My shopping trips

This one's for Jaimie... because she asked :)

When I take all 4 kids shopping I almost always bring the triple stroller. Occasionally I've done it without the 3rd seat, but not on purpose!! Brianna sits in the 3rd seat (front) about 99% of the time because 1- she'll sit up the entire time, and 2- she doesn't chew on the front bar of it :) And those would be what Emma and Micah do when they sit there... for very short periods of time.

Kristopher is great and he walks with me or rides in the basket of the cart until there's no room for him to sit well in there. I usually get him involved and ask him to get specific things or I'll hand him things to put in the cart. He likes helping and it gives him something to do so he's not just wandering around with us and bored.

If I only have Emma with me, as I occasionally did during the school year when the other 3 were at the church, I would push her in her wheelchair. Unfortunately, the new wheelchair is a little harder to steer with one hand... but it's ok, I can throw a foot or elbow in there on occasion and we make it work!

I always push the stroller or wheelchair and pull the cart. We might look like a parade, but my kids behave wonderfully at the store and like being out and about! Sometimes I will go after the kids have had dinner, or even after bed, if I wasn't up to it (or have time for it) during the day and we need groceries. Those trips are about 30 min shorter, on average, and I don't get home quite as exhausted, but since the kids are always so good when we go as a family I think it's a good experience for them to continue to have.

I'm sure once school starts I will be grocery shopping while the kids are at school most of the time, so we'll enjoy these outings while we have the chance to make them!

PS On the rare occasion that we ALL go out to grocery shop or to stores, we usually bring just the triple and one of us takes the cart, the other the stroller, but if we're going to be walking around at a mall or outdoor shopping center, we often bring the stroller and wheelchair because it allows everyone a better 'view' and also lets us split up the kids between us a little more if we're trying to feed them or whatever :)

Our kids' names

Right now we have:
Emma Hope
Kristopher Isaiah
Brianna Elizabeth
Micah Daniel

Hope that helps :) Thanks for all the great suggestions, keep 'em coming!

Names names names...

Anyone want to suggest some NAMES??

We'd like something fairly recognizable, definitely gender-specific (girl), and not super popular as far as a name that's either the new top 10 or one that there are always 10,000 in every school classroom (Jessica, Jennifer, Amanda...).

And for a middle name, we want either a Biblical female, or another 'word' that has a Biblical backing, such as Emma Hope :)

So... thoughts??

When is the best time

for a 5 yr old to decide to pull up your shirt in public to 'show' someone the baby??

Of course it would be at Lowe's with a weird man talking to us that had me creeped out BEFORE K decided to show off my tummy.

Ah... the joys of 5 yr olds. YIKES!

PS... it only makes it better that I wasn't wearing maternity pants, but rather low-rise shorts that still fit... yeah... timing..

Our weekend...

Yesterday was one of those days I'd rather just forget happened. I didn't sleep the night before, had gotten 'close' several times then would wake up in pain from my hips and not be able to go back to sleep. Emma woke and clinked her head against the crib for a while then as I'd decided to get up and take care of it, she'd stop. Only to start about 20-30 min later... My stomach was upset, my mind was whizzing, I was in pain, and there was just NO sleep.

No sleep doesn't go well for me now. So I sat in bed while life happened around me, upset and irritable and not the best company. After Kristopher conked heads with Emma while playing with Daddy he decided to come sit with me, though and we built a K'Nex robot that he'd gotten for his birthday. A few more projects with direction and he'll be able to do them alone. This was his first real attempt at it but he loved using the screws and nuts and little wrench and screwdriver to put together something 'real' and have it turn out nice in the end. Still a little above him for some parts, but he really did great.

Mike replaced our disposal yesterday. It's been a year+ since it worked right... and the past 4-6 months we've not used it at all, just cleaned it out occasionally but kept a 'catch basket' over it and pretended it wasn't there. $100 and about 30 minutes after he got home from Lowes we now have a new, working, garbage disposal on our sink. And yes, he took all 4 kids with him to Lowe's. He is a good guy :)

