How this works...

I posted before leaving about all the prepping for me to go... The things I did to get the household ready so that I could leave the country for nine days. What I haven't posted yet is the awesome people that have stepped up to help while I'm gone.

First off, the man doing most everything and keeping life going on the home front... Michael. Mike is getting all 8 kids up and dressed with shoes (mostly) on and glasses (mostly) on and everyone's lunches together and folders signed and everyone out the door to their prospective school or other place for the day. A few days he has help, some he doesn't.

Michael is also doing baths and medications and getting out (already set out) clothes, and making sure everyone gets their time and love and attention every day. He's doing great, and the kids are having a good time. What a blessing Michael is. Not every dad can survive a solo weekend with the kids, much less our busy crew for 9 days!

Both sets of grandparents are also helping out! Since Brianna and Lynae only go to their church program 2 mornings a week, grandmas stepped in for the other three mornings as well as the time between when their church program ends and the other kids get out of school. It is wonderful to have grandparents that are willing and wanting to spend time with their grand kids! They also each took an afternoon to invite one or two kids to their house to have some extra special play time.

Our friend Chris invited Kristopher to come play one afternoon making this a special week for him :).

We also have two GREAT babysitters that are watching the kids in the afternoons. Both of them have been not only watching whichever kids need it each day, but they also have been left a list of honey-do's for the afternoon! They are unpacking backpacks, cleaning our lunch boxes, defrosting and starting dinners (pre-cooked before I left...), and starting the laundry and/or dishes if there's a need.

Things are going good back at home, and I'm thankful to be able to enjoy this time with Shelley and Annikah and our new friends here in Bulgaria and not have to worry that the kids, or my husband, or any of our caretakers are overwhelmed or stressed out.

God provides for every need, and we are thankful that He doesn't overlook the details when making those big picture plans!! THANK YOU to all that have helped out with the kids, prayed for our family, or otherwise been a part of this trip!

The goal was met!

In an amazing six hours, the goal was met to provide the Bulgarian parent group with the funding to print four thousand educational brochures with the TRUTH about Down syndrome on them! Thank you for your support!

Brochures for babies...

The Down Syndrome group parents that Shelley and I met with on Saturday night let us know something that we could do that would geatly help them to educate and advocate here in Bulgaria. It's something that would help parents, educators, doctors, friends, neighbors, and anyone else with a curiosity or interest in Down syndrome in general! The goal is to create, with information and tools already available to them, four different brochures which would each tell about one area of Down syndrome. For instance, one on birth to three years, one on medical interventions, one on education, and one on community living. The actual topics would be defined as they are put together, but along those general lines. The printing isn't costly, but it is money they just don't have sitting around ready to go. The info, the knowledge, the printing resources, and the desire to send them to hospitals, schools, government centers for women, to therapy centers, and to new parents... Those are all ready to go!

Will you play a part in publishing these four brochures and providing one thousand of each for circulation in Bulgaria? The cost isn't huge... $450 US dollars including paypal fees. the reward, however, is GREAT!

Tomorrow Shelley and I and Annikah will spend the day with one of the directors of the Down Syndrome group here. Tanja's family are American missionaries living here in Sofia and have four children, one of whom has Down syndrome.

If you would like to be a part of this, we would love to raise the money THIS WEEK and leave it here with the group when we leave! The need is great, but God is the provider, and I truly believe that this is one of the areas where a relatively small amount of money, if raised in small amounts from many, can amount to a GREAT amount of awareness and education here in Bulgaria!

CAN WE RAISE THIS MONEY IN THE NEXT THREE DAYS? Chip in will close on Saturday, and any money raised by late Friday will be given toward this project before we board the plane on Saturday :).

(the small print: money raised after we leave will be wire transferred at a later date. Chip in goes to Shelley's personal paypal account so it can be sent to her via hubby immediately as it arrives)

To chip in, please click the link below:

Bulgaria!

We are here in Bulgaria, Shelley and I. We now have her new daughter, Annikah as well!

