Our Family Bouquet

Why Didn't I Think of This Before...??

2011-11-22T04:40:00.000-08:00

Last week, I figured out how to save 40-50% off my grocery bill - my Wal-Mart grocery bill (the total would be more like 50-60% if I shopped at the "regular" stores)!! The idea has been there all along, but I didn't think about it until last week.

All I do, is I go to our neighboring grocery stores' websites and look for their weekly ad. I go through it, clicking on whatever item they have on sale to add to my "grocery list" that is generated for me automatically. When I'm done, I print the lists. I staple them together. I grab my coupons, and off to Wal-Mart I go!

How it works is, Wal-Mart price matches almost every ad you can find. The other 2 grocery stores offer lots of "Buy one get one free" sales, of course, at much higher original prices than Wal-Mart. I get that item, use a coupon if I have it (boy, is THAT fun when I do!), and voila!!! At check out, I have my list (with items that I got circled to help me find them) and as the checker took each item, I'd tell her what the price or deal was.

Yesterday, my shopping list from a neighboring grocery store offered Uncle Ben's wild rice "BOGO free". I found the bags of rice and they were $3.24 each (ouch). With my BOGO ad from the other store, I got two bags for $3.24, making them each $1.62. Then, to my absolute delight, I noticed that each bag had a coupon stuck to it (you know what I mean) for $1.00 a bag, making each bag only $0.62!!!!

I'm not an "extreme couponer" like seen on TV, because I haven't got 30 hours a week like they do to mess around (plus, in FL, stores don't double coupons), but I have found a very easy way to save 40-50% on my groceries and it only takes 10 min. online to do it, and a little concentration when in the store!

I had so much fun yesterday, that in the canned fruit aisle, two older ladies were debating on what kind of fruit to buy. I told them that P*blix had a BOGO ad for Del Monte canned fruit, and we stood there and I showed them my list and told them how they could this and that free just by mentioning it at the register! Soon enough, a gentleman showed up and we let him in on the deal, and a mom with a little boy chimed in, too! We had a little crowd of "price matchers" in the canned fruit aisle, all conspiring to get a good deal! It was fun!

Anyway, I thought I'd pass on this tip to you! Hope you try it and I hope it helps! :o)

Caramel Apples

2011-11-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

Every year on my daughter Natasha's birthday (on Oct 30 - I'm late blogging), we make caramel apples. We started this the first year she was home (at age 5/6) and we continue it to this day, though she is not with us anymore. I wonder if she ever thinks about those days and what fun they were? The kids always looked forward to it, and they still do today. We got apples for "caramelizing", but I forgot sticks, so we used Erik's little forks. ;o)

This is one of Reese's favorite yearly activities. He got to go first.

Yummy!!!

Erik's turn!!

And Mark's!!

All finished! Yep, they were sloppy, but that's half the fun!

What's going on at Mayo

2011-11-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on with me medically and a lot of people are asking a lot of questions, so to avoid having people wonder and to maybe even keep rumors from getting started, here is the skinny on the situation:

I had a slight problem that caused my doctor to order a CT scan. This was interesting, because I am the type of person who is never sick. Nothing ever goes on with me medically. So, with interest, and a bit of amusement, I had the CT. The nurse called after the results were in and said that the doc now wanted an MRI, but didn't tell me why. So, again, with interest and a bit of amusement, I had the MRI (these were done of my abdomen).

The doc called me in. With concern, he told me that it looked like there was a mass on my pancreas. He referred me to a GI doc (which I felt was good, since at least he didn't refer me to an oncologist!!). After a nightmarish week when I was convinced I had pancreatic cancer, the GI doc studied the reports and to my HUGE relief, told me he really didn't think that it was a mass (NOT CANCER!!), but a big aneurysm. He had spoken with a radiologist at the hospital and because I have no history of alcohol or cigarette use, or drugs, or a family history of aneurysms, or pancreatitis, or trauma, they really could not understand why in the world it was there, but it was. They scheduled me for an angiogram. They would thread a catheter tube up (starting at my groin) my artery to the aneurysm (ballooning of the artery) and fix it. Well, they tried. Once they got up there, they realized the job was too complicated for them at that facility and I needed a more sophisticated hospital. It was a real letdown...

So we finally secured an appointment with a vascular surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. I had my scans and reports sent up there beforehand. We met with him and he was as confused as the local guys were as to what was going on. The aneurysm was in a VERY unusual place and was very large. Armed with the knowledge of the first angiogram info, he felt that he could do another one, only more sophisticated one, and approaching the thing from both ends. We scheduled it.

Well, at our pre-op appt, the doc said he'd consulted with several other vascular surgeons and they said that they noticed something: a nearby artery was very narrowed and the artery with the aneurysm was compensating for it, and the pressure caused from the double duty is what caused the ballooning, so simply fixing the aneurysm wouldn't solve the problem - the narrowing would need to be fixed, or another aneurysm would grow. I would need major abdominal surgery to fix the narrowing. Nice.

I called my mom, who is always faithful to help me whenever I need her. She made plans to come to help take care of us for my December 5 surgical date.

At my pre-op appt, we had yet another curve ball thrown at us: the doc again consulted with several other vascular surgeons, and they wanted to do another angiogram for diagnostic purposes: he wanted to zone in totally on the aneurysm and narrowed artery and get a much better look before making any decisions on big surgery. After the images are taken, he will send them to the vascular surgeons at both Rochester and Arizona Mayo clinics so they can all see them and a recommendation can be made.

He said that he is aware of only THREE other documented cases like mine worldwide have been found, which is why they are being so careful and why he is getting so many consults from other surgeons!!! I'm glad that they are trying so hard, but I'm anxious to get this thing fixed... I don't LIKE walking around with a huge aneurysm (plus a smaller one) that could "blow" at any moment!!! I am otherwise very healthy, other than my weight, so that should work in my favor.

But that's what's going on with me. I will next have an angiogram on Dec. 5 and after the doc shows the images taken to the other docs in the other regions, a decision will be made and the recommended procedure will be scheduled pretty soon afterward.

This was a long post, but it's a long story! Thanks to any of you who made it this far! :o)

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

Now that Erik has been home for over 2 years, we can now say we have "traditions" with him. For example, this is his 3rd October with us, so it is now "tradition" that we visit the Methodist church's pumpkin patch and get pictures of Erik each year. Here he was on the very first October that he was here (he was home for just over a month at this time):

He was terrified of the whole thing! He wouldn't touch the pumpkins, he hated sitting on the hay bales, and he wanted nothing to do with the scarecrows! At the time, I felt really guilty taking these pictures of him bawling (he did cry an AWFUL lot those first days, in my defense), but knew that someday it would be worth it, and it is. New parents of adopted children, document EVERYTHING you can when your child first comes home!! It is so wonderful to see them progress and you don't want to have forgotten any of it!

Here he is again, terrified of the scarecrow! His nerves were really shot by this time, and after this picture was taken, we paid for our pumpkin and went home.

*************************

Fast forward to the next year - what progress!! Look! He's sitting by a pumpkin without screaming!! Yay, Erik!! And look - he has HAIR and is smiling!! :oD

Also notice too, in this one, he is standing and walking, though not with confidence just yet, and is willingly observing the pumpkins. What a kid!!

*********************

Fast forward to this year: He's still really hard to get a posed picture of, but we tried. ;o)

See?? Saying "Smile!!" only elicits a blank stare. LOL Here, I had just told him to close his mouth - what a goofball!!

This year, instead of passively looking at the pumpkins, he thought they were balls and he kept throwing them! LOL We couldn't get him to hold on to any!

Yes, this is sweet, isn't it? A nanosecond later, he threw the pumpkin. ;op

Ah, life is always better when your favorite big brother is around! Nikolai was volunteering at the hospital this morning, so he missed the trip this year.

Can't leave The Bearded One out of the picture-taking action...!

I'm open to caption ideas, but I think he was telling me that Erik left his designated spot and was on the loose.

"How much longer are we going to be taking pictures...? This is getting embarrassing."

As long as Erik's having fun, we'll keep taking pictures. ;o)

That's my boy!! :o) I just love him to PIECES.

Happy October!!!

Who Says Rain Isn't Fun?!

2011-10-08T11:37:00.001-07:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Olga!!

2011-09-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Regular readers will remember a post I did a month or two ago about a letter that I got from my shoulda-been-son Vlad and how WONDERFUL it was, since I was so worried that he and his sister were languishing on the streets and couldn't/wouldn't have anything to do with me since I could not complete their adoption, despite all my best efforts.

Wellll... today I got an equally (better?) gift today!! Vlad's sister, Olga, my shoulda-been-daughter, found me on Facebook!!! She apparently had searched and searched and finally found me, then she "friend'ed" my hubby and my mom and chatted with all three of us!! What a happy day in our family!!! We didn't have much time this morning to talk (since I had to go to work) and we have to use a translator, since her English is as poor as my Russian, but we were able to exchange pleasantries and she thanked me several times for everything and I was able to tell her I loved her, etc. and it was altogether wonderful!! I am hoping SO MUCH that she and Vlad can come here (once he's 18, I suppose) to either visit, or on a work visa, or whatever, and this will make things MUCH easier!!! Oh, bless you, Facebook!!

So I'm really happy today. :o)

Uncool Groceries

2011-09-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

I love shopping at Publix, Winn-Dixie, and the like, but obviously those grocery stores can be a bit pricey, unless you are getting a BOGO free sale and have a coupon. Therefore, I only shop at those places when I need a few things or one thing, or they have some great BOGO offers. For my "big shop", I have to admit I shop at Wal-Mart. No, I don't like Wal-Mart or what they are doing to the "little guy", but in this economy, for the good of my family, I have to shop there.

HOWEVER, lately, I've discovered quite the little grocery store gem: Aldi!! The first time I went in an Aldi, it was because I was curious and they advertised a gallon of milk for $1.99. I paid my $.25 deposit for the grocery cart (yes, I got it back), and was surprised by the lack of name brand grocery items. Check-out was lightning fast, because they don't bag your groceries - you do - and they simply swipe the item over the scanner and drop it back in your cart. Checkout can take seconds!! I bought my paper bags, bagged them, put them in the car and returned my cart (to get my precious quarter back). I'll admit, it was a bit weird.

Still, I kept going back for my cheap milk. And picked up some cheap yogurt too. And cheap juice. And cheap spices. And each time I went back, I liked Aldi more. I got used to their brand of food, and found it to be every bit as good as the "name brand" grocery stores. I stopped feeling sheepish shopping there, and started enjoying it. It was small and things were easy to find. And you simply can not beat their prices. When Publix had fresh pineapples for $3.49, Aldi had them for $1.49.

Now, we don't get *everything* there. We have our favorites. We get our dairy there, and sometimes we get fresh meats (they have really good bacon wrapped sirloin steaks). We also get lots of frozen veggies which are great, and juice that is comparable to V-8 F*sion. The frozen treats are also very good, and last week I got a frozen apple pie that could EASILY have passed for homemade!! (It was fantastic!!) We also get frozen berries, fish, pizza, chicken breasts, etc. The only thing that I shy away from is their breakfast cereal, a lot of their produce, and some of their canned veggies (though others have told me these are great). They also have fresh made pizzas (that you take home and bake) that is great.

This is sort of a commercial for Aldi, though I am not getting paid or was not asked to do this! I'm just passing along my really good experience with this store. I know that some of my friends have relied on the Angel Food Ministries that recently closed down and they are worried if they can afford groceries. To them, I say, TRY ALDI!!! It's waaaay cheaper, even than Wal-Mart, and while some of their stuff isn't the best, most of it is great. And they import their chocolate from Germany (or somewhere like that) and it is out of this world. I've looked on many of their labels, and can't remember ever one thing having a "Made in China" label like most of Wal-Mart has!! Most of their stuff, from what I can see, comes from Batavia, IL. Good enough for me!

Just a tip from one frugal mom to another! :o)

Dog Carting

2011-09-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

Didn't sleep well last night, thinking about Mr. Pound Puppy! Up early this morning with my laptop and one eye open, looking at different dog sites. When we were looking into Newfoundlands, I found this site: K9 Carting and was really excited about getting a cart for the dog to pull Erik around. Great exercise for the dog, great fun for Erik, great bonding for both of them together! But when I thought about a lab pulling, I was sort of let down... Labs are waterdogs and retrievers, not working dogs... Can a lab pull a cart??

I e-mailed the manufacturer and asked.

In the meantime, I looked again at the photos, and sure enough, there were photos of labs pulling carts. Wouldn't that be COOL if it worked out?? What a fun thing! It would probably motivate me to get out there too and walk, as I'd have to walk the dog on lead while it pulled, as Erik would not be able to control it just yet - he wouldn't have a clue about that sort of thing for awhile. We could even put little Mary on the seat with him! What a riot!

If anyone has any knowledge of dog cart-pulling, would you please tell me your experience? Thanks!

(This is not a lab, obviously, but it's about the size of a lab, and the cart pictured is probably the model I'd want to get.)

Yeah, we're probably crazy.

2011-09-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

For awhile now, I've been thinking that Erik really needed a dog that he could actually interact with. Mary and Daisy, our 12 and 18 pound dogs, are really too small for him. He is as gentle as he can be with them, but he is unpredictable, and they avoid him for the most part, except when he is eating, as he is a wonderful provider. Erik is a shy kid, and not really a do-er, and certainly not a risk taker. I believe he could really benefit from a friendship with a dog "brother" who could help him to gain confidence and self-assurance, as well as a lot of stimulation from the interaction. I did lots and lots of research and decided that a Newfoundland/Standard poodle mix would be the ideal dog, but YOU try and find a Newfypoo breeder!! It is impossible!!! I came close to deciding that a purebred Newfy would be excellent, but there was the issue of excessive drooling and shedding, and with a dog that huge, that would mean a MASSIVE amount of drool and hair all over the house.

So, I kind of dropped it.

I do some volunteering for our local SPCA, mostly dog walking, and I really love it. Our SPCA is a no-kill shelter and is a really nice one. The dogs are really well cared for there, and the staff are protective of the dogs, which is great. There is also a high-kill shelter in our town, the local "pound", or Brevard County Animal Services and Enforcement, and unfortunately, they do not have the cartel of volunteers that the SPCA does, and they sure don't get the donations they they do. Their kennels are indoor/outdoor, so they don't get the playtime that the SPCA dogs do, in large runs with toys, etc; and they desperately need paint and amenities to make their place more homelike (if ANY shelter can feel homelike...!). It's incredibly sad.

So, several days ago, I went in to see if they needed any volunteers (like they'd say no - duh!) and of course, I had to look at the dogs. 80% of the dogs there were pit bulls. What a sad fate that breed has now, with all of the fighting they've been used for, ruining their reputation. Doing homecare, I have met a great many pit bulls, and I've never met a mean one. They are all obedient, affectionate, silly, and wonderful. It broke my heart to see so many looking so rough in this place, where the day I visited, I'd learned that 5 dogs were euthanized. :'o(

As I wandered through, I noticed a small black dog lying in the kennel with his back to me, with a bit of one ear sticking out through the chain link. It was ignoring the deafening barking of the other dogs and I was surprised that it was so calm. I said something like "Hey, buddy" to it, but it didn't move (probably couldn't hear me). I bent down and touched its ear and it SPRANG to life, wiggling and wiggling and wiggling with the happiness that only a puppy knows! I put my hand in the crack of the chainlink by the door and he licked and slurped and rubbed his snout against my hand, while wiggling the back half of him so fast I could hardly see it! It was a PUPPY! A black lab puppy, purebred, from what I could tell. How adorable was he!! There was no intro sheet on his door, so I assumed he was on hold for someone.

The pup in side of his kennel, in one of his non-wiggling
moments (few and far between).

This picture breaks my heart. Could there BE sadder eyes, anywhere??

So I asked about him, of course!! He was found as a stray in Cocoa (2 towns over) and was on a "stray hold" until the 15th. This was the 12th, I think. I went home and told Mark about him, and we both went that night to see him again. Well, to make a long story short, he liked him, too, and we put an application on him. Yesterday I took Erik out there to visit and, while the pup was really hyper, of course!, he did great in the visiting room, and seemed very friendly and unafraid of anything, even the cats, with daggers in their eyes, from the cat perch things they were on in the visiting room. Erik did pretty well too, considering the pup was pretty overwhelming, jumping on everyone, panting, excited about being out of his kennel for the first time in a week (poor thing).