On Saturday I got a few of my "honey do" projects done. Yes, *I* got them done, but that's ok, they're done! :) First we went to NINE stores. Yes, literally. We were looking for a clothes rod to add a second row to a closet, cross-bars for the van roof rack, and a few other little things. Wal-Mart ended up providing us with a re-stock of baby food and some popcorn chicken for lunch. Nothing we were looking for. Target I picked up a pair of cute sneekers for Micah in the next size up marked at 75% off... so they were $3.50, and a beach ball for the pool along with a small milk to mix Micah's bottle. Nothing we were looking for either. Lowes we finally did find a closet bar, brackets, and middle support. Then we went to 2 auto stores, a bike store, a hardware store, Sears' auto dept and we stopped at the library because it was on the way and I'd just finished my last bargain buy book. I got a new book to read-- which because I sat around yesterday is now 3/4 of the way read. I also picked up a Paddington Bear book to read to Kristopher and we borrowed "Underdog" (DVD) which is being returned today. Oh, and a drive through Dairy Queen for some Blizzards and ice cream cups :)

So... afternoon came and we hadn't bought cross bars for the van. Hadn't found a single set actually. Mike used some 2x4s and got the kayak onto the van, though. It worked! For now... I installed the "door stoppers" that latch that I bought 2 months ago and never had the time/energy to install. I also put up the closet rail with some help from Michael. He screwed the 'adjustable' rail in place so that it couldn't resize itself and fall down.

Then, Mike got a trip out on the kayak and enjoyed himself. We'd bought him a life vest on Friday night when we went out- Outdoor World didn't have the cross-beams for the van either... We also picked up a life vest for Kristopher because it's inevitable that one day he'll convince Daddy to put him in the 'luggage' spot of the kayak and take him out on the water.

Today is a "therapy day". Emma's teacher comes for her last ESY class this morning and then E and M both have therapy at the center this afternoon. Emma has a 45 minute PT session and Micah has a 30 minute OT and a 30 minute PT session. Thankfully they overlap by 30 minutes :)

This evening Mike starts his LAST CLASS for his Master's! In 8 weeks he will be FINISHED!! He's so glad to be closing in on being done. SO AM I! :) He'll be done with classes 2-3 weeks before the baby is supposed to arrive. None too soon! Which also means that she will be here in just 10 weeks. WOW. 3/4 of the way there!

And I lived to blog about it...

This week we've had company three times :)  Tuesday was a monthly 'get together' with other young families that are local.  The families that can come, do, and we've had 6 or 7 families participate in the last 3 months.  This time there were 3 other families and ours, totaling 5 adults and 10 kids.  Brianna and Kristopher being the oldest by a good year and the other 8 kids were all (almost) 2 to 4 years old!  We had a great time, though, and lived to tell about it...

Then yesterday we had Mike's birthday with 2 sets of grandparents.  Not a lot of company, but when 6 becomes 10 it's still a full house :)

And today, we had the CHAOS directors over with their families to swim and "Hot Wash" (go over how the program went and what we liked and didn't like about it, suggestions for change, etc..).  There were 8 kids and 7 directors, and I asked two friends to come and help with my kids- one in high school and one that's college age.

Believe it or not... it was fun :)  I am VERY grateful for L and B for coming!  They made it work!!  Three of the kids could swim well, 2 could 'somewhat' swim, and then my 3 littler ones don't swim at all.  And instead of all the directors getting IN the pool... we sat in the sun (nearby the pool to watch the kids) and sweat :).  Not exactly sure why we did that... but we did.  So having L and B there with the kids to monitor them in the baby pool (outside the babyguard pool fence) and to bring them into the big pool one at a time... it was wonderful!  THANK YOU L AND B!! (Oh, and as you'll see below, Mike came home for a long lunch and hopped in the pool with the kids too... and tried out Emma's new float)

Also, our PT loaned us a "head float" for us to try out with Emma.  She has such a long torso that she can tip every floaty that we've tried her in.  The infant ones and even one made for 3-5 year olds just don't cut it.  She's WILD.  And, believe it or not, she's STRONG!  I'm so glad to be able to say that :)  But, she's also FEARLESS.  She'd put her head under water and not come up again even if she could do it herself.

On Wednesday evening Emma's PT brought the float by and we have it to use with her for a week to see whether it's something we want to "invest" in for Emma. 

So... what do you think??

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mike's Birthday Party

Mike's parents bought him a kayak for his birthday :)

 

My parents gave him a check so he could buy the cross bars for his roof-rack for the kayak and to get a life vest.