Someone stopped on the street while Shelley was paying for some groceries and I was outside with Annikah. I'm pretty sure he told me what a beautiful little girl and so well behaved she was, since I have absolutely no idea what he was actually saying... But he was smiling and nodding at the little one, so one can only guess that it was nice, right? :)

A little something to leave you with... Shelley swears that the hotel we are staying in is more of a business hotel than a tourist hotel, however some moms from the Ds parent group told us it is where the "prostitutkas" go. That word I could translate pretty well :).

Anyway, we haven't made their acquaintance just yet but weren't so surprised to find this in the minibar in the hotel room. The liquor, not surprising. The box of other goods were a bit more of a shocker though :)

By the way, it isn't a prostitute's hotel, but there are those around and they aren't so far away... And the business men just might be here to find a wife...

The only thing we can read on the "love" box is that they smell good.....

Our visit with the Comellas!

We had such a nice time visiting with Lisa, Dan, Elaina (sorry if I misspelled it…) and Danny today!  They were in FL at Disney and took the time to drive out to our place and spend the afternoon with us.  What a blessing to get to know their family! :)

Here’s Lisa and I with the ten kids…

 

Lisa with Brianna (excuse Brianna’s horribly long bangs... they are cut now though! LOL)

 

Elaina with James.  They were buddies :)

 

Emma took to Lisa like she doesn’t take to many people!  She wanted to hold Lisa’s hand, sit with her, and smiled (and was clapping) sitting with her!  They had such a sweet little instant bond!

Danny was thinking it’s pretty fun to hold the younger kids after he held Lynae in the group picture.  Micah—wasn’t as sure :)

Wow, what a blogging break...

There's been quite a lot going on the last 10 days or so!  It's been an emotional roller coaster in some ways and just busy in others.

We've had an abundance of Orlando appointments the last week or so including having 5 kids fit for orthotics.  One set is ready now, but we're going to hold out for the next two to be done to make that drive again!

In addition to the 'normal' life stuff, I've been doubling up on everything, making extra meals for all of the kids, extra dinners for the family, and sorting out clothes to get everyone ready for me to LEAVE!

Yes, that's right... I'll be heading over to Bulgaria with my good friend Shelley for NINE days!!  That means setting up child care, lunches, dinners, smoothies for the boys, clothes for the week, and anything else I can accomplish in order to help Michael out so that he can have a GOOD time with the kids while I'm gone :).  Shelley is adopting a little girl with Down syndrome that's just a couple weeks older than Brianna.  I'm excited and blessed to be able to go with her and help her and her sweet daughter home!!

I'm excited to be meeting up with friends tomorrow and ALL the kids will be home!  Then Thursday is Thanksgiving, and we'll be having our feast here at the house with just the ten of us.  After dinner I'll be putting up leftovers, freezing what we can and setting up lunches for the family with some of them while I'm gone.  Then... we're going to head out to visit with family here in town then back home to do my final preps for the trip.

A busy, but good week.  Now it's time for a busy week of another sort, and a week of travel!! :)

Please keep Shelley and I in your prayers as we travel, and her new daughter as she transitions to her new home!  Also pray for Michael since he'll be doing the 'single parent' thing for a week.  And our childcare: Mike's parents, my parents, and Katie and April.  Also, my sister and brother in law that are helping with horse therapy while we're gone, and whoever else might be in and around and affecting our household and children and Shelley's adoption and her family and... the list goes on :)

THANK YOU! :)

The Orphan and the Call to Help

If you are a Christian...  I say this because this post isn't necessarily meant for those that don't call themselves by Christ's name.  Not because they won't find it equally as informative, but because they are not required to live by a standard set by the Bible, God's Word in text.  Many do, however, uphold the Biblical morals and so much more.  More so than some who call themselves Christians even.  However, those who are not Christians do not have an obligation to the Faith.  A standard set by Christ himself that we as people and followers of Christ should strive to be like.

Ok, intro over.  If you are a Christian... you are called to care for the orphan.  So, what do you do?