Today, Mark and I went back again, as the kennel-mistress (for lack of a better term) asked if I wanted to take him for a walk, and I couldn't do that with Erik, so today he and I went for a visit. It went great!
Here we are (don't look at my enormous butt, please) (You just looked.), after letting the poor baby outside for the first time.
Here he is with Mark (who would also tell you not to look at his ...well, I guess just his self). Mark had a black lab for many years who was an extremely good friend to him, so this dog was especially special to him.

Finally, I got to take him for a walk!! (You are looking at my butt again.) I was ASTONISHED at how well he walked on a leash!!! After only 2 or 3 mild corrections, he settled in right beside me and we were able to walk with a SLACK leash!! What a GREAT dog!!!!

Now, for the very BEST part!!! This dog is going to be evaluated on Monday to be a participant at our local county jail's "Paws and Stripes" program!! They will take him and several other shelter dogs (from this place and the SPCA) and for 8 weeks, will train the dogs!! The adoption fee remains at $50!! He would leave for the program on Sept 26th, I believe, and be there at the jail for the 8 weeks, then we'd take him home. Based on how well he did on that simple walk we took, this dog should do STELLAR in that program!! Oh, I hope he's accepted!

There is one decision that would have to be made first, though... He'd need a place to stay between Monday and the next Monday, as they need the room, and with him being a puppy, they don't really want him in a shelter, as it's not good for his development. So, we could foster him for that week, or we could have them foster him at another place for the week. This is something we have not considered. Also, if he does NOT get accepted into the program, we probably could not adopt him, as we could not handle an untrained 5 month old lab puppy with me working and being as busy as I am and with Mark not feeling so hot much of the time, etc. Anyone who knows anything about lab pups knows that they are NOT EASY PUPPIES and they chew and chew and chew and chew and chew!!! So to have him 2 1/2 months older, and trained, is really something we'd need for him to be. I'm just being honest.

Sooooo... What do you think??

The Thank-You notes

2011-09-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

Anyone else have a typical teenage boy? It's not that Reese didn't have a great time with his great-aunt and great-grandmother, it's just that he's a typical 16 year old boy, with other things on his mind. ;op (I think he rocks!)

After multiple weeks of nagging Reese to write thank-yous to his great-grandmother and great-aunt, I finally handed two blank cards to him and said, HERE!

“Oh, yeah, thanks! I’ll do this right away.”

A week later…

“Reese, I’m assuming you sent those thank you’s.”

“Oh! Uh, oh, yeah. Uh… well, not yet. But I’ll get on it right away.”

A week later,

“Have you written those thank you’s yet?”

“Huh?? Oh. Uh, no, but I will!”

3 days later…

“Reese, where are those thank yous??”

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I gotta do those.”

“How about now??”

“Uh, okay.”

The next day, I see them on the table, written, but no envelopes in sight.

“Hey, great, you finally wrote your thank-yous. Where are the envelopes?”

“Huh?? Oh. Uh, I don’t really know...” Starts looking around. I find them in the other room under the coffee table.

“Okay, thanks. Um, can you mail these now?”

“ME?! How old ARE you, son?? YOU address and mail them! You are 16 years old!!”

“Me?? *sighs* Okay…”

A week later, I find the cards and the loosely scattered, blank envelopes under a stack of papers on the dining room table.

“REESE!! You haven’t mailed these yet?!?!”

“I don’t know the addresses!! Can you give them to me?” I write out the addresses on a piece of paper and hand it to him.

3 days later…
“Are the thank you’s ready to mail yet?”

“Well, actually, I sealed them and don’t know whose is who’s…”

“Oh, Reese!!”

“Sorry.” He carefully opens them and identifies which one is which. Recloses them. That afternoon (heaven forbid he did it right then), he writes the address on the envelopes.

“These look like a First Grader did them.”

“Really? I thought they looked pretty good. Can you mail them now?”

“No, you still have to put our return address on them.”

“You mean, our address? Can you do it for me?”

“YES. And NO.” (Losing patience.) “Right here, in this corner.” I show him an example of a piece of mail addressed to us.

“Okay.”

FOUR DAYS LATER,

“ARE YOU GOING TO PUT RETURN ADDRESSES ON THESE?!?!”

“Yes! Give them to me now.” He write our address in the right spot. “There, can you put stamps on these for me?”

“NOOOOO!! YOU will put stamps on them!! You know where to find them in my desk. You do know where to PUT the stamps, don’t you??”

“Yes, right here.” Points to the right spot.

“Yes.”

ANOTHER FOUR DAYS LATER,

“Reese. PUT STAMPS ON THESE LETTERS AND GET THEM MAILED!”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

Several MORE days later,

“Reese. Son. Look at me. You have GOT to get some stamps and get them on these letters and get them mailed before your Gram Faye and Aunt Cathy forget you were even there because it has been such a long time ago!!!”

*sigh* “Okay. Where are the stamps, again?”

“You know exactly where they are. The Ronald Reagan stamps. Right there in my top drawer.”

“Okay.”

I’m not kidding you, it was still another 2 or 3 days before,

“Reese, why have you not put stamps on these letters?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, well, I just forgot.”

“Do it right NOW while I watch.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He puts the stamps on.

“Now, in the morning, before school, you will put those letters in your hand and walk down the driveway and put them in the mailbox. Do you know how to raise the little flag on the mailbox so they will be picked up?”

Smiling, cause he knows I’m teasing him,

“Yes, ma’am, I know how.”

Nikolai chimes in, “I can show him!!!”

“No, thank you, Nikolai, Reese needs to learn how to put a letter in the mailbox all by his big boy self.”

And sure enough, the very next morning, without a reminder, the boy actually took the letters to the mailbox and mailed them!!!!!

I love that kid. ;o)

Making strides!

2011-08-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, for those of you expecting big news, sorry! But for those of you who know Erik and know how important each little thing is that he does, read on!!

Lately, Erik has been making HUGE strides. I give the credit to the gingko biloba that he gets everyday, now. Those of you who know him, know that for the first full year he was here, he really didn't progress too much. He DID start walking, and started feeding himself, but other than that, not too much. VERY small things. Well, lately, it's almost daily that he does something new!

Today, I was sitting in the computer room, and I heard a bunch of sloshing. Sure enough, he had found my big 44 oz. diet coke in the styrofoam cup in the kitchen that Mark had brought me, and instead of drinking from it, he actually brought it to me and signed, "please drink"!! But get this-- I then told him to go get his cup from the kitchen, and sort of gestured so, and he DID!!! He brought me the cup!! Now, I don't normally let him drink soft drinks, but I HAD to reward this behavior, so I filled his cup (that had about 1" of water already in it) and added another inch or so of diet coke to it (yuck!!). He took it, finished it and brought it back for more!

This is a big deal because 1) he brought me my big cup (without spilling or dropping it) rather than just helping himself and 2) he actually went back to the kitchen to get his sippy cup to bring it to me!

Like I said, if you don't know us, you might be expecting a lot, but if you do know us, you know why I'm so pleased! :o)

P.S. He handed his empty cup back to me again, and I told him no. I gave the cup to Nikolai to fill with water, which he did, then Erik came back AGAIN with the cup filled with water so I could pour more coke into it! He's THINKING!!! :oD

Did Erik Go Back to the Orphanage...???

2011-08-26T03:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Mark took Erik to Arnold Palmer Children's in Orlando for a swallowing test. The test itself was no big deal, but he was not allowed to eat after midnight before it. They had to arrive at 9, but the test was at 10, but they didn't get in until 11...

Now, poor little Erik had to go 18 hours without food. If you know him, you'll know that Erik lives to eat. The boy will eat anything!! I hardly EVER give him junk food because he simply is happy eating anything, so I give him healthy stuff (am I lucky, or what?!). He just simply EATS. He is still tiny, 33 pounds at 7 years old, but he IS growing, that is sure!! It's like his tiny little body simply can't get enough in its rush to get him to grow and fill in whatever "nutritional holes" there still are inside. He lives to eat.

So 18 hours without food for him, is a lifetime. Mark told me that the closer time got to his test (the longer the time without food), the harder of a time he had. He said he simply "shut down". He said he kind of sat slumped in his chair, eyes half closed, head tilted to one side, and he had a look of hopelessness, the same kind of look that we saw in the orphanage. A look of having given up hope. It was like he was remembering how he felt when he lived in constant hunger in the orphanage, and the loneliness and hopelessness he must have felt. The hunger apparently triggered this. Is that not the saddest thing you've heard??

Once the test got started though, he apparently snapped out of it and the barium they gave him to swallow got guzzled down with great enthusiasm (much to the delight of the SLP's, I'm sure!!!) though no doubt it tasted horrible!!

It surprised me though, to think that deep in the recesses of his brain, he still remembers the orphanage and the hunger and the feelings that he had. It breaks my heart to think that he suffered in ANY way. :'o(

Of course, as soon as they were done, Mark took him to an Italian restaurant (Italian's his favorite) and he INHALED a MASSIVE plate of spaghetti. :o) Good as new!!

Next week he has another procedure, sedated this time, but it starts at 6:30am so he won't have to go NEARLY as long without food.

My poor little pumpkin. Behind that silly, happy enthusiasm for everything life has to offer, lies a tiny little boy in an orphanage who lived a miserable existence, struggling to survive each day. Let's hope we can keep that little boy hidden away until he no longer re-emerges.

Say a prayer today for all of the millions of little boys and girls still wasting away in orphanages, hungry and hopeless, who will never have a huge bowl of spaghetti ready to take away the nagging, hungry feeling, that never ends.

Vlad!!!

2011-07-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me know "The Story of Vlad and Olga". We were almost dossier-ready in our adoption for these 2 teenagers in Ukraine when someone (actually several "someones" who we thought were our friends) badmouthed us to our social worker and sabotaged our adoption. Call it how you will, this is how we saw it. The adoption was off and these two gorgeous, promising teenagers will never have a real family. We had been exchanging letters and I had sent many care packages filled with gifts for them, but last winter, I stopped hearing from them and I assumed that they were angry at us for not being able to complete the adoption, or banished to the streets and unable to write. I was able to write letters to them to explain what had happened and told them how much I loved them and and how extremely, extremely sorry I was, etc. At least I was able to do that.

I sort of gave up on continuing a relationship with them, after all, it is tough to keep a relationship going with orphans who are on the streets in another country. Well, they weren't really in an orphanage, it was a group home run by Christians (of course I did know that) and apparently, they are letting Vlad (at least, I'm not sure about Olga) finish his schooling there, though he is soon to be 17.

Well, today I got a letter from him!! When I saw it, I started shaking and got goosebumps as I read it. Wanna hear it?!

Hi, mom! (shaking and goosebumps begin)

Sorry for not writing to you for so long. Thank you for your gifts, it was very pleasant. How are my brothers and sisters? How is the weather over there? It is very cold here. Olya (Olga) is already learning at driving school, and I am preparing for exams. It is very scary to pass them but I pray God to give me strength and wisdom. There was an ice-skating rink in our village and we have been ice-skating there.

When are your birthdays? I have visited my father and I was pity for him, he hardly lives. I pray for him, so God would save him. Are your parents alive? I pray for you everyday to be with you, or just to see and hug you. We invite you to visit us whenever you can. You have we can ask for something (I've asked them several times if there was anything they needed) we might need, could you please send me laptop. I hope I could see you one day. I love you, mother. God bless you,

From your son, Vlad,

With love looking for a response from you.

I read that and stood there, shaking. He DOES still love me! My "son" loves me! He isn't mad at me and wants to continue the relationship! Oh, happy day!!! You'd better believe that as soon as I can afford it, I am going to Ukraine and giving my "son" a hug and as much love as a mother can bestow on her child, even if it's only for a few days! I hope Olga feels the same way - usually she was the one to write and he just signed his name, but maybe she doesn't live there anymore.

The letter was handwritten in Russian, but there was a typed letter that was translated.

I can not TELL you how happy this makes me!!!

Those folks who sabotaged their family (us!!!) may have tried to harm, but they didn't quite win, did they?! These are GOD's children, and GOD is taking care of them!!! So POO on those who think they can judge us!!

Would you please join me in continuing to pray for these two wonderful kids that they end up with worthy lives and aren't just languishing on the streets, as so many other orphans are?? These kids are still at huge risk. Thank you, thank you.

(This is a photo of Olga and Vlad when they received a big box from us full of photos and gifts. Aren't they beautiful??)

I Am SuperMama! Hear me ROAR!!

2011-07-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

For the last 2 or 3 months, at LEAST, our "mudroom/scrapbook room/storage area" ceiling has had a leak. This is something that is easily put off, especially when buckets can be positioned amongst the junk to collect it. Well, when pieces of the ceiling start falling off, and chunks of white stuff gets tracked through the rest of the house by little pawprints, it's time to do something.

Before our vacation, I sent Reese up on the roof (poor guy is as handy as ...well, you fill in the blank). He patched up the spots he could see around a pipe-looking thing as best he could and came down. I wanted to get up there, but I was too chicken, being such a petite little thing, and I was afraid the wind might carry me right off the roof. (cough!)

But it only got worse. Much worse. By the time we got back from vacation, we were using 6 or 7 buckets and rain was coming down so hard in a couple of places that it was almost a stream.

I am NOT handy when it comes to house repairs. I'd just as soon buy a new house when something needs repair rather than actually fix the problem. But buying a new house was not possible today and this roof NEEDED to be fixed!! In FL in summers, it is customary to get hard afternoon showers every afternoon for a few minutes (it's lovely here this time of year) and I knew the wood in the roof would rot even more than it probably has. It was Desperation Time!!

While we were gone, Mark had purchased more leak-squirt stuff (you know, like cault tubes), but he was not available today to help, so it was up to me.

I borrowed a ladder from a neighbor. Spent 10 minutes getting it situated just perfectly and went up, down, up, down, up, down, trying to make sure it was in the PERFECT spot and trying to get my nerve up. Erik was happily splashing in his little kiddie pool in the driveway, happy as happy could be, and Nikolai couldn't resist the urge to watch me in my comedic performance.

I went inside to make sure all was well (what could be wrong? We were all outside!) and charged back to the ladder, determined this time.

I stiffened my lip, grabbed hold of that ladder and made it to the top (for about the 8th time!) and without really thinking, hoisted my big ol' -I mean, PETITE- self up there, rolling onto my side, right into a big, dirty roof puddle. But I MADE it!!! And it wasn't that hard. ...really.

Nikolai handed up my bag of supplies and I set to work. The roof on that part of the house is flat, so it was very easy walking around on it. I am quite sure I found the 18" long crack that was causing the trouble and I put a triple wide strip of black-gunk on it. Since I had more stuff in the tube thing, I went ahead and put it all over the place up there, on every crack I saw. I even put it on stuff that looked like it might think about being a crack someday! It was kind of fun, I had to admit.

The time came that I was really dreading though: time to get DOWN. I handed my bag of goodies to Nikolai, who was waiting below. I laid down on the roof, and peered over the side. With enormous pride, I looked him in the eye and exclaimed loudly, "YOUR MAMA CAN DO ANYTHING!!!"

Without emotion or excitement, he dryly replied, "All mamas can."

Not to be defeated, I said with resolve, "Not like YOUR mama can!!!".

Still not impressing him, I didn't care. I was filled with so much pride I could have burst. Little did I care that I was filthy dirty from rolling in that roof puddle when I first arrived. Little did I care about how wet I was. Little did I care that sweat was pouring off me like the rain poured in through the ceiling. I had stopped the leak!!!

I laid down again (in the same puddle that I was so familiar with) and swung my leg over the side. I easily found the ladder step, and with Nikolai's warm moral support, put my weight on it. Swung the other leg over, and carefully descended to the ground.

VICTORY!!!! I DID IT!! That darned roof has been leaking so badly for so long and I FIXED IT!!!

...of course, it hasn't rained yet, and we don't really know if I fixed it.

But I don't want to think about that just yet.

Our vacation!