And from us... he got two cards and two Heath bars :) 

Ok, really, we have set aside for Mike to replace his very old desktop computer with a new gaming machine.  But it's a 'combo gift' for Father's Day, his birthday, and his graduation- which he finishes his Master's classes for in the end of August!  But he's decided to hold off until he's at least halfway through this last class (he starts the last 8 week course on Monday) before ordering the computer so that he's not tempted to play with it instead of study :)

We were going to have cake and then get in the pool... but the thunder and lightning swayed that decision and we just hung out inside tonight.  I didn't get a pic of the cake, but it wasn't all that exciting.  Just a white cake with white icing and 'confetti' on top.  But it turned out really moist so I guess that beats looks any day! LOL

Tomorrow night we're getting away for a few hours right before bedtime and going to a late dinner and I have no idea what else we'll go do.  This weekend we may go back to Sea World or... Mike might take his new toy down to the river for a little time on his own.  Maybe both-- there are TWO days in a weekend.

Happy Birthday Michael, I love you!

Happy Birthday Michael!!

Michael, just a few days old...

First moments with Kristopher...

First time meeting his baby girl 

Snuggles with his 'new' 5 yr old- first meeting Emma

The Baby in Blue- first few minutes meeting Micah

I had planned to do this for Father's Day, but... I spent the day with this special Daddy instead of posting :)  But these moments are a little piece of what makes him such a great person- and a wonderful father and husband.  The look on his face each time a new little one was placed in his arms...

Happy 28th Birthday, Michael!  I hope you have a wonderful day!  There are four very excited kids who can't wait to help make your birthday cake and celebrate with you this evening!

Adoption updates

Jacob is home! :)

The family that has been 'stuck' in the system because their son is in an institution is waiting on more paperwork but otherwise ready to come HOME!

A Dad is in Ukraine to bring their son home but is "stuck" there due to some issues with the CDC and a question about TB (which he has no symptoms of).  Please pray they can get home soon!

The families adopting kids in the Kiev area are all visiting their children and doing well!  One had some hiccups with unexpected behaviors of a child they'd committed to but they have adjusted their plans and are doing well.  Please continue to pray for these families!

Some of our TEN families that have their paperwork in Ukraine (or enroute) waiting for it to be submitted or waiting for a travel date have received their travel dates! The ones with paperwork snags have all been accepted now!  One family is still waiting on their submission and it keeps being put off later so please pray for them.

Our family in Haiti- missionaries now- is doing well and I'm sure appreciate your continued prayers as they live this 'new life' while they await the completion of their son's adoption.

One family is in Serbia adopting their little girl right now!

There are several families set to travel in July as well to several different countries.

Please keep all these families covered in prayer!!

Aches, bedrooms, and updates

I have always been labeled accident prone, but goodness!  At 10 or so I walked through our hallway on my way to bed and bumped a floor length mirror that was leaning against the wall... requiring about 10 stitches.

At 12 I stepped on a pinecone at church camp and ended up in a cast and on crutches for 6 or so weeks.  At 13 I was sitting on the bench in a basketball game and the play landed on ME.  I bruised the bone in my shin and was on crutches for a few more weeks.  At 14?15? I stepped in a 'drain grate' in the high school parking lot during flag corps practice (walking backward, and it was a 6" drop off) and once again was in a cast for several weeks and on crutches for a few of those.  I think there was another instance with flag corps that I was in a cast but... I don't remember the details off hand.

But this last 2 months... yikes!  I 'sprained' (I think) the top of my right foot doing... nothing.  But it still is achy about 6 or so weeks later.  Then a week or two ago I broke my baby toe on a door frame.  It swelled, turned pretty colors, and is just now about back to looking normalish though when I got in the pool to swim the other day I realized it's definitely still sore.

Add on to that the lovely part of pregnancy that some get to bypass but lucky me got it all a bit 'early' this time instead.  Basically (sorry if it's TMI, you've been forewarned), my hips/pelvis hurt whenever I sit or lay with uneven pressure on them for even a few minutes.  Which means I wake up in some excruciating pain several times each night and end up on my back and then I don't sleep well anyway.   What a pain in the... well, it HURTS.

And yesterday, while making baked potatoes for 20... I burnt 2 of my fingers.  Like, 450 degrees between my pointer and middle finger on my right hand.  Blisters.  Pain.

Do you know how much you use those two fingers?  Showering? Changing diapers?  Dressing yourself or kids?  Eating? Brushing your teeth?  Picking up kids?  TYPING?

Ok, I'm done complaining... for now :) (and yes, my toe and other foot are mostly ok now I just notice them every once in a while).