• Adopt
• Foster
• Support financially an organization working in children's interest
• Advocate
• Volunteer with children
• Volunteer with an organization

As a Christian, there's another part to it all.  There is a cycle of poverty, neglect, child removal, parental rights termination, and then the child growing up to be an adolescent aging out of the system in poverty, then neglecting their own child bringing another generation of foster children and parental rights termination.  That's not to say that every person raised in poverty will perpetuate this cycle, nor that every child that was in 'the system' will go on to do the same.  It is a cycle that some get 'stuck' in. 

God's call to the orphan is not just to bring them in to families, but to change that cycle.  To bring them to an understanding of Jesus Christ.  To show them the love of a real family, and to bring them to desire to see their own life changed.  If they go to a foster home with someone that doesn't hold to the Christian morals and standards (though MANY people that are not Christians do...), then how does the cycle break?  How do the children in 'the system' get to know God, how do they have the opportunity to understand true love?  How do they get the 'out' of the system that they all so desperately need?

As Christians, we need to provide for the least of these.  We need to provide not just by praying, but by investing our lives in it.  Finances, time, love, or even the extra bed in our home (or even... a brand new bed, made to fit especially for a foster or adopted child).

If we, the church, do not care for the orphan, who will??  Do we expect non-believers to take care of the orphans? And are they also to bring the children that have seen the most neglect and abuse and hurt in their lives to a place of comfort and healing that, as Christians, we know comes fully only through the saving power of Jesus Christ?  

I have no doubt that there are many great foster homes where the parents are not Christians.  Many kids are finding some semblance of normalcy and peace there.  I am not arguing that Christians should be the only ones doing it, or somehow the non-believers shouldn't be allowed or able to do it.  I am simply saying that, as Christians, with a Biblical call to call to care for the orphan, and a Biblical call to share the healing of Christ Jesus with the world, that it only makes sense that we should also be trying to provide for those that are in the most need.

I found a statistic yesterday that I'd heard before in general terms but this one is more recent.  It says that there are 127,000 legal orphans in the United States waiting to be adopted.  There are 302,000 churches in the US.  WHY ARE THERE STILL ORPHANS IN THE USA???  Where is the church??

Out of every FIVE churches, if TWO of them each helped ONE FAMILY in their congregation to adopt a child from the USA, there would be no more children waiting.  TWO out of every FIVE churches.  

In the same way, as you follow a calling to support orphans internationally, I strongly suggest that you use an organization that is a Christian organization if possible.  Someone that will be accountable with the finances.  An organization that will share the Gospel with others as they minister.  If you are adopting, choose an organization that will not only call themselves Christians, but can easily say that their partnering organization in the other country is also Christian. There's nothing like signing on with a ministry only to find yourself in the care of someone of questionable morals, ethics, or actions when you arrive in a foreign country.

We are ALL CALLED to care for the orphan!  And there are so many different ways to be involved.  Call your local foster/adopt agency to see what the requirements are in your area.  Find out about taking the PRIDE (formerly MAPP) classes to foster or adopt.  Ask your local children's home whether they have a Christmas Angel Tree where you can provide a gift for one of the children in your community for Christmas, or a way to donate toward their Christmas dinner.  Join a program of sponsorship for a child that is in an orphanage overseas to provide a 1:1 caregiver for a child that cannot feed or care for themselves, support missionaries that are working in orphan care, or donate a wheelchair through an organization that distributes them to the needy in foreign countries.

SO many ways.  How will you be a part of the answer?  How will you, as a Christian, share God's life and light with those who need it the most?  

Horse Therapy!

Before I tell about horse therapy I want to THANK everyone that prayed for our family today!  The decisions we were asking for prayers about have been made, and God has made them CLEAR!  We praise Him for that!!

Ok... horses!!  Of course, I forgot my camera...  My sister and her husband had cell phones, but those pic's aren't uploaded yet, so they may or may not come.