2011-07-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Remember the old days when folks went on vacation and invited their friends and neighbors over to watch 1500 slides of every single minute thing they did? Well, now we have BLOGGING!! The modern way to bore our friends and neighbors! The best part is, you don't have to look if you don't want to (I'll never know!), and it's such a chore uploading photos to this blog that there will be about .5% of the amount of pictures shown that were actually taken! :o) Do I hear any cheering out there??

Reese, Erik, Nikolai and I drove 24 hours over 2 days from FL to Reinbeck, IA, where my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents all are from and where both of my grandmothers and several aunts and uncles still live. When I was a kid, my brother Mike and I used to get sent up there most summers, and we spent many Christmases there, too. To us, Reinbeck and the surrounding areas were the best places to vacation in the world. As an adult, I lived there with my kids, but it didn't last too long (see post from July 4, or so) before we relocated to FL. Anyway, I hadn't visited IA for about 4 years at this point so the kids and I were very excited to go! As a bonus, my mom and stepdad were also going to be there (from Seattle)!!

Here's how we spent our time from July 3 - 9:

Reese and his Papa Joe (my stepdad) love sparring at ping-pong in my Gram's basement!! You'll have to ask them who won the most games, cause I'm not getting in the middle of it!

Take it easy on him, Joe! He's only a boy!!

Take it easy on him, Reese! He's a Baby Boomer!!

Here's the gang (sans me!) getting ready for the Fourth of July parade. Hey, Joe! Look THIS way!!

Reese's favorite part of the parade is getting candy that the people on the "floats" throw! He's got his bag ready and everything! I think he'll always be a big kid at heart. ;o)

"Hey, when's the parade gonna start, Mom and Reese??"

While Mom is waving hi to her friends on the float, Reese is saying, "Hey! Throw me some candy, lady!!" LOL

What's gonna go by next, Erik?

Takin' some time for a sweet kiss from his Gram.

What? Sitting in Old Men's Row??
(Actually, Erik was spooked by some of the loud noises and felt safer sitting a ways off, with the "grown ups"!)

Hey!! You gotcha one!!

There is a beautiful park nearby, that I suspect is rarely used, and is a wonderful place to take pictures! I would love someday to be able to do freelance photography (or pet portraits, baby portraits and the like) so I practice on my kids a lot! This day, Mom and I took Erik (the boys -ahem!- declined to go) down to get some nice shots of him. Unfortunately, in addition to the fact that Erik is already a rather difficult subject to photograph (he's not always terribly cooperative and has no clue what "smile!" means), it was very, very hot and VERY humid that day and the bugs were HORRID. *I* would have had a tough time relaxing and smiling for a picture, let alone poor little Erik! Nevertheless, we tried, and these are the best shots that we ended up with. :o)

Often, the only way to get him to smile is to do the "I'm gonna get you!" thing. Unfortunately, he had his hands up still when I got this one, but I had so few ones of him smiling that this one is pretty good! lol

I love this one of him and his Gram!!

And this one's sweet too! Isn't this a beautiful park??

**********

Mom worked for quite awhile teaching Erik to give a kiss!!

Pucker up...

Get ready...

AND KISS!!!

Ah, poor Joe got sentenced to a day (or two) staining my Gram's deck! It sure did look nice when he was done!! Good job, Joe!!

Here is rarely photographed Carlos, my first cousin's son. So that would make him my... second cousin?? He's spending July with Reese, detassling corn. He was also visiting my aunt (his grandma) from Tampa!

And my very sweet cousin, Steve.

Here is my Gram visiting with another second(?) cousin, T.S. and his wife Anne, from Minnesota. Super nice people. :o)

That little Erik is learning stuff easier all the time! Here he is, with a Jack-in-the-box at my Gram's house, cranking the ...crank. He didn't care so much for Jack and the way he jumped out of the box, but he liked the music and he learned how to crank the ...crank, and in the right direction, in no time! We were all really impressed! He loved this toy and played with it every day for a long time.

A visit to my Gram's isn't a real visit without a wild Marble Game!! Here she is with Carlos (left), Nikolai (middle) and Reese (right). I stayed away while they played. I didn't want her to beat me if she got "sent home"!!

Here we are, four generations: my Gram, my mom, me and my kids. :o) I hate this picture because I look soooooo fat, but I figure it's motivation for me to lose weight!!

We had a lovely visit in another town with my dad's side of the family! Here is my Aunt Annie, taking my picture!

And my great-uncle Leroy, brother to my hugely loved grandpa - he and Erik really hit it off! Uncle Leroy is such a riot and such a good time. :o)

Reese, Erik, and Uncle Leroy

Here is Erik, practicing his newly learned High Five with his uncle. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of my grandma!! If she finds out, she'll have a fit! Yikes!!

Ahhhh... After 2 more days, and 25 more hours on the road, it's GOOD to be home.

Off to a good start

2011-07-12T04:43:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm off to a pretty good start. Tried an "energy" thing yesterday that only made me sick, so I skipped lunch, though I drove right past my VERY FAVORITE sandwich shop (honestly, their food isn't bad - I get sweet potato fries with a 6" whole wheat hot (and veeeery moist and juicy) chicken sandwich with only cooked onions and cheese on it). Got a good jump on shrinking the old stomach right there.

Last night, I had Mom's modified BBQ bean casserole (with turkey instead of beef and with wheat germ and milled flax seed added in - shhhh!), which was delicious. Today, I had something new I'm trying, and I did choke it down. It's called "Raw", I think, and is organic multigrain hot cereal (has whole grain wheat, flax, wheat germ, and some other kind of grass in it). I added blueberries and Truvia sweetener. I ate it, but that is about all I'll say about that.

I bought some baby carrots for munchies for my day in the car, and also some cheddar cheese rice cakes to soothe my "gotta have SOME kind of junk" craving. I also got some Acai juice to bring with me to start my day (rather than a diet Coke, though I'm sure I'll end up with one of those - that is the hardest thing I have to give up!!).

So so far, so good...

Thanks to Mom and my veeeeeery good and valued friend Faith for the encouragement! I'll need lots of it!

P.S. I'll also join the Biggest Loser Club and hope to start my walks with Mary tonight. There is a nearby Baptist church that has a fitness room that is offered to anyone free of charge, but their hours aren't that great and when I peeked in there a year or two ago it didn't look too well stocked, but I'll check it out again. Until I can afford a treadmill and/or some kind of weight machine, I have to be satisfied with what I've got! :o)

...and Rocky IV didn't need any kind of fancy weight room, did he? Heck no. The old boy simply pulled carts in the snow and chopped wood to get in shape!!

Too much of me!

2011-07-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

I know it better than anyone: there's too much of me. Too much softness, too much roundness, too much chunk. I'm overweight. By a lot. I think life gets soooooo busy sometimes (and often pretty stressful, like everyone's lives) that I just simply put it off. One big excuse that I've used lately is, "I'll wait until the older boys leave home cause it's impossible to lose weight with kids at home."

Heck, I know how to lose weight, cause I've done it in the past. Around the time Natasha came home from Russia, I'd lost 90 pounds. Of course, after that time, I slowly put it all back on (kids'll do that to you!), disgusting myself.

It's all in my head. I know that I'm too big, and I know how damaging it is/can be. I know how to get it off. I am a physical therapist, for pete's sake! I KNOW how important exercise is for me!! I've just gotten lazy, and started emotional eating, which really isn't how I got here, but it's what has kept me here.

On that looooooong 25 hour drive home from Iowa, with quiet Nikolai in the car, I had a LOT of time to think, and I've come to some interesting conclusions that I thought I'd share. I plan to reread these frequently and hope they help. So, in no particular order, here are my ponderings from the highways of the southeast of the US:

It's okay to be hungry! It's not pain, and it can go away at any time I choose. It is not permanent, and isn't damaging. It's just simply uncomfortable - trying to NEVER be hungry is causing this problem and it's stupid.
Food will NOT disappear, despite what the the "food insurance" folks say. That doughnut in 7-11 that is staring at me will be still be there tomorrow!!! (Or a replacement one will, anyway!) It is NOT the last chance I will have to eat a doughnut (even an apple fritter, which are my favorites). Food is plentiful in this country and I don't need to panic that I will be deprived and go without. Food WILL be replenished, for goodness' sake! If I don't eat it, that's OKAY! It will be there again tomorrow, and the next day and the next! I don't need to fill up so full at meals, for the same reason.
Exercise: this is something I know a LOT about, due to my profession, but I am a hypocrite when I tell my patients how important it is. If it was so important, why don't I do more of it?? Yes, time is an issue, as it is with everyone (especially working moms), but that's just too bad. I multitask in every other area of my life, but I can't multitask with exercise? That's stupid. I know how important it is. I can feel it, now that I've reached a certain birthday and things are starting to change inside. It stinks!
Exercise is never wasted, as I tell my patients. If I'm consistent, IT WILL HELP. The thing is to be consistent!! I know what to do and I know how to do it and why. I just simply need to convince my lazy self that I NEED TO DO IT!! So what if it's too hot in FL to walk? I'll take Mary for walks in the morning before work - that way I can take my shower at the same time as always and I can't use the excuse that it's a pain to clean up after exercising cause it won't be. She would LOVE it if I started walking her (Daisy too!!) and it would be SO good for me. Shoot, I might even start taking little jogs (ha!). I do wish I had a human partner to go with us, though... I know that would help a great deal and be very motivating.

I KNOW how to lose weight. I just simply need the motivation, support and to get my head in the game, cause with me, it's all in my head. I CAN DO THIS.

The Midwest

2011-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't been out of FL (in the Continental U.S.) in 5 years, which is amazing for me, one who thrives on travel! The last time I went north, I went to IA for a quick trip on Mother's Day to see my mom (who was visiting from Seattle) and my Gram, and other relatives. It was a quick trip. I actually don't remember much about it because it involved some very stressful dealings with and about, my daughter.

Before that, we had moved from this small town to FL. We lived for 4 years in a small town in central IA near my Gram, my aunt and uncle and a cousin with her kids. My other grandmother lived nearby and another aunt and uncle also lived in a nearby town.

It was nice, but I hated it. I hated the snow and endless winters. I hated the lack of privacy (especially when one of my kids started having some severe behavioral issues, which is probably the main reason that we left). I hated living in an ancient house that never got warm enough in winter. I hated being bored all the time. I hated the lack of shopping. I hated the lack of competition, as there was pretty much just one of every industry here. I hated the lack of culture, as I wanted to bring my kids up exposed to much variety, and a much wider world. I hated the boring landscape, with endless farmland, stretching into eternity.

But, having lived in FL for the last 6 1/2 years now, and being back in the Midwest after all this time, I am seeing this area with new eyes:

I see how soft the green grass is. I see how tidy everyone keeps their houses in town and in the country. I wave at people walking through town, and marvel at how safe it is here. I see the big, fat trees, loaded down with emerald leaves. I see the simplicity with which people enjoy life here, as tractors roll down Main St. during the Fourth of July parade amidst much excitement. I love how my kids can go wherever they want in town, and I know they are okay. I smile as I drive past white houses with flowers in flowerbeds growing on sloped front lawns.

The town that I loved so dearly as a child but learned to resent as an adult is now dear to my heart once again. Things are different now, and sure, it is beautiful summertime here now, but the pain from the stresses that plagued me during those years have mostly healed now, and I am more mature. Moving to FL was the right thing to do, and it is still my home that I love greatly, but I can better appreciate the town where my familial roots run so deep.

And I love it once again.

Fun at the beach

2011-06-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I ended up without any patients today! Very strange, considering I've been busy all week, even with 8 patients yesterday (my max)! It is what it is, so I decided to enjoy the unexpected day off. :o)

I took Erik to the beach!!

NIkolai was volunteering at the SPCA (he likes the cat building best), Reese was studying, furiously trying to get his online classes finished and studying for tonight's last final exam at the community college, and Mark just isn't a beachgoing kind of guy, so it was just my little buddy and me!!

It was a beautiful day to go to the beach (albeit HOT HOT HOT!!) and the crowds were very low, it being a Thursday late morning, so even though we forgot the beach bag with all of Erik's toys in it we had a great time! Erik really knows how to enjoy himself, it is true: he just had a ball. We didn't do much "laying out", per my original plan, but instead spent most of the time at surf's edge, either walking along, or sitting and ...well, flapping. Erik likes to "flap". ;op

Ah, living in Florida does have its perks.

Give him another 8 years, a darker tan, longer hair, and a surfboard, and you've got the next big surfer dude. :o)

This is a cool picture because you can just barely see the towers at the Kennedy Space Center and if you reeeeeally squint, you can just barely see the external fuel tank on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I love this beach. :o)

A coincidence...?

2011-06-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for quite awhile! I think I have gotten lazy because I tell most of my stories and share most of my pictures on facebook. There are those people that I wish to keep my life away from (you know who you are if you are reading this!) and with facebook I can control things a little better. And, like I said, I just have gotten lazy. ;op Things are pretty calm around here anyway.

BUT! Life with Erik is never calm and so I can always write about him! I think most of my readers are mainly interested in reading about him, anyway. lol

Erik has been showing some progress lately. Those of you who know us mainly by Internet don't probably realize that Erik is actually really low functioning. I'm just good at getting photos of him looking like he is not. I don't mean to say this in a negative way, it's just a fact. I read about other people's kids with DS who are adopted from overseas and I'm amazed at how well they do!! Even kids who are just adopted are often walking, giving hugs, playing with toys, signing, etc. Erik was 5 when we got him and he didn't do these things for months - in fact, he just in the last month or so started giving real hugs...! He plays with toys, but not like other kids do - he mostly "flaps" them or sucks on them. His favorite toys are ones that light up and play music, and he enjoys simply listening to the music. His other favorite toys are straps with a buckle on the end, and he shakes it, making it waggle - he can do this for hours! He also only knows 2 - 3 signs, when I read of so many of his "peers" who know well over 100.

Erik IS a total love, though, and simply can't get enough attention to suit him, and that's totally COOL. :o) He does love his family! He's fun to play with, and a real riot. Still, it gets a little frustrating sometimes that he is so low functioning and the boys (especially Reese) would like to be able to play with him in a more meaningful way.

HOWEVER! Lately, he seems to be coming out of it a little bit more. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't realize what a big deal some of these things are that he's been doing lately, like:

Yesterday, he was playing in his little blow-up outdoor baby pool. He LOVES playing in this and can do so for hours (he loooooves water). Well, before I could get the hose turned on, I walked around the side of the house. When I came back, he had the hose and was putting it in the pool, in anticipation of the water coming out and filling it up! I couldn't believe it.

Also yesterday, he got out of the car by himself!! I had only worked with him 5 or 6 times in sliding out of his car seat, holding onto the door of the car, putting his feet here and there to step down, and lowering himself to the ground. He did it!! He actually got himself out of the car (minus opening the door and unbuckling, of course)!!

He also is improving on eating. He doesn't "choke" as much (it's not really choking, as the food gets stuck in his esophagus and not his trachea, as he takes too big of bites and doesn't chew it thoroughly). Last night, he even at a whole hot dog by biting off pieces (as I held it) and chewing it and swallowing it! Normally, I would cut the hot dog in tiny pieces and give him the bun separately. He loved the whole thing, and got so excited to bite the hot dog in the regular way!

One more thing: yesterday after supper, I called him to follow me in his room so he could get "changed". Instead, he stood at the bathroom door. I called him again; again, by the bathroom door. So I thought, "Why not?" His potty training has hit a stand-still the last 2 weeks or so and it's been hard to stay motivated training him, but I knew that I needed to keep on, so I put him on the potty. His diaper was dry and sure enough, he peed on the potty!! I couldn't believe it.

So why this improvement in orientation/participation?? I don't know. I DO KNOW that I've started giving him Gingko Biloba, about 5 times a week, and I hear this really helps kids with Down's. Don't know if that's what's helping or not, but I'm sure going to keep it up!!! If anyone knows anything about GB and wants to give me tips or warnings or anything, please do!!

Right now, we are just enjoying this newer "clear head" of Erik's and hope it continues! :o) It's hard when it looks like he's spaced out so much, and so much fun when he actually THINKS about things! :o) We're having fun.

Nikolai's 17th birthday!