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This week I've been working on moving some things around for the kids' rooms.  My parents are working on a bed for Emma and when it's ready, I wanted to have a place to actually PUT it.  Unfortunately, the bed we have for Brianna is 'oversized' because it is a sleigh style and it doesn't fit well except for ONE place in the room... which means it won't work with the bunk bed (Emma's bed) as well.

Through lots of drawings, measuring each of the 3 bedrooms and all the furniture in the house it seems, and trying to also figure in that baby girl will eventually need some space too, we came up with something that will work WELL for our family right now.  YAY!

Kristopher sleeps on the top bunk in his room and the bottom is empty.  Micah has been in a crib in there.  Now Brianna's moving in to the bottom bunk!  That takes care of her bed (it's leaving via garage sale probably or to a friend).  Micah and Emma will share a room.  The bunk bed and 2 cribs will fit fine in the room that was the girls' room.  I'll leave E's crib up even after her bed is ready and it will be for the baby. 

I also am moving all the dressers and clothes for the 4 kids into Kristopher and Brianna's room!  I'm adding a rail (or... Mike is...) to the closet and the 4 kids' clothes will all be in there.  The baby's dresser will be in the closet in the 'crib' room along with the 3 beds.  I think this will make laundry a lot easier too with the 4 older kids' clothes all in one room!

So far Brianna has napped once and slept 2 nights in the bunk bed.  Micah slept one night and one nap in the room with Emma.  And... when Micah gets up at 6am... EMMA SLEPT THROUGH IT! :) :)

Lastly, while I'm on the topic, I'm mixing the kids' rooms together a bit more with coloring... The room that was the boys' is beige on 2 walls, light blue on the other two.  The girls' room is lavender on 2 and beige on 2.  I'm not repainting!! :) I'm making some bedding for baby girl that is lavender and brown and making both rooms brown, lavender, and blue all together.  Basically just some new sheets and pillows... But it will be nice to have a 'theme' through those rooms since the princesses will be coming down-- or moved to be just at the girls' beds anyway! :)

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Updates... Micah is doing better eating after a week of being home.  I think he's showing his stubborn streak big time!  But this morning I watched him dancing and clapping to a song and I saw this toddler there... not the baby he has been.  His walking has really helped him with other developmental milestones as well!

Brianna isn't attached to my leg anymore and is back to her sweet self for the most part.  She's been a little better about eating too but it's always a struggle with her!  She understands SO much though and is doing great.

Kristopher is figuring out that his behavior has to get back on track and is doing a little better making better choices.  He spent quite a bit of time with me this last week which was good for us both.  He even went to see what Emma does in therapy and cheered her on down the hallway.  I hope we continue to see improvements there and I'm encouraged!

Emma has stopped the scratching and chewing again.  She was just all out of sorts while I was gone (based on the way her legs looked!) and for about 2-3 days after I got home still but she's 'regulating' again and doing well.  She had an awesome day at therapy on Monday and walked with a Kaye walker (with a lot of assistance) all the way down a hall and back.  This is HUGE for her because she's never 'accepted' any walking devices to get her moving.  She usually just shoves them away.  Every baby step keeps me thinking... maybe one day...

Mike had a nice Father's day.  We went to church in the morning and all the kids went to their new classes- promotion weekend was last weekend and there was an issue, but it was resolved.  Emma is going in her wheelchair to Brianna's class (3-4 yr olds) and the other kids are all in their age-appropriate rooms.  After church we had lunch and Mike mowed while I napped right along with the kids :)  Then we all got in the pool and even ate fruit pops in the pool.  We stayed out quite a while until dinner time.  I made potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a separate dinner for the kids while Mike grilled steak.  I made brownies on Sat for dessert.  It was a nice relaxing day.  His birthday is tomorrow so we'll have our parents for cake and then Friday night I get to take him out- just the two of us :)

 

Ok... enough rambling... for now.  Maybe more 'catch-up' updates later!

I win!

I love to win. Especially in cases with INSURANCE.

I've been getting bills from Vanderbilt hospital since October when we visited their ER with Emma for the bursting capillaries while we were in Nashville on vacation. Bills of over $1200 in total. Bills our insurance should have covered in full. And didn't.