Today Micah got on a pony first.  He LOVES the horses!  He rode, grinned, flirted with the girls walking his pony and side walking, and just ENJOYED it all!!  Kristopher got on a big horse and enjoyed it too!  He was a little more cautious getting up, but his week he's going to have his first riding lesson (since he's not needing therapy...) during this time.  He enjoyed it and I think it will give him a great confidence in him as well :).  Lynae rode the pony after Micah and loved it too!  She had a combination of working hard on the horse and being lulled, and she was about ready for bed when she got off!

Aleksa's ride was a little more interesting.  Though she typically makes things more interesting on her own, this instance was even MORE interesting than she could have provided :).  She got on, rode for a bit with a side walker, and the owner of the therapy organization and I talked about how she needs an adult side-walker that can help keep her in the saddle of the big horse, since she's got such low tone that she'll slink off to one side.  The owner ended up finishing up her session as her side-walker, and what ended the session was when Aleksa was thrown from the horse as it laid down and began to roll!

ALEKSA IS FINE!

The owner grabbed her quite literally in the air and pulled her away.  YES, she got dirty.  OH YEAH, she got scared.  AND SO DID I!  I watched it happen and went immediately out, but she really is ok.  The horse was tired, and my understanding is that this isn't the first time she's done this.  YIKES...

Anyway, everyone responded quickly and calmly, everyone is safe, and best part of all?  Aleksa doesn't realize that that's not supposed to happen :).  She will, inevitably, get right back on the horse when her turn comes around again in a couple weeks!  She's quite a trooper :).

Next time I'll try to have pictures! :)

will you pray with us?

We are asking for discernment today, and that God will direct our path, guide our conversations, and ultimately make His Will ABUNDANTLY clear to us and those around us. THANK YOU!!

The Joy of PhotoShop...

Isn’t It Amazing… What Love Can Do?

This week marks 14 years since Michael and my first date.

I’m pretty confident that I never in my wildest dreams imagined we would have eight beautiful blessings right now…

Aleksa has grown and changed so much.  She is by far our most challenging child to parent right now, but wow, what a blessing it is for us to look her in the eye (she will sometimes make eye contact :) ) and tell her we love her.  It is amazing…

 

Emma is such a little GIRL now, no longer the infant-like preschooler we brought home.  She is WALKING, and communicating, and we are continuously amazed by what this sweet little girl figures out!

Our handsome little man that is growing and changing every day.  Kristopher has such a tender heart toward his siblings as well as other children with challenges.  He’s such a loyal brother and friend and a sweet sweet boy :).

 

Wesley has come alive!  His head nods and sense of humor are his best ways of communicating, but the light in his eyes says “I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about!”  What a joy to see him continue to mature and reach his potential!

Brianna’s determined nature continues to come out, and to be pruned and molded.  I’m enjoying our homeschooling and so is she.  It is amazing to see what she knows and find new ways to teach her each day.   Brianna’s sweet spirit has come alive and she is such a joy.

Goodness, how James has changed in the last few months!  Our “little wild man” has calmed SO much.  A mixture of maturity and diet, he has molded in to a young man that I didn’t think we’d ‘see’ for a few years still.  James’ playful and alive nature is still very well intact, however, and his cheerful attitude is contagious!

Micah has matured so much in the past months as well, and he’s met milestones as well!  Our newest little person in UNDERWEAR is a great start, and he is such a little helper now.  Micah loves to snuggle still, which is one of the first qualities that new friends always notice about him.

Lynae is all SPUNK.  Our sassy little two year old knows she is loved and wants to make sure she gets as much cuddling and snuggling as possible, whether it’s with Mom, Dad, or Brianna, Lynae loves to sit close.  With so many older siblings and such an atmosphere of therapy and learning, we are always amazed at how much Lynae picks up of the stuff we are teaching the older kids. 

 

And this picture, well, they didn’t have to convince me to sit with my arms around him.  Fourteen years after that first date, I am so glad God brought us together!