2011-04-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, we went shark fishing on Nikolai's birthday. It was a night trip, and unfortunately, he wore a tank top. He froze, was seasick and was the only one onboard that did not catch a shark. Poor kid! Trying to make up for that disaster, I (Reese did not go this time) took him on another fishing trip for his birthday - this time, a day trip, fishing for deep sea fish! Our boat left out of Port Canaveral, the same place where the cruise ships are, and it was fun to see 3 of them lined up, and we even got to watch a HUGE Carnival ship leaving as we were coming back after our trip. A guy from another building next door to our dock shouted, "HEY!!!" at the passengers on the ship, and it was SO COOL, hearing all of the waves of "HEY!!!" in response! What fun! It was kinda like the show "Love Boat", when they left port, only no one threw confetti. They just shouted. (lol)

Here we are, ready to board!!

The empty dock, as we left.

Here's Nik, waiting with the other passengers. It didn't take long for almost everyone to go either inside, or up on the top deck, leaving us with the place almost to ourselves!

I don't know why this did not crop in closer, but it is the fin of a dolphin. We saw quite a few dolphins, who enjoyed swimming alongside our boat. :o)

We hung out at the front of the boat, for the most part.

There were lots of nice folks on board with us, and one of them took this nice picture of Nikolai and me.

Still heading out. It took about 10 min. to leave the inland waterway. After that, it was another hour and a half to get to the fishing spot! Today the water was particularly bumpy and the ride was exciting!! UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, sea spray all over us, ...and yes, lots of barfing from many of the passengers...

The only fish I was allowed to keep, and one of only FOUR on the whole boat!! The fishing was terrible!! The deck hands said they didn't know why, but for the past 3 or 4 days, fishing had been horrible, and this time of year it should be excellent!! This is a "pig fish", that audibly grunts!!

This is a better one, but I had to throw it back. It was a black sea bass, and until May 1, we couldn't keep any of them. (I noticed several were caught, but of course, they had to be thrown back.)

(This one should have gone up higher in the list of photos.) I love watching pelicans, and this guy was checking out the fish below, getting ready to dive!

And here are a pair of them diving together!!

C'mon, Nicky!! Catch something!!!!

Tired from a long and lousy day of fishing. And yes, working on his tan.

21 Things I Love About Erik (for World Down Syndrome Day)

2011-03-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

It being World Down Syndrome Day today, I wanted to brag a bit about my own little slice of Down Syndrome heaven: my little boy Erik! I want to share 21 things about him because his little extra chromosome is on the 21st set of chromosomes and that little extra one is what makes him special. :o)

He's so stinkin' cute!
His little laugh is contagious.
Any kid who wears glasses is automatically cute.
He says, "La la la" like no one else.
He loves to cuddle with me on the bed and watch TV, lying his head against mine.
He loves his family, especially his big brother Reese!
He talks to his babydolls (sorry, Markie!).
He is VERY easygoing and will go with you and do anything you want to do, willingly.
If he gets mad, he gets over it in about 2 seconds.
He's got a FABULOUS smile!
He loves stuffed animals.
He loooooooves music!!
His daddy would say that he loves classical music best, and yes, it is true!
His little toes are precious.
He loves, loves, loves to look at books, which his mama loves!
He loves kisses and hugs.
He's very squooshy and cuddly.
He has more fun in the bathtub than his best day at Disney or Universal Studios.
He is gentle with the dogs, even if he lets them lick inside his mouth.
He enjoys school, and eagerly meets the bus each day.
He was made in the image of God.

Can it be 18 months already??

2011-02-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

18 months ago, Mark and I met our new son. We weren't exactly sure what to expect, we just knew that this boy was ours and we loved him! Here he is, about 5 min. after we met him:

And here he is, shortly before Christmas this past year:

Sometimes I think he hasn't really progressed very fast, but then when I write posts like I'm doing here (and like I did at his one year anniversary) I am amazed by all that he has done!

When we first met him, at age 5:

He couldn't walk one step without a death grip on both of our hands.
He grunted a deep grunt, like a growl. He verbalized, but not much.
He could not feed himself, nor did he want to.
He drank out of a bottle.
On one of our first visits, he grabbed a leaf off of a bush and ate it - something he wouldn't do today, and a story we still laugh about because it shocked us so much!
If you sat him someplace, such as on a blanket on the floor, he would NOT move from that spot. You had to pick him up and place him somewhere else.
He would not reach for a toy - he loved to LOOK at toys, but no touching or holding. And certainly no playing! He had no idea what toys were or that they were for fun.
He would happily watch the heavy "snow" on the orphanage TV, even though images weren't very easily seen at all. (Why they even had that on, I have no idea.)
He was happy to be alone, to sit or lie down and rock, rock, rock.
He shook with fear with every new situation. For example, we gave him a little toy that played classical music, and though he loved listening to it, he would shake and quiver the whole time.
He could only eat pureed food, or else it would get stuck going down and he'd scream and cough until he either swallowed it down the rest of the way, or he got it up.
He had absolutely no clue about anything having to do with ADL's (dressing, bathing, etc.).

Today at age 6 1/2:

He walks all over the place, by himself. He still doesn't stand up without pulling up on something (though I know he physically can do it), but he will actually now get off of his chair, walk across the room, get an item, walk back to his chair, climb up on his chair and play with the toy!
He can go up and down a 3" step all by himself, without holding on! He hates doing it, but if I push, he will.
He feeds himself. No, it's not always pretty, but he always uses a spoon or fork, and whatever he spills off of the plate, he scoops up either with the spoon or his fingers.
He can now eat regular textured food!! Yaaay! He eats, pizza, steak, or whatever else we are eating. Yes, it needs to be cut up into pretty small pieces, but hey! It's a big improvement! He also can eat peanuts, cereal, crackers, popcorn, or whatever else anyone will give him. THIS.BOY.LOVES.TO.EAT.
He no longer uses a bottle. He uses a sippy cup, and I have started helping him with regular cups, though there's still a ways to go on that one.
He lets me brush his teeth, even FLOSS them!
He can put his own shirt on about 50% of the way - he needs help getting it over his head, but he can do the arms part by himself and pull it down. :o)
He helps with pants, picking up his legs and trying to put them in the pants legs, and he points his toes to put on shoes and socks.
He knows a few signs, but not as many as I'd like: please, more, drink, book. He gets so excited when he is understood!
He still does not say any words, but he is getting CLOSE: we are currently working pretty hard on "mama" and "bye bye". Pray he starts talking soon!
He knows his way around the house, and has shown a lot more initiation lately with taking his little self where ever he wants to go, which is fun! ...though he needs a lot more supervision! LOL
He is using the potty!! He never asks to go, but if you put him there, he most definitely knows why he's there and 80% of the time he will go!
He LOVES water. To drink, to run his hands through, to splash, to swim in. Swimming lessons start this spring. :o) We found a teacher who will give him private lessons in her pool - she is certified to work with special needs kids, too!
He can drink from a straw now - I forgot to say that - and that makes eating at restaurants MUCH easier, as we don't need to bring a sippy cup along.
Speaking of restaurants, he knows the whole routine: you are seated, you mess with menus, you get a drink of water, you wait, you get food, you leave. Ladies bring you this food as they walk past, and if they aren't careful, you will grab them as they walk past!!
He loves his family, and know who they are, for sure. :o)
He goes to school, and loves riding the bus, and loves playing with the toys there, and is finally starting to color with crayons!
He is starting to know what he wants - if he sees something he wants, he simply goes for it.
While he doesn't use words yet, he jabbers all the time!! And not just one thing - the boy has an infinite number of sounds that he makes! (Sometimes it's quite funny! Some things that he "says" are: "Yeah, papa", "Allah" (cough!), "Yahweh", "onion".) He HAS said, "Mama" a few times, but he seems to get really shy when asked to talk, so he doesn't.

Things we are working on:

Talking
Potty
Simple hygiene and ADL's
Decreasing some of the autistic behaviors that still exist: fascination with hands, some rocking (though nothing like it was!), laughing or screaming without reason.

I hope you enjoyed this update! I like to look back and see the progress, too. :o)

Putt-putt

2011-02-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun little blast from the past! Back in March 2007, the boys and I went to Orlando to go (once again) to Universal Studios. Well, we forgot our passes so we decided to see what else there was to do, so as we were driving down International Drive, we spotted this fantastic putt-putt place! Here is a picture from back then...

And here are my big boys today!!

(Plus Erik, of course!)

Where there's water, there's Erik, even if it's only just a trickle.

This is the neatest course, and has hills to climb, sharp declines on some of the holes, a cave that has a pirate in prison with a talking parrot, etc. It's such a cool putt-putt place!

Looks like he found some more water...!

Taking a break while Reese takes his turn.

Nik's turn!

He had to hit between those "stones" sticking up.

This hole just about got the best of Reese! Here he is, fishing his ball out of the "river".

It's hard to see, but this hole has a hill just around to the right where the ball goes FLYING and you hold your breath hoping that the ball doesn't bounce totally off of the green! LOL

Whaddaya know, there's one of ME in here! I hated this hole, cause I had to keep fighting those stupid rocks in my way. ;op

While Reese and Erik go on to the next hole, Nikolai fights to get his ball in the hole which is ON the incline at the back of the green (it's hidden by his body). Not an easy one!

Here's the one where we go through a cave and see the pirate in prison with the parrot. It's pretty creepy in there!

Hope you liked the pictures of our fun day!

A Day on the Town with Erik

2011-01-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well... kind of! It was a day spent at our "backyard", Universal Studios! For the past number of weekends, I've been wanting to enjoy this GORGEOUS Florida winter weather we are having but either I've been too tired, the boys didn't want to go, we had too much cleaning to do, or whatever. Finally, I decided I was going! Our annual passes end in March and I don't know if I'll renew, so I want to get there as much as possible before that happens.

Reese was at a wrestling tournament ALL day (he left at 6:20 this morning and won't get home until probably 10 tonight!), Nik doesn't have a pass at this time, and Mark wasn't feeling well, so it was just my little man and me.

I must say, Erik is trying so hard to grow up. He transitions from one activity/place to another beautifully - he's so easygoing that way! But he does get really scared at things sometimes. I try to push him to work through his fears, and he does try. He used to be terrified of vacuum cleaners, the food processor, the garbage truck, etc. Anything that made a big, loud noise - he'd scream and scream! Well, now, he does really well with those things! He also used to be afraid to try to walk, then to ascend/descend the ramp going into the kitchen, etc, but with gentle but firm pushing, he has conquered those fears as well! SO! Off we went to Universal with MANY scary things in it, but if he never faces his fears, well... I know him well enough to know that he will never push himself. I love the little bugger so much that I know he will enjoy life more if he can work through some things. ANYWAY! Enough of that.

One thing that scares him is the big Universal globe. He LOVES water (is almost obsessed with it!) but even so, he is too scared to walk into the mist at the bottom of the globe. Normally, I just get frustrated with him as I'm in a hurry to get a picture and get in the park, but today was just the two of us, and no one was pushing us to hurry, and we had no agenda or goals, other than to have a fun time together, so I took the time to let him get used to big, scary thing. He watched it from afar at first...

Then, we walked closer to it and let him sit at a distance and feel the mist on his hand and body.

Then, he was VERY VERY brave, and walked very close to the mist fountain at the base of the display and stood there in the mist!! He would not go up to the closest railing in, but I was SUPER impressed with how much courage he showed today!!

Here he is in Barney-land (ugh!), enjoying a big fountain of Barney, as if Barney was the next Ronald Reagan, or something. He didn't care who the fountain was of, though. He just LOVES fountains!! He would have stood there all day if I let him, but we had to go to the Barney show that was starting that he LOVED last time we came to Universal, but screamed BLOODY MURDER at this time!! It was so bad, we had to leave. He was totally freaking out. Again, he has fears, and needs to be pushed to conquer those fears, but enough is enough. Can't push too hard. As soon as we were out of there he was perfectly fine. Ugh. Of course, MY nerves were completely shot!! lol

"Well, HEY there!!! Why don't y'all come by and see us sometime?!?"

(I love this picture!! LOL)

Not sure if you can tell, but he is surrounded by bubbles!! I love it when they have guys out there with their bubble machines. It's a real highlight of the day for him!

Okay. Here we have more MAJOR progress!! After screaming his brains out on the Jimmy Neutron ride (definitely NOT ready for that one yet!), then screaming at an I'll admit VERY scary SpongeBob character (I would have screamed too!!), Erik became a man. On our way out of the park, we spotted Scooby Doo and Curious George. While SpongeBob was terrifying, Scooby and George were calm, gentle, and unintimidating. EXACTLY what my little Piglet needed! For the first time ever, he approached a "character". (Last year, I have a picture of him screaming with ALL of his teeth showing in Mickey Mouse's face!) Mind you, he didn't really touch them or turn around to have his picture taken, but these pictures are more precious to me than a nicely posed picture of him smiling properly would have been. The patience shown by these two characters was MUCH appreciated! They obviously could see that extra time and gentleness were needed with my special little guy. :o)

Check another phobia off his "starting to conquer" list.

My son became a man today.

Merry Christmas, 2010!

2010-12-25T11:01:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! We hope you had a wonderful day, as we have. It was just the 5 of us at home, no visitors this year, and it was a nice, relaxing day. ;o) No big stories to tell, so I'll let the pictures do the talking (it's for the pictures that you visit my blog anyway, though!):

Erik's stocking, Christmas morning, as it hung on the mantle.

What did you get in your oven mitt, Roosey??

Nikolai, collecting the goods from HIS oven mitt.

Ah! A new favorite!! How did Santa know...?
(Never mind the broken glasses, please.)

Markie got a stocking, too!

Look at the nifty (very loud!) bell Erik got from Santa!

...and of course, a sweet little teddy bear.

What the HECK is this thing...?!?

Our tree.

Sheesh! Look at Mark's stack of goods!!

I think "Cute!"'s enough of a caption for this one. ;o)

When's it going to be MY turn to open one...?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-11T07:28:00.001-08:00

Lighting the Advent wreath - week 2

2010-12-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Week two of lighting the Advent Wreath:

Lighting the Advent wreath

2010-11-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

Week One of Advent:

(He doesn't look too happy because he couldn't get the lighter to work...!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, 2010!! We didn't go anywhere, we didn't have anyone over and really, didn't see a soul, other than each other, but we had a very lovely day! It was low-key, relaxed and everyone got along. :o) I've got a bunch of pictures to share, so if you're looking to read a book, look elsewhere - I've got PICTURES! ;o)

Here is Nikolai this morning, helping to gut one of our pumpkins to make roasted seeds. He'd never gutted a pumpkin before, and found this to be quite the interesting experience! lol

Something must've been funny!

Nik is one HECK of a great kitchen helper! He is a master at doing dishes, and usually has a great attitude about it. Here he is doing small batches of dishes, as he knows what a MESS is coming later on today!

Erik is always such a riot - here he is, hamming it up as usual, but I didn't realize how dirty he was until I uploaded the pictures! LOL He is covered with food! ;op

Reese is feeling a little better, but is so often tired. He's getting better each day.

Daisy and Mary, playing on their blanket in the corner. They love it when the family is all together and doing stuff at home!

SMILE, Markie!! We had a hot game of Apples to Apples, which is one of our favorite family games. Scrabble is the other.

Little Mary, chewing on the nub of a bone. She's so cute - see the little shock of hair she has on the top of her head? It's so hilarious - I like to try and stand it up, punk-style, and Mark tries to get it to lie flat. ;op

Erik LOVES to sit at the kitchen counter on a stool, and watch me cook. (What I think he's doing is waiting for me to toss him a goodie or two!)

Here I am with my turkey!!

My family.

One of our Thanksgiving traditions is to give Daisy some turkey on a plate and get a close-up of her eating it! She LOVES turkey!!! (She got mashed potatoes, too!)

Of course, we couldn't leave Mary out.

Mary's FAVORITE place to be is by Erik's chair during/after meals. She's just a little too short to get to the seat of the booster, but she does pretty well, nonetheless!!

What a guy!! Here's Nikolai, by the considerable kitchen mess! He and Reese have a deal worked out each night: Nikolai washes the dishes, and Reese does all the wiping down of counters, sweeps, and puts stuff away, as well as the cleaned dishes. I can not TELL you how I appreciate their help with this!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families!!