A few weeks ago I finally gave in after it was sent to collections and I paid the 2 bills from the 2 departments and actually, it freaked me out a bit because I didn't realize there were two bills initially... one was for 1072 and one was for 172. So when I paid one and found a bill for the other I was afraid I'd been scammed. But then I did find out it was two separate bills and each was legit. Not a good way to wake up from a sleepless nap though.

Anyway, I also sent yet ANOTHER notice to insurance saying "pay it!!" after forking out $1200 in bills that *I* didn't really owe.

And guess what I got in the mail today?? Explanation of benefits (EOB's) for 2 charges from Vanderbilt hospital. Paid. In. Full.

Now... how many months do you suppose it will take for me to get back the $1200 that I paid out on those bills??

Almost...

I was thinking today about Micah. We've been home from Ukraine for almost 16 months now. And we met Micah when he was about 16.5 months. Granted we didn't get custody of him for another month after that. He was 17.5 months when he left the orphanage for the last time!

In mid-August, right about the time that the kids all start school (13th), we will celebrate that Micah will have spent half his life in our care... and the margin just keeps getting bigger from there :)

Emma's milestones like this will be much broader since she was in an orphanage so much longer, but they are all ones to celebrate. It's a wonderful thing to know that we have KNOWN Micah for half of his life... and he's been in our care almost that long too!

Advocacy with kids

I talked in my last (super long) post about this week being our church camp for kids. Emma hung with me the 2 days we spent at the church, and the first day I was sitting in on the group Bible time as they presented first just a funny song with puppets then did an actual skit about the story the kids were studying.

I had Emma in her wheelchair sitting in the aisle right next to me since it was her first day with it and we were wanting to see how she does in it. A group of 3-4th grade boys were sitting behind me. First I thought, slip of the tongue. Then I thought, Ok, that's just not right- but then went right into a prayer at the front. But the third time I heard it... I acted.

The kids behind me were saying repeatedly "this is just retarded."

So finally I turned around and quietly said to the three of them "if you continue to use this language, we're going to have a problem." Or something along those lines. I left it at that. Granted, in this program it is very noticeable who the program directors on because we have a different color camp shirt- makes it easier to find us, which is the point. So these boys then knew they'd better straighten up... one of the camp directors called them out.

I knew that they had no idea WHY I didn't want them to say it... to them they may as well have been saying "stupid" or something like that. They didn't get it. But I also didn't have time to address it, and decided at the very least now someone has at least told them at some point in their life that their words are not ones that should be used.

Well... something happened that night that I didn't expect! I was waiting with Kristopher in a line for him to get on one of the jumpy toys at the family fun night and one of those boys got in line behind us. He then said "I remember you, we talked at Bible." Yes, yes we did... Then he said "and you told me not to talk like that because I said retarded." Yep, right again. "So what does retarded MEAN anyway?"

I told him in a sentence or two that all it means is slow, and that some people have a harder time learning things. But, that when he uses the word like he did, it is very mean to those kids that learn slower.

I didn't tell him about my kids- they were off with Mike. I didn't go any further than that... He said "oh, ok" and off they went on the bounce house. But sometimes, advocacy is nothing more than saying "that's not nice" and wow, what an opportunity to make an impression on a young kid- at HIS choosing...

CHAOS

As in, our church camp! This week was CHAOS at the church. Yes, we seriously call it that. I even have a shirt that says "CHAOS" on the front and "Dig It" on the back... the theme for the week.

It's not just a VBS with a fun name... it's literally CHAOS. In the time frame of 5 hours (9-2), we have 250 students on campus and over 100 teen and adult volunteers. Kids are grouped by grade (1-2, 3-4, and 5-7th grades) and during the course of a day they go to an opening program, a 'morning elective' (such as drama, dance, archery, sports fun, kitchen crafts, model rockets, and about 20 other choices, all different choices based on grade but each kid gets to pick where they go when they register), a whole-group Bible presentation, lunch (with hot-lunches available and food prepared for all the adults too), recreation or snow-cones (rotates daily who does which), music, an 'afternoon elective', and a closing program. Then all 250 kids are picked up by their parents in a car loop where each student is checked off exactly who they get in the car with and it's checked to make sure that they have been given permission to go with them.

So... literally... CHAOS.

This was the 5th year of CHAOS. We started off with 150 kids, 3 weeks of 3 days/week, and have quickly grown to 250 kids and having to close registration well before the start of camp. We've done two 5-day weeks for the 2-4th years of CHAOS but this year needed a 'break' and decided on one week, a little longer days than before (extra 30 min).