Pumptober fest 2011

Our friends and family!  And, winners of the Most Memorable Group. :)

How we make 8 kids work... in REAL life...

If I didn't edit well... this was written to post on a forum I'm a part of, and I'm reposting it here, because I think it's probably one of the things I'm asked the most... how do we do 'real life' with 8 kids??  So... here you go... :)

Our day starts the night before, and really, on Sunday evenings (like right now... what I SHOULD be doing...!).

Sunday nights I set out pill minders with everyone's vitamins and pills for the week, and that goes in to a bin with the liquid meds and inhalers, etc that are also done at the same time.  It takes 20 minutes one night and saves us 10 minutes searching it all out and double checking it every morning.  

I sort all the laundry I've done during the week on Sunday and put clothes for all 8 kids in to 8 hanging bins with 7 days worth of clothes.  Each night I set them out on the couch for each child so when they get up, they can go to the bathroom and get dressed, then eat breakfast, brush teeth, brush hair, put on glasses, jackets, backpacks, and out the door.  

I make lunches at night as well.  For the boys that are on 'smoothie' drinks, I make them every 3 days for the next 3 days and also freeze some for 'emergencies' (like tonight) when I don't feel like making any more :).  I ask teachers to leave the kids that use 'special cups' at school, and they wash them there.  Bibs too, I sent in wipe-able ones and I don't have to send them back and forth. 

I make a big batch of pasta once a week and put it in to small containers for 2-3 lunches for 4 of the kids during the week.  I blend up canned veggies and add it to the sauce, and anything else they may be needing.  Stick it in the fridge and it's easy to put in a lunch box that week (their class heats meals...).  I admit to buying the 'premade' PBJ sandwiches that are frozen, and Kris loves them!  We buy prepackaged snacks in bulk bc even when I package them myself, they tend to get stale before we use them if I package, so I went with the pre-packaged snack ones.  We shop at Sam's a lot!  BJs too :). 

I make our soy milk (some kids have allergies) and it's QUICK, EASY, and CHEAP!  I am trying to do it every 3 days or so, a gallon at a time (about an hour and a half to make, tho most of that time it's just doing its own thing!). I also freeze it if I have time.  Bought silicone deep muffin pans to freeze it in and it pops out easily then goes in to freezer bags :).  Keeps it handy again, in case I can't *ahem* don't want to... make some one day :)  They are roughly 6-8 oz portions that way!

We have one room of our house quite literally dedicated to clothes.  It has 6 dressers, a cabinet, and walls lined with rods for hanging clothes.  That lets us do laundry when the kids are in bed without disturbing them, and has been one of THE BEST things we've done as far as being able to better manage our home.  It also means clothes can pile up all week and no one sees them :D.  I wash all week... I put away on Sundays!

We have routines with toileting, first thing in the morning, on 'home' days they go before and after lunch, mid-afternoon/after school, before dinner, and before bed.  Though I have 5 in diapers, this keeps the dirty diapers to a minimum with many opportunities to go to the bathroom, and Micah is *so close!* to toilet training on this schedule :).  

We have hooks by our front door with initials of each child, and that's where their backpack, jacket, and lunch box goes.  Even Lynae (2) knows whose is whose and will hang them all up.  It's actually her and Brianna (5, Ds) job to empty lunch boxes at the end of the school day and put away ice packs and tupperware containers!  

We have a 'time out' timer which was costly ($25) but worth it.  It uses lights and vocals to count down the time.  Ours is set for 5 min.  It doesn't do anything the first 4 min, then does a 'tick tick tick tick' sound and turns to yellow when it has one minute left.  This is a reminder there's not much longer to sit, and if I hear it I remind them "one more minute!"  Then it turns to red and says "time's up!"  And they can get up.  It has a second timer I set to 2 min for my youngest 3.  All the others are 5-9 yrs and the 5 min is appropriate :).  This has helped us not to yell, etc nearly as often as we get in the 'habit' of doing, and the kids know to go SIT, and WAIT.  They'll even ask us to start the timer :).  They really do thrive on knowing what comes next...