A picture

2010-11-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted a picture on here!! I haven't taken many lately, I guess...!! I DID take this picture of Mary (now 9 months old) in her chicken costume for Halloween. This costume is perfect for her because she can be sooooo timid at times!! We love you, Mary!!

This is just a picture so that you have a picture to see. LOL

My poor angel and his nose

2010-11-23T05:55:00.000-08:00

Poor Reese had a tough day yesterday. What we expected to be a short, eventful, but smooth day turned into a very long, eventful and tough day!

We arrived at our scheduled time at the hospital at 5:35am. Checked in, waited in the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) for an hour or so, as expected, then was brought up to the Holding Room (pre-OR room). There, we met everyone we needed to in a mad scurrying about, and they put Reese's IV line in. Well, they tried. The poor kid was stuck SEVERAL times (each time preceded by a "numbing shot" that didn't appear to do a durned thing). The 20-year anesthesia vet said only twice was he unable to stick someone, and he called the main anesthesiologist to do it!! By this time, Reese's nerves were shot, though I thought he did GREAT keeping it together (better than I would have done!). The guy said Reese's skin was VERY tough and not only that, his veins were deep into the muscle! (Poor Reese!) The main guy got it on his first or second try (I don't remember which) and was amazed at how tough it was to get. But after that, they gave him a sedative to relax him (by this time he NEEDED it!) and he got very happy and relaxed. Lots of smiling. ;o)

So we waited for the surgeon. And waited. And waited. The RN came over and apologized for the wait but this surgeon is "never late!". I was getting a little worried about him, but a few minutes later we got the news: someone screwed up the schedule and he was across town at another surgical center and wasn't scheduled to see Reese until 1:00!!! It was 7:30am now!! UUUUGH!!! Reese was in la-la land, in his happy place, and so we had no choice but to wait until the sedative wore off and they sent us down to Recovery (due to the meds he'd had) for awhile, then back to ACC for many hours until they could bring us back up!! So he has this IV in a weird place in the crook of his arm, he's starving, and just wanting to get the show on the road.

ME TOO! We only have one car right now and Mark needed it to go to Orlando for an appointment that he needed to get to, no one could pick up Nikolai from the daycare (where he volunteers) on time, and... and... and... What a mess.

EVENTUALLY, after an eternity of waiting, he made it back up to the Holding Room, had his procedure, which went very well, and back to Recovery and down to the "sub" recovery room, and we finally got home around 6 or 7pm. I can't tell you how exhausted we both were!! Poor Reese hardly got any sleep (other than during the procedure, of course) and was JUST starting to sleep when they finally let us go home! I was glad for him to get into his own bed last night.

He's doing okay this morning, not too much pain, and is planning on resting most of the day. I am heading off to work (I initially took the day off, but decided against it, thinking that he would be fine and we need the money so badly that I needed to go in) and Mark will be here with him. His nose is really swollen, but he is the best patient, and doing everything he's supposed to. :o) (Does that surprise anyone??)

Sorry, no pictures! He would destroy me if I posted post-op pictures of him. ;op

A SuperFood breakfast fit for a queen!

2010-11-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

After a horrible day, diet-wise, at the hospital yesterday while Reesie had his septoplasty, I had a great breakfast, superfood-wise, this morning!!

I had: Multi-Grain Cheerios (whole grain), that weird superfood drink that was recommended, a cup of Soy Milk (chocolate), and a bowl of yogurt with blueberries!

I'm so full now that I doubt I'll want to eat anything for quite awhile! I also bought some "Super Tea" to drink in the car instead of my usual big diet Coke, so today so far, I am being a VERY good girl!

Hmmm... since I'm on a roll, I think maybe I'll bring a little baggie of mixed nuts with me for a snack!

P.S. I'd love to hear any feedback anyone has on this new "diet" that I'm on! Plusses AND minuses!

My SuperFood Day

2010-11-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

At the risk of sounding redundant about my "diet", this IS a journal, and this is the most interesting thing going on right now! LOL

I had a good "SuperFood Day" today: for breakfast, I had Multi-Grain Ch**rios (whole grain) and a piece of leftover pumpkin pie. Lunch at church was pizza, so I flopped on that, but later, I had a handful of almonds (a "sidekick" of walnuts). Supper was small, cause I'm not feeling that great, but I had a spinach salad with sunflower seeds, wheat germ sprinkled on it, and ...I guess that was all the good stuff I put on it. I did drink some soy milk which, while chocolate tasted a lot like N*stle Kwik mixed with water, not milk. It was drinkable, but not what I would call delicious. So I did pretty good. I certainly didn't get all the foods I'm supposed to, but what I DID eat was pretty good!

And, while it is not on the SuperFoods list, I did have a drink of some "Odwala" brand SuperFood drink that the author of the book recommended, and is hideously expensive. It is green and has fruits, vegetables and grasses in it. If I close my eyes, it tastes a lot like thick apple juice. Not good, but not bad at all if you don't think about what's in it!

...and if it's not my imagination, my shorts today fit looser than usual. ;o)

A life lesson

2010-11-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

My wonderful Gram sent this to me today in my e-mail box. After the pain and struggles I've been through for the last many months over the lost adoption of Vlad and Olga (lost by a snowball started by a "friend" of mine) I've had a hard time letting go of the pain and frustration by knowing their lives are so uncertain and their hearts are incredibly broken by our "broken promise". Bitterness could easily set in (and has started to) but reminders like these help to keep my heart from turning black with hatred. It will still take awhile to get over the loss of their precious lives, but I can use that drive to help them (by continuing to write and send money and packages) and to help others, God willing.

Thanks, Gram, for always thinking of me!

> A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
> things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and
> wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one
> problem was solved, a new one arose.
>
> Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
> placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed
> carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee
> beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
>
> In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots
> out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a
> bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
> daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'
>
> 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.
>
> Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
> and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg
> and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
>
> Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
> smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does
> it mean, mother?'
>
> Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
> adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong,
> hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it
> softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
> protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its
> inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they
> were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
>
> 'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity
> knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee
> bean?
>
> Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with
> pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
>
> Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
> heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial
> hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell
> look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and
> hardened heart?
>
> Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the
> very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the
> fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst,
> you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest
> and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do
> you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
>
> May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you
> strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
>
> The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
> they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest
> future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in
> life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
>
> When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling..
> Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and
> everyone around you is crying.

My "diet"

2010-11-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

It was mentioned to me that I'm on a diet. Well... not really. Yes, I desperately need to lose weight (again) but this is not a weight loss diet. It's a "get healthier" diet. In my attempts to eat something off all 15 superfoods each day, I AM finding, however, that my diet is decreasing and I am filling up so much on these healthy foods that I'm not hungry for the junk! So, in my attempts to eat right, I see that I am also MAYBE losing some weight!!

The only thing is... if I'm eating so much healthier, how come I'm not feeling any better or having any more energy?? If anything, I'm more tired than ever (at least, this week...)??

Advice is more than welcome!!!

Whoops...

2010-11-14T16:36:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I HAVE been doing better with my eating!! Really!! ...but I'm not perfect, and today I did slip... I took the boys to the mall today and ...I had a stuffed Sbarro's piece of pizza. I couldn't help it. I really couldn't!! It was HEAVEN. And there was one superfood in there - tomatoes!! So see?? I guess I didn't blow it as bad as I thought I did. ;op Otherwise today, I did have some other superfoods: sweet potato pie (left over for breakfast - yum!!), yogurt, blueberries, and orange juice. So it wasn't a totally wasted day.

I've also been feeling guilty about having such hard feelings about you-know-who and what she did to Vlad and Olga. In church today we were reading Romans, and while this wasn't the verse we were looking at, my eyes glanced down to that famous verse that we all know but like to ignore, the one about "bless those who persecute you". This woman has done irreparable damage to the lives of two innocent orphans, and that will never change. But to bless her, I will say that she IS a person who tries to live right otherwise; this action of hers was probably done in part to her youth and inexperience in life. (She is a lot younger than me.) I do think she tries to live her life the best way that she knows how. So there. That's as good as it's gonna get, and I made the effort.

On a lighter note, Erik did great today at the mall - we forgot to put the stroller in the van, so he had to walk and he did great! He was so cute: as we walked he'd hold my finger, then he'd hold three fingers, then two, then he'd let go, then he'd hold 3 fingers, then one, etc. He's such a cutie pie.

Starting up again...

2010-11-13T15:27:00.001-08:00

I haven't been blogging much because I've been trying to deal with my emotions regarding the situation with Vlad and Olga. Every letter I get from them I find myself loving them more. Olga usually writes for both of them, and she is always so sweet and optimistic, which, of course, makes me feel worse! I recently got a letter from the USCIS giving us 45 more days, which was a surprise! But Olga turns 18 soon and it's not enough time. There just simply is not enough time. There was initially, and if everything would have gone as planned without interference, they probably would be home with us now, but they are not, and I'm learning to deal with it. I send care packages every 3 or 4 weeks, and I send little handmade cards using my scrapbooking supplies that have their names in stickers (doing my best to improvise American letters changing into Cyrillic letters, but I'm pretty good at modifying things), and send letters full of motherly love, and this gives me comfort. At least they know they are WANTED, terribly, desperately wanted, but circumstances being what they are, they have to stay there and hopefully stay relatively safe... I want to try to send monthly payments to them to help them to afford an apartment/food/whatever for awhile, but I don't know how much is ENOUGH. Orphans are not typically given jobs or apartments over there, so I don't know how they will fare, no matter what, but I will have to try. I can't just abandon them!!!

My emotions have been pretty rare lately, especially since a certain someone has been rather in the public eye more than usual lately, and it's hard to see her lifted up and pleas for financial help for her offered, especially since she is doing exactly what she specifically stopped US from doing! But don't worry - I won't say her name here. It's not right and I hope that I can trust my readers to not say anything to her, in case they guess who she is. I don't want anything bad to happen to her; I just wish she would leave my life totally, but that won't happen easily, I don't expect. An apology would also be nice. The last time I heard from her, she not only did not ask forgiveness, but she forgave US. For what? She said for hurting her feelings by saying stuff and hurting her reputation. I'll just let that stand.

I hope that that is the last time I bring this up, but it has been hard lately, and it helps to vent a little bit on my blog, which I doubt gets read much, since it's been private for awhile now. I am going public again as I want to move on and try to keep things lighter.

If anyone wishes to send money for them, e-mail me and I'll include you. I think it would be nice to take up a collection and send it to them telling them about how many people care about them and love them and want them to succeed. Imagine how good that would make them feel after such a devastating disappointment (losing their family)? Maybe I'll put up a PayPal thing where people can donate to help support them. I'm trying to find out how much it would cost per month, but they haven't made their plans yet (they only recently found out they weren't getting adopted) and don't have any ideas about what they will do. Remember, they've been expecting us since about April! Poor things...

So... Moving on...

I wrote last time about a book I was reading about 14 superfoods. Well, I've been trying my best to follow that book and eat as MANY superfoods per day as I can, and I'm doing pretty well!! I'm having the most trouble with soy, though... I think the best way for me to get soy is to eat roasted soy nuts, but I can't seem to find any in Wal-Mart. There is a health food store here in town, but I was hoping to find them cheaper. I also bought some broccoli sprout seeds (as they are apparently 10 times more potent than broccoli) but they ended up lost, and I don't have a strainer for my Ball jar anyway. But this is how I'm doing:

Breakfast:
Yogurt with frozen berries

Lunch: Salad with raw spinach for the lettuce, and sunflower seeds sprinkled on.

Snack: Wheat Thins low sodium crackers (for whole grain) and a super tea drink

Supper: Spaghetti (tomatoes) made with 1/2 turkey meat (1/2 beef) with wheat germ sprinkled in, peas, and sweet potato pie for dessert (for the pumpkin)!

That's 11 of the 14!! Not really so hard!! This is not ALL I ate today, but I find the more that I try to eat as many superfoods as I can, the less junk I eat, so dieting is sort of automatic!

How many Superfoods did YOU eat today????

14 Superfoods

2010-10-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

I'm reading this interesting book on 14 "Superfoods". It basically says "eat THIS", not "don't eat THAT", which I like. ;o) I'm reading about each food indepth right now (in the book) and I'm on the 4th food. The information is so interesting that I thought I would list the 14 foods here, in case anyone was interested!

Beans (this includes green beans and peas, as well as kidney beans, lentils and other types) Eat one cup per day.

Blueberries (he says to eat 1/2 - 1 cup per day)

Broccoli (or broccoli sprouts, which I may try)

Oats

Oranges

Pumpkin

Wild salmon (eat 3 times a week)

Soy (I'm not at that chapter yet, but it should be interesting!)

Spinach (That's easy - I don't eat lettuce - I just eat raw spinach on my salads)

Tea (That one will be a struggle for me...) (He says green or black tea.)

Tomatoes (He says tomatoes in sauce is fine - whew!! I don't like raw tomatoes!)

Turkey (skinless breast)

Walnuts (or other nuts and seeds, like sunflower, pumpkin seeds, pistachio nuts, etc.) He says a handful several times a week is what's needed.

Yogurt

Obviously, I'm not through much of the book yet, but these foods are EASY to incorporate and I'm really going to give it a good try. My diet pretty much stinks (though not as bad as some I know...!!) and this would be a really easy way to make it better, since I love most of the foods listed. I'll let you know how it goes!

[P.S. I know NOTHING about copyright laws so if I've said anything that I shouldn't in this article, please let me know and I'll delete it.]

What a difference a year makes!

2010-10-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last October, Erik had been home for a month or so. The poor kid was still very overwhelmed by everything, but that didn't stop me from exposing him to as much as I could! lol Anyway, I took him to the pumpkin patch that a local church sponsored and did my best to get his picture, but this is all I was able to get:

Poor little kid!! What a horrible mama he ended up with! ;op Poor little guy was so scared of the pumpkins he didn't know what to do.

Fast forward to THIS year and check out the difference!

Checking out this years crop - notice that this year, he's standing and walking!

And what is THIS I see?? Could that be a ...smile???

Happy Fall, y'all!!

My baby's all grown up and... going to homecoming!

2010-10-16T17:16:00.001-07:00

I had the kind of night that mom's don't forget... Tonight, I dropped my baby off at homecoming. Now, that may not sound like much, but to THIS mom, it is. Let me explain...

Here is a picture of me with Reese in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, about 30 min. after I met him. He and I felt SO at ease with each other SO quickly, it was one of those "love at first sight" adoptions. He was my little buddy and I was sooooooo glad I listened to that "still, small voice", which wasn't so still, nor so small, about 6 months prior.

I have enjoyed watching Reese grow up a great deal and he has hardly ever given me any trouble at all. We have enjoyed that special mother-son bond and I have never taken it for granted, I promise you!

Well, tonight, he had his first big date, being a sophomore going to homecoming. To avoid giving away too much information that might embarrass him, suffice it to say that he asked a VERY nice girl out that he's known since 4th grade, when we moved here. I really like this girl and her mom, too. I was really happy with his choice. Anyway, we made a big to-do over getting her a corsage, matching his tie with her dress color, etc. and he was really spiffed up tonight - REALLY spiffed up. Mark graciously gave him some tie jewelry that he'd had for a very long time and was really special to him and Reese wore them proudly.

To see my son polished up like this kind of knocked me back - my son is not a boy anymore - he is fast on his way to becoming a MAN. And not only that, a man I am intensely PROUD of. This young man has more integrity than most people I know. I sometimes am amazed that I was able to raise him to be so wonderful. ...then I humbly remember that I was practically forced (lol) into adopting him by a Heavenly Father who always knows what's best!! And He has certainly done more than His share of raising him, and for that I am incredibly, eternally grateful.

But enough gush. Take a look at my little baby tonight:

Can you see why I'm gushing??? ;op

Anyway, after all the fuss and polishing, we were ready to go. I won't lie when I tell you that I had a BLAST giving Reese all KINDS of advice, like how to properly offer the corsage, to make sure he opened doors for her, how to offer his arm to her when they walked into the school, how to be the one to give his name to the hostess at the restaurant, etc. And the very BEST part was that he WANTED to hear it!! No teenage pride rearing it's ugly head! He listened to everything I offered and did his best to heed it! I do love that boy.