The first 3 years I was very hands-on with CHAOS. We met weekly for months in advance, planned, built, recruited leaders, and I led the 5-7th grade programming. One of those years was Brianna's open heart surgery and I helped from afar correcting computer issues from the Ronald McDonald House hours away. But last year... I was in over my head with my home commitments and didn't help with CHAOS. At. All. They started planning while I was in Ukraine and by the time I had a handle on the house we were only a few weeks out from camp. And Emma ended up having her tonsils taken out and I was again in a hospital hours away-- this time literally IN the hospital and completely out of the loop.

So this year... I tried! I really did... I went to the initial planning meetings and helped get some registration things together. We released the final packet in early April and from there I called and said "if you need me, call me." And I haven't gotten many calls :) During the time I had our little visitor with us I knew I had enough at home and with RR that this extra thing was the one I needed to set down.

This week I missed Monday because I was still in MN (which the timing of that trip was based on my sister's schedule, not intentionally missing CHAOS). Tuesday was 'recovery' day and I couldn't walk back out the door and leave my kids in the nursery for hours after not being home for 5 days. They wouldn't have had it! (nor would I :) ). I did consider going up to the church for an hour and saying 'hi', but... Tuesday was a crazy day including getting E's new wheelchair, etc. that I wrote about.

Wednesday I went to the church from 9-1:30, rushed home for PT for Emma at 2 (and then was reminded her time had changed to 1 but her PT came back realizing I hadn't gotten the notice of the change written down and she saw her anyway), then packed back up and was back out the door by 4:30. I picked up dinner on the way and dropped 4 hungry kids and Happy Meals off to Mike then went to help set up games for our Family Fun Night. I left the church after 9:30 that night. By the time "home" was put back together and I glanced through my RR accumulation from the day... then slowed down enough to fall asleep... it was 1:30 AM.

Thursday I wasn't sure about bringing the kids to CHAOS (except Kristopher- he did go all week and was able to participate in the electives and such not just be in the nursery. He LOVED it!). They have another program in the nursery on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I knew there'd be more kids in the classes. Emma had been staying with me anyway. But a call out to Poison Control before Mike had even left the house with Kristopher was enough to make me know I wasn't leaving my children that day and that we had things to do at home. Or, FOR home anyway, like grocery shopping. 2 1/2 hours and many $$ later... the day did get better but it only involved the chaos of our own home.

So today, Friday, we went up to the church at 9, Emma and I hung out and worked on things for tonight's program until 11:30 or so, then I picked up all 4 kiddos and went to my parents' house. I dropped Micah and Brianna off there to take a quick nap and headed to Orlando with Emma and Kristopher. I had a few things to pick up over there including exchanging some tank tops I'd bought in MN and were a bit big and I wanted to pick up some fabric so I could at least make SOMETHING for baby girl's room... I made a complete bedding set for K and B while I was expecting... but... well... we'll see! When I got back to town I picked up M and B and brought everyone home, made dinner, and I headed back to the church!

The evening program went great, the kids seemed to have a great week and me... well... I'm kindof glad we decided on just ONE week this year :)

Though, next year, maybe we can have a summer program where I'm not pregnant, or in the hospital. There have been 2 since I started working with the 5-6th grades in 2004... but both of those summers (and probably next summer too) I still had babies that were nursing.

Anyway... Not a lot of blogging this week because, well, it's been CHAOS!

It's like teaching a dog to read

Today hasn't been an unbearably rough day, or really even a bad day. It's just been a day where, well... here you go:

9am call from mobility store, can they deliver E's new wheelchair before 11? Sure...
Shower, start to bathe the kids, and...
10am call from friends, can they drop off some things they'd borrowed? Sure...
Pull Micah out of the tub and dress him, pull Brianna out and...
They're here :) So little miss naked wonder visited a minute in the nude. It would have been too nice for her to wait in the family room...
10:25 IM on the computer from a mom in Ukraine
Dress naked wonder before taking that one, and
10:30 Mobility guy is here!
Fit the wheelchair to Emma's size and such
11:30 whew, it's done, a few more necessary adjustments, but time for lunch
12:30 nap time
1:30 I should be leaving the house to get K from church camp... but 2 kids are sleeping, call mom for a 'bailout'
Fast forward a bit to 4:30... I called Mike, got up to start dinner... and Micah face-planted onto a coffee table.
Blood everywhere, tongues sure bleed a lot! Ice to stop the bleeding and he chokes and gags then spits up some blood... still hoping that was all and he didn't aspirate any!
5:15 Micah is settled, dinner's not happening, and I call Mike to pick up chicken grom Wal-Mart on his way home with the sound of Brianna crying in the background... have I mentioned she's not really happy I left and is stuck to me today?

