for them at the moment!

Grand total- $37 for a month supply of overnight diapers for Emma, and all of Brianna's and Lynae's diapers for a month! Savings? $43 :)
(each month- and I ordered 2 months worth, so saved $86 just in this order!)

Go take a look and see what you might find! Don't be afraid to look at "more expensive" diapers than you're used to ordering, because they may have a better sale, making them actually cost LESS!

PS- it's significantly less than even Sam's Club or BJ's prices that I've seen
PPS- I broke down and ordered Overnights for Emma- 3 cases of 48 for $35 total (regular $20 each, savings of $25) AND- Shipping is FREE for subscribed items, which meant a savings of $140 on all the diapers for all the kids. Total savings today on actual items: $110 plus $140 on shipping!)

Catching up on PHOTOS!

More Photos on our adoption blog- www.mynormalfamily.wordpress.com

My new perch

Now that ESY is finished and we're all just "home for the summer" for the next 6 or 7 weeks or so it is time to push potty training into higher gear.

I've been getting ready... Right now we have 2 small potties and a seat that fits onto the big toilet all in the guest room. We also have a seat in the kids' bathroom because we still use that toilet during bath time and running to get the little seat when faced with a wet child needing to go and potentially soiling the bath water and multiple other children.... well, it was worth the $8 :)

This morning I put Emma on the big toilet and Brianna and James on the little ones and...

Brianna peed and pooped, and EMMA peed and pooped!

Now I need to find one more 'generic' potty so all 4 can spend some quality time in the bathroom. Everything I keep finding is shaped like an animal or sings songs or... And I really don't need a competition over who gets which toilet! :) Don't they make any kids' potty seats that are just a seat and a little 'dump' bucket with a lid that closes (so the kids don't play in it when one gets up and the kid next to them is still sitting)?

And my own new perch is NOT in the bathroom, but rather at the end of the couch where I can see (and hear) into the restroom and still see the rest of the kids out and playing. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time there...