Here he is, when we picked up his date. She was SO excited!! He was offering her the corsage we'd ordered. She was so thrilled to have a corsage (thanks for the tip, Mom!!)!

And, of course, the obligatory "before the dance" shots:
He was so cute - he didn't know what to do with his arm, so he put it around her. ;op

I took them to the Cracker Barrel, where they ate at a different table (Erik was my date for this occasion), then I drove them to the dance. Kristina was full of fun, lively conversation the whole way - her mom is soooo blessed!!

I dropped them off, but we were early. They walked up to the doors but they were locked. Of course, I was still at the curb, waiting to see if they wanted to get back in the car, but when Reese saw me still standing there in the car, he gave me a little wave as if to say, "Thanks, Mom, you're excused now." And I drove off.

Holding back the tears was easy most of the night, because everything was so happy and exciting and cute, but when he gave me that little wave, it really hit me - my little baby is growing up. That's when the tears hit, and I was glad I was alone in the car, other than Erik, so I could cry. That kid means so much to me it almost hurts. I missed all of Natasha's special days, and probably will miss most of her future special days. Nikolai isn't really the type to do stuff like this, and hasn't really, though he's older than Reese. So this was extra special for me. I was really involved with these doings tonight, and I truly enjoyed every bit of it. It was a special night that I won't easily forget. Being a mom is such a privilege, and though I grumble at times and get myself worn out from being so busy, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

...now, I'll bet you can't wait to hear how slobbery I'll get when the boy gets married, can you?!

New letter from Vlad and Olga

2010-10-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

I received another letter from Vlad and Olga the other day. I also heard that they still think we are coming... This whole thing is just trashing my poor heart.

Here's the letter. Don't worry, I have another box of clothes and stuff waiting to go out to them.

Hi Missy and the family!

Thank you so much for praying and waiting for us. We also pray and ask God to help you! But He knows there is good time for everything.

Thanks for the gifts! They are really cool, but there is a small issue - the clothes you are sending us are a little too big, we are growing and getting more skinny.

Thanks for everything, sorry for taking so long time to write back...How are you doing? What's new? How are the boys? How is your mother? Have you been to the sea in summer? Olga has visited our sister we had some rest and were helping her at the garden. Greetings to you from Vladik he also liked the gifts, especially the watch!

He put them on and showed to everyone, and then he stopped .. and said - look they are shining - it was funny!

The card is wonderful, thanks! Greetings to everyone!

You are very nice people, God bless you!

We will be waiting to get another letter from you!

Olga & Vlad

Life Goes On

2010-09-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Despite the difficult months that have gone before us this year, Life does indeed go on, especially if you have kids who need you. ;o}

Erik has been receiving hippotherapy (horse therapy) for some time now, but recently I got Nikolai signed up, too. He was wary, as he was worried it was a "little kid" thing, but when I told him there was an elderly lady who rode to help her recover from a stroke, he decided it was safe, so he agreed. Nikolai desperately needs therapy on his legs, but because he has refused it for so many years (and BELIEVE ME, I've tried!!!!) his legs are in really bad shape. He doesn't seem to mind, though, and says that he likes using his wheelchair. (Hmmm...) Anyway, here are pictures from Erik and Nikolai's morning at hippotherapy:

Erik rides first, then sometimes when he's done, I scoot him off to school while Nikolai rides, then I take HIM to school. Then I get to go to work!

Isn't this a nice picture? :o)

One nice thing that they do at the end of the ride is try to get Erik to follow directions while on the horse. Here, they have him take the rings off of the bar and hand it over. He's finally "getting it"! They are SO good with him.

Here's Nik, mounting, getting ready for his ride. He was embarrassed that I was taking his picture (but I know inside he was so proud!). He hates having to wear a helmet and have "side walkers", though. He wants to ride "regular". lol This is therapy, Nik! Not sport!

Doesn't he look like Mr. Cool sitting up there? So apathetic. LOL

"Mom! Don't take my picture...!"

Off they go.

This is the "partner" of Nikolai's horse. Usually she cries the whole time Nik's horse is gone with him. Pretty out there, isn't it?

Here they come! I know Nik is thinking, "I wish he'd get his hand off of my foot!" LOL Notice though, how much lower his foot is from when he started his ride. At the beginning, his knees are squished so tightly together (not from tone but from contractures) but by the end of the ride, he can get his knees a few inches apart, which is a big deal for him. He says he stays loose for about a day and a half afterward, but of course, does nothing after that to stay loose. *sigh*

I love this picture!! I had just told him to "put your lips together!".

Now that he is chewing a lot better, he can enjoy things like - an "Aunt Watley's" cookie!! This just may be the first cookie he's ever eaten. In a way it's nice, though, one thing you CAN'T call him is a junk food junkie!!

Like it??

Proud big brother Reese tried spiking his hair, but (thankfully) it was too long! Never a dull moment!!

First Day of School

2010-09-09T06:11:00.001-07:00

Okay, so maybe school did start a month ago today, but I've been in a bit of a funk lately, and haven't been in the mood to blog. The funk is lifting a little bit and I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, so here I go! I only have time this morning for one blog post, but I have a couple more to put on, so stay tuned.

Here is Erik on his first day of school. He is in Kindergarten this year, and is in a "Supported Kindergarten" class, which includes First, Second and I think, Third graders as well. Erik is still only 25 pounds soaking wet, though, so I'm sure he is dwarfed by all of the big kids in his class!! The school he goes to is not particularly welcoming, and they frown on parents in the classrooms, so I haven't even seen his room yet (I know, slap my wrist), but I've spoken with his teacher several times and she is great. I get notes home each day on how his day was (something I longed for last year but didn't get), and soon I will go in for a teacher visit. I am comfortable with him going there, though I don't like it - the school is in the middle of Titusville, which is terribly inconvenient for me, and poor Erik's bus rides are an hour in the mornings and 45 min. to an hour in the afternoons! Good thing he likes riding...!

As per tradition on the first day of school, the kids stand with their backpacks by whatever car we happen to have that year. This year, we had a rental car! LOL

Getting on the bus with not only his bus aide, but also a classroom aide, which is nice.Have fun, Erik!!

My travel map

2010-09-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is kind of cool: it's a map showing many of the places that I've been in my life. I got tired of looking through the list of cities so I finally quit, but this is pretty neat!

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Top vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

..and yes, I HAVE been to Reykjavik, Iceland. ;op

One year ago...

2010-08-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

One year ago, we were finishing up the formalities of our adoption of Erik! I left Ukraine early, and Mark stayed on (bless his heart!!) to complete everything and bring our new little bugger home.

Last year...

Erik did not make eye contact with anyone for more than a second or so
He did not know his name, either "Seriozha" or "Erik"
He did not know any words, in either language
He could not walk, nor did he have any desire to try
He would not touch toys - he only wanted to look at them
Play? What is THAT?
He could not hear
He could not eat anything that was not thinly pureed
He could only drink out of a bottle
He reportedly slept 14 hours/day

Today, one year later...

He makes great eye contact with people he knows
He knows his name, "Erik", and responds to it
He knows several phrases and words, and is quite obedient!
He walks, though it is still a rather "drunk" walk, but he much prefers walking to scooting
He now initiates play with toys and can entertain himself for hours with toys that he enjoys
He loves classical music and his favorite toys play classical pieces, not to mention how much he loves to sit with his Daddy at the piano!
He had tubes in his ears and, while his hearing isn't perfect, it is functional
He can eat chunks of food now, and is starting to CHEW! (Appetite is huge.)
He can drink out of a sippy cup or a straw
He knows several signs
He sleeps a normal night - and not at all during the days
He knows who his family is and prefers us to others, though he is comfortable with just about anybody
He is a loved and established member of a FAMILY! Thank you, Erik, for joining us and being ours!!

The one thing that we need to work on with diligence is his size. He has not gained ONE POUND in a YEAR and is still 25 pounds at 6 years old. He has had diarrhea for about 3 months now but fecal and blood tests have all come back negative. So we are continuing to work on it. We have big plans for him for this coming year as he is really coming out of his shell and becoming much more alert and aware of stuff, and we know he will progress quickly from now on! We just love this little guy - can you tell??

(Erik with my mom, visiting from Seattle)

Happy Adoption Day, Erik!! We love you!!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Erik!!

2010-08-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Can the boy be 6??? Yes, he can!! Last year on this date, we were in Kramatorsk, celebrating Erik's 5th birthday in the orphanage. Today, he is a very loved and cherished member of a FAMILY!! And WE are the ones who are blessed!

Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday...

We brought this brown stuffed bear (he was darling!) from the States, but it got "consumed" somehow in the orphanage. That's okay - he has a million more here. ;o} We also bought him a new outfit that the ladies dutifully put him in every time we came to visit (but returned him to his orphanage clothes as soon as we were gone!). We didn't give him much because we didn't know if it would remain his or not, plus, his big present was getting a new mom and dad. :o)

This year was a bit different, with cake and presents and party favors! Erik's doing so well, and soon I will post an update on his progression. But for now, here are some pictures from his big day! (And BTW, he did go to school today, but I don't think they did anything for him - I talked to his teacher and mentioned his birthday but she didn't seem to hear it - oh, well. It's not like he's going to know or anything...)

My guys

"Oooooh!!"

"Don't touch!"

"I love you, little guy!!"

"I don't know what this is, but it's GOOOOD!"

Hey-- Dogs are family, too!

"It can't be over. ...it just can't be..."

It's been a very, very hard week

2010-08-07T11:47:00.001-07:00

This past week has been one of the hardest weeks I've had in at least a decade. As most of you probably know, we won't be able to adopt Vlad and Olga. Too many people (that we hardly know but have some sort of issue with us) have worked too hard to put a stop to it. Our social worker, bless his heart, WANTS to approve us, but he wants us to wait a year until we get things calmed down a bit before he approves us. He is worried that if he approves us someone will complain to the state (who already complained to him) and will get him and his agency in trouble. I'm not even sure if I want that. Vlad and Olga were our kids. PERIOD. It's not the kind of thing where you say, "Oh, it's okay. Any 2 kids will do. These didn't work so we can shop for another." No. Vlad and Olga belong to us in our hearts. They should have been ours!! It felt SO RIGHT and SO MANY SIGNS said that it WAS right. But reality is reality, and I must grieve (oh, how I've been grieving) and move on. Reese is upset by this and Mark is very upset as well. We all felt this was right, but it will not happen. I am comforted by the very fact that God is God and He sees ALL and He is the Great Judge. He knows what happened, who lied to whom, who said what inappropriately and to which wrong person, etc. It's out of my hands now, and out of everyone's hands.

It's time to move on, but forgiveness is hard.

Somehow I need to find time to sit down and write those precious children a letter and tell them that we aren't coming for them like they've been counting on. Tell them how extraordinarily sorry I am and how I hope that they don't turn bitter towards God because of this. Try to encourage them and tell them that I will pray for them forever. How can I tell them this?? How can my words make things right? On Sept. 1 when they walk out of their home, how will my words make any difference??

This blog will turn back to its original focus: our family (sans sweet Olga and Vlad, unfortunately) and our adventures. I'm not sure if I will delete all readers but family and known friends, as I learned what the cost is of not having strict privacy. Not sure what anyone can do to us now, though... :o( Not much more they CAN do... I'd like to go non-private, but I'm not sure. Honestly now, my heart is hurting so much that I'm not sure that I can be cheerful on here for awhile. I need time to grieve some more and try and let things calm down a bit. School starts on Monday and that will be a big deal. I'll probably give myself some time then go back and play catch-up. I'm just not in the mood to be light-hearted. In time.

Please pray for Vlad and Olga, and continue to do so over time. Their lives are so uncertain.

In keeping with my "Having Faith" theme...

2010-07-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

I HAVE to keep talking about them like it's going to happen, so here is the first letter that we received from Olga and Vlad:

Hello Missy, Mark and children!

This is Olya and Vlad writing you. We were happy to receive your letter and to learn

so much interesting about your family.

We will tell you a little bit about yourselves. I, Olya, study in 10^th grade, I like to communicate with

Other people, to sing – I go to a music school. I also take theater classes and I like to sing in church.

Vladik likes sport ( soccer), he likes dogs and he likes to help everybody and he is eager to meet your boys!

On weekends we like to have a walk around Kiev, this is cool. We also like to go out of town, closer to the nature.

Last year we went to Sweden in a camp on a sea beach. We would like to go to America one day.

We would love to communicate with you. I hope we will meet in person with you one day.

What does Mark do at this time ?( I think for living-L.K) Have you ever been to Kiev? Where do you usually go on weekend or vacation?

We will be waiting for a replay from you. God bless you,

Sincerely,

Vlad and Olga

Don't they just sound PRECIOUS???

Never underestimate the cool stuff you can find at garage sales!

2010-07-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Something you need to know about Erik is that when he first came home, he had no clue what to do with the world. He wouldn't hold a toy, though he enjoyed it when YOU held it and he observed it (this includes all toys and stuffed animals). If you handed him something, he simply threw it. He had NO IDEA that an object was created for fun or amusement. Objects were to be observed, or at the very most, tapped or flapped. Yes, there's still tons of tapping and flapping going on, but he now is beginning to not only hold objects, and not only explore them a bit, but to PLAY with them! This, to me, is EXTREMELY gratifying to watch!! My little bugger is starting to PLAY!!

Watch him with this marble toy. Not only does he enjoy watching the marble go down the obstacle, but he had a BLAST watching me build it (jabbered on and on the whole time) and watch how he carefully and deliberately places the marble exactly where it goes, and how he knows exactly what the result will be!! I'm not sure if all of you out there in Blog Land can fully understand how fun this is for me, but just humor me. ;op

Need a smile?

2010-07-25T15:35:00.001-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Encouragement through music

2010-07-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

I've been having a really tough time emotionally, as I battle to get this homestudy approved. If I can get out of this without an ulcer, I've accomplished something.

Normally, between patient's houses, I listen to talk radio. Today, I just didn't have the stomach for it, so I listened to Christian radio. I can't tell you how many times I blubbered today listening to music!! The songs truly spoke to me. I normally do love Christian music, but today I really, really needed it. So much encouragement, so much comfort.

Please keep praying - there may be a way out of this mess, yet.

I think it's over...

2010-07-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the social worker is not budging. He's wanting a letter from this person, and that person, and the other person, and this report, and that evaluation, etc., etc. There just simply is not time to do it. We have 6 weeks to submit the Immigration document that takes at LEAST 4 weeks, and they need a homestudy to process it. There just isn't time.

So many signs pointed to the idea that this was right. The perfect amount of money for this or that. Opening my Bible to the perfect verse about a child and mother. Certain things falling so beautifully into place. Their ages, their backgrounds, their personalities, even their birthdays (Olga's was on my dad's and Vlad's was on my stepmom's) are so perfect. Nikolai even was having some issues so we had him spend some time away this summer and he seemed so much better; even THAT was perfect.

When you have children who have issues, like attachment disorder, people who don't fully understand the disorder can make HUGE misconceptions about things, and truly don't get how HARD it is to raise these children. Conclusions are jumped to, and judgments are unfairly made. This was a big part of the issue.

While there is so much I'd like to say, I simply can't bear it now. I can't tell you how hard this is. I have been praying for this and yearning for these children for months, now, and to admit defeat is the hardest thing. To think that we can't adopt again, maybe ever, because of lies and misunderstandings, is almost more than I can bear.

I looked into student visas, and it's just not possible. WAY too difficult. If anyone has any other ideas, like a simple immigrant visa, let me know.

I can't begin to tell you how my heart is shattered. My soul is so empty. I'm so full of hopelessness. It's hard to even breathe.

Please don't pray for me, though. Please pray for beautiful Vlad and Olga, the children of my heart. They will never know the agony and efforts that I've shed for them until we (hopefully) meet in heaven someday. It feels so wrong to give up, but it seems like that is the only thing I can do. I can hardly bear it. Pray that someone will take pity on them and help them to have a meaningful life over there. Pray that their faith will not falter and that they will lean on Christ, rather than be angry at Him for the way things turned out. That worries me so much. I truly, truly want to meet these children in heaven someday and tell then how VERY MUCH we wanted them!!! Please, pray for them, and don't stop. I never will.