Now it's bed time... I have Emma laying on my lap as I type this all with one hand... and 3 more kids ready to get their jammies on and hit the sack. Next on the agenda: grocery shop. That is, if Mike finishes the lawn before I lose the gumption to go!

So, what's like teaching a dog to read? Emma. Some days. Like... today. I realize I've been gone for 5 days and she's not so sure about that. BUT YIKES. She's scratching and popping joints all over the place. Her legs are a huge mess of scratches from the past few days. Her toe is in constant motion popping in and out of place. Tonight at dinner she was shoving 3 pieces of popcorn chicken into her mouth at a time. She'd be told to wait and put her hands under the table and start scratching. I'd move her hands above the table and say wait. She moved them below. And above, and below, and finally she sat there with her hands level with her shoulders and stared at her food. Her ONE bite she had left of popcorn chicken. For 5 minutes straight. Yes, I eventually just fed it to her.

Some days I think that with the amount of back and forth we do- usually when it's to this extent it's for her safety-- like to keep her from drawing blood from her legs... it's just so. very. hard. to. get. the. point. across. sometimes. I know she understands it, at least sometimes. Because she usually responds. But yes, my little mini-vacation has brought Emma back a few steps even though sh was in her home with her siblings, her dad, her grandparents... and she probably had very similar days to her regular days with me. But it sometimes feels like I'm trying to teach a dog to read. Especially after a period of regression.

(Yes, I know she'll be fine in a day or two and no, I don't feel guilty for leaving. I needed it and she'll be ok. And I'll deal with it better because I did have a bit of R&R.)

Whew, ok, a bit about the weekend :)

Today's off to a good start, so here's a quick recap of the weekend with my sister :)

I flew up there on Thursday and when Elizabeth picked me up we went to find food and ate at a cute French restaurant that had a patio. The weather was great up there- about 70 degrees with very little humidity. Then we drove around a little and went back to the apartment. We hung out there the rest of the evening and caught a late TV movie.

Friday we went to the Mall of America and found some great sales including Old Navy with 1/2 off everything Men's :) Good timing with Father's Day, yes, but also Mike's birthday the same week! I also got cute American Flag shirts for the 4 kids again so I can do another photo! The treasure of being an American is still there, very much. I will always be proud to dress my two little ones that got their citizenship a year ago in clothes that say "All American", ones with American Flags, and similar things. What a neat way that God brought them not just to our home, but to a country that recognizes their worth (well, still a LONG way to go there, but still so VERY different from where they came from).

Friday evening we met up with friends of mine- Both families are from Reece's Rainbow and each brought their kids too! I met a sweet little Ukrainian princess for the first time along with her big brother and sister, and 4 other sweethearts adopted from other countries abroad (not through RR) and that family is considering a RR child in the near future. We had a nice time visiting and getting to spend time with these families!

Saturday we headed over to the Farmer's Market and bought some fruit and snacks then went outlet shopping. We didn't buy much but enjoyed the time together walking around and talking. I did get my girls cute sundresses at Baby Gap and found some $2 sleeveless t-shirts for Kristopher at Gymboree though :). We also went to a maternity consignment store that Elizabeth's boss had recomended. I found a nice shirt there and also... a swimsuit! YAY! LOL I've been swimming in a tank top and board shorts most of the time so it'll be nice to have an actual suit that 'fits'. Best of all, usually maternity suits are upward of $40 and this one was... $9 :) Love it when that happens :)

In the evening we went to see the movie My Life In Ruins. It was cute. Not a spectacular "oh, you've GOT to see it" but it was cute. We'd read reviews befoe going and we got what we expected- entertainment with a cute storyline.

Sunday we decided to drive over to Como Park Zoo and on our way out heard from another family up there that they would join us at the Zoo, so we met up with L and her daughter at the zoo for a few hours. Her daughter is just adorable, such a sweet girl and so articulate. She's 13 years old and it was a pleasure to meet them both!