We always pray before dinner, so the kids come to the table and know to sit and wait.  That way they're not 1/2 way done eating by the time everyone sits down.  If they sit and eat, they leave and go to time out.  Helps keep family time together and priorities with God first!   

We just started a chore chart for my 5 that are able to participate.  We wrote down their responsibilities on a page and their privileges on the bottom.  To get their privileges they have to keep up with their responsibilities.  They get a 'check' each day on the chart, and after a week with all checks, they get a 'one week' check.  Sometime that week we'll try to do something fun with the kids that 'earned' it.  There's also a 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 1 month.  The goal isn't that it has to be consecutive, but it should encourage those that understand it to want to continue to keep up their responsibilities.  Responsibilities include behaving at school, being respectful, taking care of their things, and keeping to themselves.  Those are their personal responsibilities, then they have family responsibilities too, like putting new bags in the trash, taking care of lunch boxes, switching laundry, cleaning up toys, etc... based on the child's abilities.  Privileges could be playing with the neighborhood friends, staying up the extra time after other kids are in bed, getting to choose a video after school, getting to go to grandma's, etc... things that may not happen daily, but often enough and if they don't do their responsibilities, they know the answer will be NO when they ask to do one of the privileges.

We have a color assigned to each child.  Red, yellow, orange, dk blue, purple, green, lt blue, purple... and we have it posted on the bathroom mirror and our refrigerator with each child's name written in their color.  Those colors are the color of that child's toothbrush, bathroom towel, and 'silicone bracelet'.  The bracelet things we use around each child's cup to show whose is whose, so that we don't have to go through 32 cups in a day!!  We also use those colors of enamel paint (covered with clear nail polish so it doesn't wash off) on the tips of each child's glasses (6 wear glasses) so we know whose is whose... We use those colors on the caps of medications like antibiotics *ahem-- which 6 are currently on* in order to know whose is whose at a glance.

We have a drawer for shoes and everyone's shoes go in it.  A diaper pail next to the changing table and a hamper that holds 1 load of laundry there too.  Either gets full, and it's time to empty/wash!  Keeps the laundry from piling up (dirty anyway...) and helps us find everyone's shoes in the morning.  Glasses go in a drawer with hairbrushes, glass cleaner and cloth, and hair ties.  Keeps it easy to find...

At night there are no toys in the bedrooms except a few plush animals/dolls.  Closets are locked, lights are turned out at the ceiling fixture.  Kids that shouldn't be with others are out of reach of them (Aleksa is on a top bunk and doesn't climb down, Wesley is in an enclosed bed to protect him from his brothers... since he can't defend himself!).  We have baby monitors too, and the kids go down at 7/7:30 pm.  Boys in one room, girls in one room, except Kris that has his own room (since his toys would be eaten by siblings :) ).  We are all up at 6ish, so the early bed time isn't all that early!

I also have a dual alarm clock in my kitchen that goes off at 3 and 9pm.  Those are the times that Wesley needs one of his meds, aside from in the morning.  Those alarms make it possible for him to get them on time, because otherwise it would be 4, 5, 10... and that's not good for those particular meds.  We also give meds in the morning and at bedtime for other kids, but those follow routines more so than clocks.  That's a new addition for us (the alarm and the med) and is a HUGE help!!

My best thing... a treadmill!  In my bedroom... where I try to run 2x/week and get some ME time when the kids are occupied or, better yet, on one of the mornings they are ALL at school (only happens 6 hours a week...).  Between that and the evenings, we get some time to ourselves too :)

I'm sure I could go on and on, but those are some of the 'little things' that organizing them really helps our house to run better even with our "big family"!

We didn't just start all of this "all of a sudden", and when we had 2 and even 4 kids it wasn't necessary.  However... it began to 'evolve' at that time, and now it is a pretty easy working household as long as I don't go to a church festival all afternoon on a Sunday, then sit on the computer for 40 minutes, and oops, will be out of town the entire next day and can't make it up tomorrow due to a neurology appointment that will take all day :)

On that note... off to make lunches.