UUUGGHH!! Prayers, please!!

2010-07-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

UGH! An issue came up today that is going to involve more paperwork, and might be a problem in getting the stupid homestudy done!!! I am so sick of this stupid homestudy being such a pain - it was supposed to be a breeze, since it was an update!!

Prayers, please, that things smooth out and I can rest easy!!

Also, I got a very nasty e-mail from the woman who first listed the kids trying to tell me that they are under guardianship (because they are not in a regular orphanage) and I can't get guardianship removed because the director of the home is out of the country. I'm not worried about it (I forwarded it to my facilitator and she said it's okay), but just having a nasty e-mail in my box was not something I needed at this time. This woman is seething that I am not working with her (and did I mention that I am saving over $10,000 by NOT working with her??) and is filled with bitterness.

But the real issue is the paperwork issue in the first paragraph. Prayers, please, if you don't mind!!

Thank you

2010-07-12T15:55:00.001-07:00

I wanted to thank each and every one of you who wrote an encouraging word. I was able to copy all of the notes and sent them to my social worker so he can relax and have something to back up his decision to approve the homestudy despite the person who told him he shouldn't. I only used first names for those of you who did not give me permission to do so, so your privacy was protected. Thank you again, very much, for your support and your love!!!!

Ready for more?? :o)

2010-07-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

(Please don't forget to read the post below and leave your name for me if you feel comfortable with that.)

While I was still dealing with the first woman (with the facilitator that I didn't want), I will say she was EXCELLENT about facilitating communication between me and the kids. I was able to write a letter, and she e-mailed it to Ukraine where it was translated and given to the kids within a day or two or three and they wrote back and she translated it and e-mailed it back to me! VERY COOL! Also, I was able to send 2 different packages of gifts for them and they delivered them to the kids for me. (See 2 posts below for the story why I didn't stay with these people and am glad, even in hindsight, that I didn't.) Here are pictures of the kids in their foster home, looking over the millions of photos and several post cards that I sent, with the gifts I sent all spread out on the table before them:

I was told that they are VERY excited to be adopted and they are telling everyone about us and where we live, etc. I think on my next post, I'll paste their 2 letters to us so you can get a sense of their personalities (although I'm quite sure Olga wrote both letters).

Here's the best part - a video of them!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Can I have your name, please?

2010-07-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, our social worker received a call from someone who told him that he should not approve our homestudy and that we shouldn't be adopting again. If you've been watching my Facebook posts lately, I've posted several things about being angry, being backstabbed, etc. and this is what it was about. The social worker came THIIIIIS close to not approving us!! He will approve us as he does think it's the best thing for the kids, but for his records, he'd like to have names of people who DO recommend us to adopt, just in case this person makes a complaint against him, he just wants to have his documentation in order. UGH.

So, in the comments box, or by private e-mail (mjtaborn@cfl.rr.com) if you don't mind giving me your name so that he can have a list of people who think that it's perfectly fine that we are adopting these kids.

THANKS!!!!

P.S. I hope to have more photos and the video up later today!

I've gone private! I can breathe, now...

2010-07-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Okay!! Now that I've gone private, it's time to share!! I will be sharing some sensitive information on here and so I'm trusting each of the people that are invited to keep everything you read on here -on here- but be free to leave comments (I LOVE comments!) as the only readers of the comments will be other invited guests!

This adoption process has been VERY different from the others. In some ways, not stressful at all, but in some ways, VERY stressful, and the reason I am guarding my site so closely.

As I've said in the past, I never really felt like I was finished building my family when we got Erik. We left, I felt, one child short, and I've had an empty feeling inside since. I wasn't pursuing anything, really, just browsing around and stumbled upon a website that listed some kids. I was glancing at their pictures as I scrolled through and my heart leaped when I saw two certain kids - Vlad and Olga. I quickly inquired about them from the people who had them listed and received a lengthy bio on them - they sounded PERFECT.

I called our sweet, wonderful facilitator who helped us with Erik and she said she can facilitate the adoptions for us! (Any facilitator can place any child in Ukraine - you can NOT "hold" or "claim" a child, so we are totally legal in doing this.) So that part is going well.

This story is so long, since I've kept it under my hat for so long, but I know you are wanting to see pictures, so here goes: Introducing Vlad and Olga!

DOB: 1994
Vlad goes to the eighth grade at school; he is a very diligent pupil and is successful at learning. He is rather quiet boy. Vlad is an obedient, responsible, industrious and good-hearted person. He never refuses to help others, and he is very affectionate towards his friends, educators and his elder sister Olya, who is now 17 years old.
Vlad can be characterized by openness towards sincere communication and building warm, stable relationships. He has got lots of friends and is always ready to protect younger children in case someone offends them.
The boy loves to play soccer, basketball. He is fond of acting at the school theatre.
Vlad is patient, persistent and self-confident. He is also neat and is used to take good care of his personal clothes, things etc.
Thanks to his character, Vlad has no problems in making friends. His school friends respect him and appreciate his reliability.
Vlad and Olga have a sister born 1986, and a brother born 1988, however, these older brother and sister have no rights or guardianship for Vlad and Olga, thus these older sibs are not an obstacle during the future process of adoption of Vlad and Olga.

And here's Olga!

DOB: 1992
While Olga is already 17, she can still be adopted as she has a younger brother, Vlad.
Olya is an obedient and industrious girl. She carries out the assignments that the adults give her very diligently. Olya loves to be a helping hand in housekeeping. She is fond of her younger brother Vlad. And she likes to take good care of him and of other younger children.
Olya is a cheerful and emotional girl, she has lots of friends, and she is open to the communication with adults. During her stay at a private Christian Children Center, Olya has learned to show her emotions in a correct way. She is a self-confident girl.
Olya likes to look neat and fashionable. She takes good care of her personal things and keeps order in her wardrobe.
Now Olya goes to the tenth grade at school. Her favorite school subjects are algebra, geometry and geography. She also likes to sing, and takes voice lessons. After finishing school Olya wants to become a hairdresser.

I have so much to share, and more pictures, and a VIDEO where they are talking to us!! But that'll wait. I think this is enough for today. ;op

I am so excited - I have a really good feeling about this adoption and think it will go really well. Prayers are ALWAYS needed, so thank you in advance!!

Hold on to your hat...!

2010-07-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

When we adopted Erik, we were approved for two kids. We were sort of expecting to adopt a little girl Erik's age, also with Down Syndrome, but it didn't work out. And faithful followers of my blog know that we were offered a little blonde-haired girl of age 4 who was wonderful, but we just didn't feel it for her. Didn't know why, it just didn't seem RIGHT. It was very, very hard on me to return from Ukraine without a daughter, and I've felt a hole in my heart ever since. Yes, Erik is absolutely PRECIOUS and keeps us very busy, but it has always felt like something is missing around here...

So one day I was just simply surfing around, when my heart just about leapt up into my throat. I'd just found my son and daughter!! I inquired about them and learned how they would be PERFECT for us! The girl is 17 and I'll call her O to protect her privacy for now. She is perfect because, besides her outgoing nature, she is past the annoying teenage stage that drives me crazy with girls (but that I enjoy in boys!) and she will simply need someone to help usher her into her adult life in America, which will be so much fun for me! Ah, to have a daughter in the house again!! The boy is 15 and I'll call him V for now. This boy's description is fabulous and he sounds like such a GREAT kid!! He truly sounds like the kind of son anyone would love to have (and Reese says he has a "swell cleft in his chin"). His age is between Nikolai's and Reese's, so they will be like virtual triplets! Those of you who know us know that Reese and Nikolai don't especially get along - they are soooo different - but hopefully V will be able to relate to both of them and allow both boys to enjoy having a brother around! We will keep the 3 boys in a sort of "teen boys pad", unfortunately uprooting Mark from his office, but I think that they will have a great time back there and will have plenty of space to hang out with friends, throw darts, roughhouse, and just be boys. O will take over Reese and Nikolai's present room, and Erik will stay put. So we have it all planned out!

I haven't wanted to make the big announcement because there were several wrinkles in this situation that needed to be ironed out, including a couple of negative comments made to our social worker, basically warning him not to approve us!!! These were NOT people that we asked to send references for us, but were other people that he talked to, I guess. Besides being furious at these people (though I don't know all the details, I know enough to guess), I am terribly hurt that they would try and do this. These people have also adopted and know how important it is to get these kids OUT OF there (see my post below!!)!! So the social worker is hesitant to approve us, though he said he would, thank you sweet Jesus!!! Maybe those of you who know us can leave comments here and after a few days I can show the sw this post and all of your comments and he can be reassured that we are okay to approve!! Sheesh! I can't believe we could ever have come this close to not being approved for a homestudy - it just takes one person to say the wrong thing to the wrong person to cause calamity and devastation. Lord, help me to pray for these people so that they understand better. I don't know what exactly was said, but it was enough to cause a problem that we simply did not need.

But on to happier things! We will not be working with Reece's Rainbow this time, as you've probably gathered. So that means no grant money (and no dossier prep help...!), but amazingly, the Lord has provided for us each step of the way, and we believe has even already provided the funds for us for the "big money" part of the journey! We aren't sure just yet, as we don't know how much it will be (or even how much we need), but we are trusting, trusting, trusting!! No price is too big to place on the head of a child in need. And just because these kids are SO much older than the typical age of an adoptee, it doesn't mean their value is any less. Which leads me to my next point! The kids' ages!! Some of you may know that kids age out of the system at age 16. They are basically turned out on the street, possibly given a little help to get started, but basically, there they are. The end. So how can we adopt O if she is 17?? Because her brother V is only 15, she can "ride on his coattails" until she turns 18, which is actually after he turns 16, which is quite soon, so we need to MOVE on this! Things are moving along steadily, but time is truly of the essence, here! These kids don't have much time. If they aren't adopted soon (as in, a few months), they BOTH will be turned out. I can't bear it. So please, if you will, join me in prayer that God's hand will be in this situation through and through??? We can't do this thing without Him, and we are doing it in obedience to Him, so we are counting on Him to help us but we need prayer to help solicit that help! :o) THANKS!!

For several reasons, I am going to go private on my blog, so if you would like an invite, please let me know! mjtaborn@cfl.rr.com . I really don't feel comfortable speaking too openly here, but I'll leave this post open for a couple of days before I privatize. Be sure and let me know who you are to me if you don't think I'll recognize your name. Thanks!! So sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you'll understand. After I go private, I'll post pictures and more info.

Thanks for helping us welcome our hopefully-newest-family-members!! And for those who aren't sure, these kids will be #5 and #6, and after that, the DOOR SLAMS SHUT TO MORE ADOPTIONS!!! In 3 years, all the kids but Erik will be 18 and/or graduating from high school, so we will be very sudden empty-nesters!! It'll be feast then famine around here! But that's okay. Our time will have come to enjoy our middle-agedness, and give Erik some one-on-one and just enjoy watching him grow. :o) But that's a little ways off.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and your positive comments!! :o)

From the article, "Ukraine Adoptions"

2010-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

I found this on another blog and it really struck me. There is so much here in America that we don't realize as we sit comfortably in our recliners in front of our TV's, or driving around in our zippy cars, or even as we stand in line at Wal-Mart on a busy Saturday afternoon. If Americans truly knew the need out there, especially Christian Americans, the world might not be so hopeless for so many. Please read this article thoughtfully, and watch for a follow up here on my blog in a day or so...

As I walk through the streets at night, my heart can do nothing but ache for the street children I see. Their shoes are so worn and torn, their clothes are dirty and not warm enough for the cold night they are facing. Up close you see their open wounds and sores, their fingernails are so discolored one can only guess of the disease their bodies cannot fight. Their clothes hang on them so I cant begin to imagine their frail skinny bodies underneath their baggy clothes. Where will they sleep? What happened to them, that they have to live on the streets? Some of them are so young and some have physical aliments. There are no soup kitchens for them, or homeless shelters, or places to get clothes. They dig through peoples trash cans for food and clothes.
For an orphan at age 15 or 16, this life is awaiting them. Another option they have is prostitution that can also lead to sex trafficking. Here are some alarming statics;
After "aging out" of the orphanage system at age 15-16,
10% of orphans commit suicide before the age of 18.
60% of the girls end up in prostitution.
70% of the boys end up in crime.
Only 27% are able to find work.
The older a child gets, his or her chances for adoption drastically decrease
When children age out of the orphanage at the age of 16, most are completely on their own, with no family or support of any kind and lacking the education necessary to provide for themselves.*
For the children that have special needs a very different fate awaits them. Orphans are considered outcasts. Orphans with special needs is something this society does not take kind hearted to. I rarely see any children with families walking the streets that have special needs. After age 4, children with special needs go to special needs orphanages depending on their degree of special needs or institutions. Sadly and unimaginable those with significant special needs make it out alive. Most special needs orphanages are government run which means little money is allocated for them. Workers are few, and the number of orphans are many. Talking with a friend that has been inside these orphanages, children are tied up and left to waste away.
Almost everyday I have the opportunity to spend it with orphans. I see them from when they are first brought to the orphanage, what life will be like for them as they age, and then when I walk the streets I see what life will be like for them when they age out of the system. Growing up with out a family is something no child should ever have to do. But then to be turned out onto the streets with NOTHING and NO assistance is not something that is ok. God calls us to care for the orphan. There are many ways to care for orphans. You can adopt, you can financially help someone adopt if you are not able to adopt, you can advocate and bring awareness about orphans, get your church involved in orphan care, and you can PRAY. Please help these orphans find a home. Follow the words in James 1:27

God and dog

2010-07-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of "those" mornings...?

2010-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

But I digress... Yesterday afternoon I came home from work to find Erik in a world of you-know-what. Yes, he had diarrhea and it was EV.'RY.WHERE. But enough details. Just keep this in the back of your mind, that my morning started yesterday afternoon.

This morning I got up at the usual time, etc. Took my shower, then went in to get Erik up. Yep. Once again, loaded with you-know-what, though I must admit it wasn't quite as bad as yesterday - he pretty much kept it to himself. Cleaned him up, got him seated at the table and stuck his oatmeal in the microwave (he has plain oatmeal with fruit most mornings).

While that was cooking, I let Mary out to potty. Went to put my hair up in a pony tail, then came back and let Mary in and fed her, then Erik.

After Erik was done eating, I let Mary out again, with Daisy this time. Left them and finished getting Erik ready for the day (teeth brushed, hair combed, etc.). I got him situated in his play pen thingie for a rather long and boring day without Reese, and with his dad not feeling well, while I went to work.

Went back to let the dogs in and... nothing. They were GONE. I saw the side fence ajar and knew that they'd gotten out. OH. NO.

With no one to help look (Reese being in Leesburg and Mark being in bed) I took off on foot, calling and clapping my hands, "MAAAARY!!! DAAAAAISYYYY!!" (They have wonderful names for dragging out when calling.) I was really surprised that they didn't come, especially Mary, who loves to be close to us and always comes running at full speed when called. It was surely in the upper 80's already (we are having record heat), but I took off down the street. "Maaaaaaary!!! Daaaaaisy!!" I didn't care what time it was - my babies were lost!!!

Which way did they go?? Down Spruce St.?? North up Pine or south down Pine towards the highway? I went this way and that, getting more panicked all the time. Sweat was dripping everywhere, but I didn't care. I started to pray, "Please Lord God, don't let anything happen to my girls!!" I was worried because, though she had tags on, Mary is prime for being a stolen dog: young, very very cute, sweet, friendly, purebred. Daisy did not have her tags on, but she was microchipped and a bit skittish and wouldn't go to anyone, probably. My heart sank as I turned toward the highway and I hesitantly walked closer. Surely Mary wouldn't go near the highway?? She was scared of cars and loud noises (HATES the garbage truck!). She wouldn't go near there, with all of the many, many cars. But I didn't know where else to look, so...

As I approached, I looked across the highway and down a little to a house with a beautiful, big green front yard (they sell honey there), and sure enough, I saw two little dogs, galloping around, playing like they were on a country meadow - MY DOGS!!!!