From there we met back up with friends from the dinner on Friday night. They have 2 daughters with Ds and an older son. S and I talk regularly online so it was great to meet her children and see the house she's been working so much on! Her gardens are beautiful! I wish I could do half as much to my yard! :) After a few hours of hanging out we all went to the local Ds picnic. (Thanks L for the phone call reminder!)

At the picnic... wouldn't you know... there's another mom that I've known online for probably 2 years and she's there with her husband and 5 kiddos. She's also expecting a baby just a few days away from jellybean. We hadn't met before but it was great to meet her and spend a little time with her and a few of the kids... most were off and busy :). After talking with A for a few minutes I noticed another familiar face. K and her family were there too! Two years ago when I went up to MN we met up with her family but they were camping this weekend and didn't think it would work out to meet up, but they'd come home early and decided to go to the picnic :) I can't believe how big her boys are now!

This weekend was great, lots of fun visits, nothing major in the way of plans, just lots of walking and hanging out! It's always nice to get a little break here and there and I thoroughly enjoyed my time away! Thanks, Elizabeth, for letting me come up and for taking off work to hang out this weekend!

A few pics from our zoo trip are on Elizabeth's blog, and here's a quick shot of the two of us... we, um, forgot to get a pic together until we were at the airport and I was leaving!

I'm home

Life's busy. Got home today to a bit of chaos... nothing unusual. Tomorrow's a new day and one I'm going to have to wake up EARLY for (considering my sleeping in the past few days and being in a different time zone) so I'm going to bed now :)

Enjoying the R&R

I slept until 8:30 this morning... it was lovely.

And either my sister's couch is better for my hips than my bed at home, or not hoisting and bending all day has given my hips a nice break... because I slept so well without tossing and turning last night and without any of the hip pain I'd been having.

We walked the Mall of America today, shopped a little, and met up with friends at Applebees for dinner. It was nice!

Tomorrow is some consignment shopping (or looking at least) and then on Sunday we'll be visiting with friends again and maybe catching a movie. And sleeping :)

I miss Mike and the kids, but I'm enjoying the break and I know I'll be going home refreshed!!

Making up for the day or productivity

Today we have done NOTHING. The girls didn't get out of bed until 9, we just finished BREAKFAST at 10:30 and that's because at 10 I finally said- EVERYONE IS EATING NOW! :)

I've done some RR work this morning and the kids have been playing and enjoying the 'free' morning. And I finally caught up on that adoption updates post! ;)

Time for baths and getting dressed!!

Thankfully today's only 'appointment' is here at the house at 2pm (PT for Emma) so a lazy day is certainly ok today :)

It's about time! Adoption updates!

So many updates that unfortunately will be skipped-- that month with an extra little one and the days since, well... time got away from me. We're glad to have the OLMSTEAD and ADAMSON families home with their children! Also, the LITCHFIELD family is home with their new daughter and the LINDSAY family is home with their daughter as well! :)

We have so many families in Ukraine or about to travel! Now you can see why it's been so busy around here lately!! :) SO MANY families and sets of paperwork that have been done in the past 2 months!

One family is in Kiev ready to come home very soon with their new son!

The family that has been 'stuck' in the system because their son is in an institution is there NOW for their court hearings! UPDATE: They had a successful court decision and are bringing their son home soon!!

Another family, Dad left this morning to return to Ukraine to bring their son home, court is completed and it's just the final paperwork that needs to be finished.

There are FIVE families with SDA appointments in the next few days.. AND... 4 of the families will be within close proximity to get their children (location-wise) so they should all have companions while overseas!

TEN MORE families have their paperwork in Ukraine (or enroute) waiting for it to be submitted or waiting for a travel date. Some of these families have hit 'snags' with needing additional or different documentation or because their child's special needs are not recognized as such by the Ukraine government. Please pray specifically that these dossiers will be pushed through and the families are invited to travel soon!

Our family in Haiti- missionaries now- is doing well and I'm sure appreciate your continued prayers as they live this 'new life' while they await the completion of their son's adoption. They have found that a piece of their adoption which should have been done at the beginning to expedite this point in the process was not done, so their process continues and we pray they are able to minister even moe while there awaiting their son's finalization. What a blessing that they are able to be his parents while they wait for it to be 'official' since he is living with them and has been since they arrived!

One family is in Serbia adopting their little girl right now!

There are several families set to travel in July as well to several different countries.

Please keep all these families covered in prayer!!