Sick.

Two weeks ago James went to a specialist and they put him on an antibiotic because he seemed to have a sinus infection coming on.  Monday Brianna went to the pediatrician and was tested for strep, but was negative.  She was put on antibiotics anyway and felt better the next day.  Micah started antibiotics Tuesday.  Friday, Emma, Aleksa, Wesley, and Lynae were tested for strep and all were positive.  My parents had been sick around the same time as James and tested negative for strep.  Today I went to the doctor and tested negative for strep.

Do we seriously have two different things going through our house that are both bacterial, or do the rapid strep tests really not work that well???

I'm now on an antibiotic, but feeling pretty crummy.  Need to feel better by tomorrow night because the kids have been looking forward to our church festival for WEEKS.  Better yet, MICHAEL has been looking forward to it, because he gets to finally use his 25' trebuchet to launch pumpkins across the church campus as he (and his dad and Kris... and possibly a few of my brothers...) competes against another trebuchet team to see who can launch it further!

In fact, he and Kris are there right now and according to his text "may be a while..."  Hmm... now to think up dinner (fast) for the 7 sick kids at home with me right now.  Wishing they could all eat soup.  Wouldn't that be nice? :)

Oops...

Apparently I haven't been moderating comments and actually posting them.  SORRY!  I just posted comments made on the past few weeks.  

On to today, we are a household of sick people.  One just finished antibiotics, Six are on antibiotics, and if I'd gone to the doctor, I'd be on them too I'm sure.  Eight down, two to go.

Tonight Michael is at the ball field playing one of his last softball games of the season, part of a tournament.  He's enjoying it!  Wish we could go, but four kids were dx'd with strep today, so we're home and hanging out. My mom is coming over (after they're in bed) so I can go to a meeting about an orphan Sunday project at a local church.  Looking forward to that!!   

This weekend is our church's Pumptober Fest (on the 30th, 4-7 if anyone wants to go!) and tomorrow is their "practice launch" for the trebuchets.  (I wonder why spell check doesn't like that word?).  Mike, his dad, and Kristopher built a trebuchet and will take part in the pumpkin launching contest on Sunday.  This is the third year (I think?) and it has always been entertaining.  

Hoping everyone is feeling better after a good 24 hours on antibiotics and that we can have a fun weekend together!  Tomorrow is a day of REST!

Milking a Bean

Much to my bank account's dismay, we use a LOT of milk.  Not only milk, though, but a lot of SOY milk as well.

After a bit of math and calculations about how much each of our children eat or drink of what type of milk, I discovered (and will spare you the calculations) that we spend close to $35 every month on soy milk alone.  James is allergic to casein (milk protein).  Wesley and James both get the same 'smoothies', therefore most of them are made with soy milk to keep from 'accidentally' having James get milk.  Lynae and Emma both get upset stomachs from milk, so also drink soy.  It's a lot of soy milk.  Micah, Aleksa, Kristopher, and Brianna still drink regular milk, but I can't buy a cow, so I went about trying to find a way to make soy milk instead.

A friend of ours who is also parenting a special needs child gave me a quart of 'home made and home canned' soy milk, and let me tell you... the kids didn't notice a difference.  I, personally, don't care much for soy milk... however I'm not the kids, so I was still thrilled!

I waited a while, but eventually worked out the calculations of whether it would be worth it to buy a soy milk maker.  I VERY quickly found out that it WOULD!

With the cost of soy beans and the amount of milk that they make, it costs about $1/gallon (beans and additives) to MAKE soy milk, and $5/gallon to BUY it.  That meant that aside from the price of the actual soy maker, I would have a savings of about $28/month.  That's $336 a year.  The soy milk maker cost $100.  That's about 4 months worth of 'savings' before we REALLY see any savings, but in the long run, it should save us over $200 in soy milk alone in the next year.

Today I got my soy beans (GMO free) and set to work making milk!  I made up the boys' smoothies for the next 2 days and made some milk for the other kids to drink as well.  Though I understand it is better when you soak the beans first, I was anxious to start and made some 'dry bean' milk today while starting some beans soaking as well.

Now that I know how to milk a bean (which, by the way, will also make milk with any other type of nut, bean, or rice), maybe I'll start looking in to that cow...

The Pumpkin Patch

Our Crew… in true form!

James blends in with the pumpkins :)

The ones that followed us home (that is one GIANT pumpkin, tho the picture doesn’t quite do it justice…)

 

The Crew with Miss Katie (our sitter and the kids’ buddy!)

 

I think Emma liked the pumpkin patch a bit :)

The culprit

4am Thursday- Our call to Poison Control.

I feel silly now, however at 4am it didn't sound nearly as silly.

I woke up with a startle and turned on the light.

"Mike, look for a bee or wasp.  Something just stung my thumb!"

With that, I looked up.  He, for some reason, looked down.

There, on our BED, was a SCORPION!

Yes, I got stung by a scorpion while I was sleeping.  YIKES!!!!

I remember scorpions have venom... and I don't remember what characterizes good and bad, or whether there really is any such designation, so I pull out the computer and proceed to search for what to do with a scorpion sting.

"Wash thoroughly with soap and water."
"Elevate above the heart."
"Rotate icing 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off."
"Call Poison Control immediately."

Um... really???

Seriously, though it really did hurt like a dickens, I wasn't thinking that this 1" long little bug could pack a punch that would actually cause the amount of damage described in some of the web pages.  That said, it was 4am and there was no one ELSE I was going to call... so I dialed poison control anyway to let THEM tell me what to do.

Thankfully, Floridian scorpions are similar to a wasp or bee sting.  No "neurotoxins" in the breeds that are found here.  Thank goodness!

By about 5am I found my way back to sleep after taking some Benadryl at the poison control person's request.  I have now been dragging all. day. long.  I hate Benadryl!

Tomorrow at 9am our house pest control people will be at the house to re-treat it!!  Apparently, their pesticides need a little boost...

CRAZY love.

I've been accused of this.  More times than I can count, probably.  It's the kind of love that holds tribute to Bob the Builder as they say "can we do it?"  "YES WE CAN!"

Better yet, it's the kind of love that Jesus showed us and we try very hard to continue to emulate in His likeness.  Can we do it?  "Not without Him!"

Crazy love is what calls a 25 year old couple with two children to leave them home with their single aunt with the help of grandparents and travel half way around the world to bring home two very sick children.

Crazy love is what brings a family of 7 with a 3 month old baby to offer their home and love and family to a 3 year old orphan with special needs.

Crazy love is what brings a family with 4 disabled children and two others to leave all of their children in the care of grandparents for a second time and, during the holidays and busiest part of the year... the time when families tie together and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas... to go halfway around the world for a second time and bring home a quadriplegic blind child.

Crazy love is what drives a family that's about to have 7 children to complete an entire adoption dossier "just in case" and raise all the money "just in case" a child that they've prayed for for three years is released to be their daughter while they are in a foreign country.

Crazy love is what it looks like when GOD calls the shots, and we listen.  It's when two parents, two individual people called by God to love one another and to BE ONE each listen intently to God's calling on their life (not lives...).

Crazy love is what it looks like to say "YES" separately, then come together and say guess what...  I said YES.  And so did I.  Even when, at that time, one was in Africa and one was at home in the USA.

Crazy love is what it looks like to say YES for all the reasons that don't make sense.  It's because there's a need, that God provided for through YOU.

Crazy love is when things are HARD, but hard is GOOD.

Crazy love is knowing that walking the life of a Christian isn't about being EASY, or COMFORTABLE, or even always about being HAPPY.  BUT... Crazy love knows that DELIGHTING in these things is where the real JOY comes out.

Crazy love... I agree.  I think we have it, and I'm VERY glad to share it...

Do you have CRAZY love?



Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.