Heaving from running (yes, me!! Running!!) up and down the street in the unbelievable heat and humidity, I approached the light. Could they have POSSIBLY crossed this highway??? How did they NOT get hit?!?! I didn't want to call to them, in case they ran to me and got hit running back across the street, so I jammed on the light sensor gizmo and pretty much yelled at the cars to watch out!!! I crossed and made my way to the yard. As I got there, I saw that Daisy had settled down in the soft grass and looked like she was in the Caribbean, enjoying the ocean view. Mary was prancing around, having the time of her life sniffing everything, and chasing bugs. I called to them and Mary made a BEELINE straight for me and pretty much jumped into my arms!!! OH, was I glad to have her back!!! Daisy was a different story. She thought this was a fun game that I joined and she darted around, daring me to try to get her. What I wanted at that point was a pistol, but, heaving my lungs out, sweat dripping off of my nose, I sat on the grass and ordered her to come to me. She did.

Because I didn't have a leash with me, I had to carry the two dogs back home. Mary was no problem, the girl can't weigh more than an ounce. Daisy on the other hand, is a TANK and while tiny, packs every BIT of herself with muscle and she weighs a TON. Standing up while utterly exhausted is hard enough, but try standing up holding two dogs on a slippery slope of grass. Then, try walking all the way home (1/8 of a mile??) carrying the two squirming dogs (and Mary slathering me with kisses the whole way home - she was so glad to see me!!) with O2 sats at 70% in 88 degree weather with 90% humidity after being panicked by fear.

THEN, imagine that you got home to find the DOOR LOCKED!! Fortunately, Mark was home, but even better, I knew that the back door was open, so I dropped Daisy in the enclosed porch (my arm was useless by that point) and carried Mary around to the back, secured the fence AGAIN (it has been "secured" many times) and went in, and let Daisy in. I collapsed on the bed next to Mark and told him what had happened (I was soaked in sweat by then). He felt SO BAD.

But I was late for work, and had to go. I got Erik and put him in his playpen and discovered... HE HAD DIARRHEA AGAIN!!! I could not believe it. So in my disbelief, I changed him again, with a clothespin on my nose, put him in his place, turned cartoons on for him (he watches them now) and left for work.

And in case you are wondering, he was NOT wearing the dragon outfit and hasn't worn it in months and months!!!

Ride 'em, cowboy!!

2010-06-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, Erik started his hippotherapy program (horse riding therapy)!! I've been anxious for him to do this since he got home. We found a great place close to home and he did GREAT on his first session! The hardest part for him was when the PT wanted to put the helmet on his head. LOL I know that each session afterward will be easier for him than before. I'm so happy that he gets to do this, and my insurance paid for it, and I believe the co-pay will be paid by the Down Syndrome Assn. Even better!

Happy Birthday, Markie!!

2010-05-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am so late in posting!! I have really neglected my blog, but honestly, there's nothing that I can really say! There is something HUGE that I am dying to share, but I'm not ready yet. (UGH!!) It's soooo hard to not share!! Once I do, I'll be full of posts full of stuff. :o)

BUT! In the meantime, my husband Mark had a birthday! Happy Birthday, Markie!! He absolutely HATES having his picture on my blog, but that's too bad - it's my blog and I'll put pictures here if I want to! (Sorry, Markie! ...get your own blog!)

He had a pretty good birthday, even if he felt really miserable all day, poor guy. We woke him up with breakfast, cards and gifts and finished the day with a delicious supper with a sloppy dessert cake!

Poor guy! Gets woken up, eggs shoved under his nose, and is expected to smile for the camera!!

Why? Why are you doing this to my daddy?? Why??

Opening his cards (I think this one is from his mom). Doesn't he look happy that it's his birthday and it's so early in the morning??

Ahh, I'd LOVE to make a comment about this T-shirt, but I'd better not!! LOL!!

The red T-shirt may not have gone over real big, but he LOVED this one!! How he does love his dog, Daisy!!

IMO, this was the best gift that he got: it's a "Fire Wallet". It's a real wallet, but it has a gizmo on it that you flick and it lights on fire!! REALLY COOL!! And yes, the flames are really big! :o)

After the morning party, we went to church, then I took Erik to downtown Cocoa so that he could play in the fountains. Funny, though, mostly he LOOKED at the fountains - didn't seem real interested in actually getting IN them, which was odd for him. He had fun though, and that's what matters.

And, of course, the birthday cake shot.

And yes, as a matter of fact, that IS a mop and bucket sitting on the chair in the background. At least it's OUT, as if I USED it!!!

Happy Birthday, Markie!! We love you!!

Never Been Unloved

2010-05-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

I think we can all relate to this song. Michael W. Smith hits the nail on the head with this one, for sure.

Baseball

2010-05-15T15:49:00.001-07:00

Ah, springtime!! Springtime around here means hours spent on the ballfield for Reese and hours spent on my derriere on the bleachers. But this year I have someone to sit with - Erik! He's a great little bleacher-buddy and such a good pal. (Sometimes Nikolai comes, sometimes not.)

Below are self-explanatory photos of Reese playing and Erik spectating. I need some off-topic advice though: I can't seem to keep Erik's teeth very clean. I brush them every day and even floss them once in awhile but they don't look very good at all! He sees the dentist regularly, and has an appt. in 2 weeks, but for some reason, it looks like he never gets brushed! Can anyone help me with this?? What am I doing wrong? Or NOT doing??

Anyway, here are the pictures!!

Let's get some action out here!!

Wait for your pitch...!

Walked!

I know I'm supposed to keep my eye on the game, but would YOU be able to, with this adorable little boy sitting next to you??

He won!! He won!!

2010-05-11T12:50:00.001-07:00

Reese won the election for next year's Sophomore Class President!! What a relief!! He put a major effort into it, with posters, flyers with funny sayings, and he gave an AWESOME speech!! I'm just so proud of him I could burst!!

CONGRATULATIONS, son!!!!

The best Mother's Day gift I've ever gotten

2010-05-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the best Mother's Day gift I've ever gotten from one of my kids: Reese presented me with a folded piece of loose-leaf paper. I opened it, and in his chicken scratch handwriting, written in pencil, was this poem:

Who You Are
You are a good cook
You encourage me
You motivate me
You are a great person
You are selfless
You are pleasant
You are understanding
You are smart
You help others
You are godly
You are compassionate
You forgive

And above all else...
You are my mother
Happy Mother's day
-Love, Reese

NO store-bought gift could ever mean more to me than this poem. It is going in the scrapbook, or even yet, in a frame. God, how You have blessed me with this child!!! Surely I don't deserve it!!!

I saved Erik's life today (breathe, Missy...!)

2010-05-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day: Reese had a Little League game, and afterward I took Erik to the YMCA that has a GREAT pool area. I got him set up at the zero-depth entry area by the kiddie fountains and he was thrilled (no surprise there!). After a time, I got up and walked with him near the bigger fountains and he was a little overwhelmed, but in love. He found a spot by the edge in which to sit and I went back to my lounge chair to watch him. As I turned around to sit down and see how he was doing (man, my eye only left him for these few seconds the whole time we were there!), I saw him get knocked over by one of the big fountains. I jumped up and, in incredibly slow motion, ran through the pool, through the fountains (I was fully dressed!) and over to my boy, who was face down, and not moving the entire time I ran to him (several seconds which seemed like several minutes). There was a kid of around 10 or 11 right near Erik that I hollered at to get him, but the kid either didn't hear me or didn't comprehend what was going on. I eventually got to my precious son, still motionless, face down in the 2' water. Terrified, I grabbed him and pulled him out of the water and so I could see him!! He coughed, cried and gasped - he was okay! My legs went limp but I was able to check him over and carry him back over to the zero-depth area which was far safer for him, and he didn't leave that area for a SECOND until we left!! I don't know why the lifeguard didn't see anything, but he didn't. There is only one lifeguard for the whole pool, so I'm sure it is hard for him to scope out EVERYTHING all the time, and this happened within just a few seconds. But still...

After that excitement, we went and got him a new haircut! No, Amy L, it's not too short (I like it long, too!) but I think I made the lady so nervous last time with all of my picture taking that she didn't really do that good of a job - this lady this time did a great job. ;o)

I took many pictures today of Erik in the pool, but because it was so bright outside, I couldn't really see the settings on my camera and I ended up taking nothing but short, choppy stupid little videos!! I'll show you one, so you can see the set up of the pool area, but I warn you - you'll get a HORRIBLE shot of my legs at the end!!! I can't believe I'm posting this, and I hope my brother doesn't see it (I don't think he ever looks at my blog - whew!)!!

So it was a big day, and it's only 2:00!!

Time to vote!!

2010-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

I found these hilarious glasses with a red nose at the dollar store, but the red nose doesn't seem to work with the glasses. Anyway, I was playing around with Erik and Daisy the dog, putting the glasses on them and it was so hilarious I laughed until I could hardly breathe!!

Here are pictures of each of them with the glasses on: Which one is funnier?? Leave your answer in the comments section and we'll see who gets the most votes!

Afterward, I put the red nose on Erik and, while he wasn't as tolerant of it as he was the glasses, he looked SO cute!!!

Reese for President

2010-05-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have SO much on my mind lately (a lot of it good!) but this post needs to be about Reese! This weekend (we only had the weekend!) we spent multiple hours preparing for Reese's campaign to run for Sophomore Class President for next year. I'll admit, I had a good time! Reese is SUCH a great kid and so much fun to work with, and he and I just really, really blend well, that we got a tremendous amount of work done and tomorrow morning, we'll head for the school very early to hang up his flyers and posters!

He has about 6 different flyer designs, but I won't share them here, as that would be a pain, but I WILL show you the posters - he was allowed 3 posters and 20 flyers. Here are the three posters:

This is my favorite one (above). The only thing about it is that he used an original 11X14 portrait for this poster as we had no way of getting a big enough copy of it!! He'd better bring that one home after the election is over!!

I think this one is just plain fun: Reese is great at laughing at his "differences" and he highlights that by having six (instead of 10) reasons to vote for him. We made little "quote bubbles" and put in one characteristic for each finger, and each bubble points to a finger. ;o)

He thought this one was a fun play on words. You can't really see in the photo, but the word "Russian" has quotations marks around it, so that you read "rush in" as well as "Russian".

Good luck, Reese!!! Reese for President of the Sophomore Class!!

Looks like a pretty fair fight to me

2010-04-23T05:16:00.001-07:00

Ten week old puppy vs. 2 year old Boston Terrier

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

10 Things About My Kids - Part 4 - ADDENDUM

2010-04-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot one of my favorite things...!!

11) After he gives you a hug, he smiles and claps his hands!!!

10 Things About My Kids - Part 4

2010-04-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

ERIK (last to arrive, and 10 years younger than the next in line!)

1) Makes the funniest faces without realizing he's doing so!

2) Has totally charmed his teachers in school, and they are forever telling me how "Erik can do anything!!!"

3) Is finishing up Pre-K this year and will start in a Supported Kindergarten class next year.

4) ADORES his big brother Reese.

5) Is learning to like "rides" at Universal Studios (practice makes perfect!).

6) LOVES LOVES LOVES water!! (He even gets excited when I rinse his toothbrush in the sink!)

7) Is such a good snuggle-bug!!

8) Seems to really like classical music better than any other kind (he's his father's son!).

9) Is really, really good at "going with the flow" and does not get rattled easily at all.

10) His smile can light up a room. :o)

10 Things About My Kids - Part 3

2010-04-14T15:22:00.001-07:00

(If you missed it, there's a new post about Erik at the zoo below this post.)

REESE (2nd to arrive, 3rd oldest)

1) He loves baseball and is enjoying learning lots about sports these days.

2) Has one of the biggest, most tender hearts of any boy his age I've ever known.

3) Has FABULOUS people skills! To know him is to love him!

4) Wants to get into politics some day, and has aspirations of high office.

5) Misses his dog Adam terribly. Hardly a day goes by without mention of him...

6) Is very family-oriented. (yay!!)

7) Isn't big on little kids, but is his 5 y.o. brother's #1 fan. ;o)

8) Can't wait to join the workforce (didn't get that from me!).

9) Is honest to a fault.

10) Tries his hardest to live a Christ-centered life, which can't be easy when going to public high school. I'm SO proud of him.

Field trip to the zoo

2010-04-14T11:57:00.001-07:00

Today I volunteered to help out on a field trip with Erik's class to the zoo. It was a special thing put on by the "VSA" (Very Special Arts) group and they had little activities all over the park, like making necklaces, picture frames, going through an obstacle course, etc. It was really not about seeing the animals at all...! (lol) But it was a lot of fun and wore Erik OUT.

Here are some pictures of our day:

The first station where we stopped had face painting. The lady tried making a turtle on Erik's cheeks.
Near the alligator display (the poor thing) there is a deer that roams around in a very large area and often comes to the fence looking for handouts from guests. It got right up to Erik to see what he had to share, and Erik thought that was great! (I wonder how the deer likes living so close to so many alligators...?)

"Hey, Mr. Deer, come back!!"

It was such a pretty day; the perfect day for a zoo field trip!

One of the stations was a "zip line" - Erik did his best to hang on, but I'm sure he was wondering what in the world this thing was?

Just some random shots...

The "series" about the kids will resume tomorrow, unless I have time tonight to do Reese's.

10 Things About My Kids - Part 2

2010-04-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

NIKOLAI (2nd oldest, 3rd to arrive)

1) He was born in 1994, and arrived in our family in 2003.

2) He has VERY little fat mass, but LOTS of muscle mass in his upper body.

3) He did a 100 yard dash in Cub Scouts (in 3rd grade) while walking on his hands in a hand stand!

4) He's very good with his hands, and is detail-oriented.

5) Wants to be a pastry chef someday.

6) Learned how to swim in the summer of '08 and now swims like a fish!

7) Is EXCELLENT at cleaning kitchens. ;op

8) Has impeccable manners - and uses them!

9) Is great with adults and actually enjoys their company (not bad for a 15 y.o. boy!).

10) Is fun to take to amusement parks as he loves the wild rides!!

10 Things About My Kids - Part 1

2010-04-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

To take a break (probably brief!) from talking so much about our new puppy, I thought it would be kind of fun to highlight each of my kids and a few things about each. I will do each separately, so as to give each the attention he/she deserves. As Natasha is the oldest, I'll start with her, and go down the list by age.

10 Things about Natasha:

1) She was born in 1990 and became my beloved daughter in 1996 - the prettiest little 5 1/2 year old to enter this country in ages.

2) When she was little, she had jet black hair, ice blue eyes and the biggest smile.

3) She loves animals, especially cats, though we always had dogs.

4) She's great with older people, and often helped out in the nursing homes/rehab centers where I worked. Her sparkly smile and friendly ways made them feel so comfortable with her.

5) She lived in 3 states in America before she graduated from high school: Tennessee, Mississippi and Iowa. Almost lived in Florida, but opted not to.

6) She is very athletic and loves to run and do anything physical. So much so, that she joined the Marines and is currently serving!

7) LOVES other people her own age!!!!

8) Listened to the ENTIRE Chronicles of Narnia book set when she was in grade school while I read them all out loud to her. That was fun.

9) During her first year in America, she visited The Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. And went on a cruise with me and her Gram (my mom).

10) And my favorite, prayed to accept Jesus into her heart when she was 7, one evening while I was tucking her into bed. :o)

Welcome home, sweet Mary!

2010-04-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Mark and I went to the airport on Friday evening to pick up our precious new family member. We embarrassed ourselves by glancing around nervously and excitedly, with me with my camera on my lap with the lens cap off, ready to snap the moment we saw Mary's crate slide down the chute!! I kept trying to see people's luggage tags as they walked by to see if they were on the same Dallas flight. I even asked a guy if he was! I checked with the luggage ladies several times and they must've thought I was expecting a Westminster champion show dog or something, as nervous and excited as I was!

Nervous energy. ;o)

This lady was so sweet. While our eyes were GLUED to the luggage shoot, she went down to where the regular luggage came out on the belt and got Mary's crate for us! She knew how nervous and excited we were - we thought that was so nice of her.

At long last!!

Awwwww...

Now, who are you again???

Absolute love.

The end of the "Journey to Mary" is near!!

2010-04-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

I really miss Ziggy, the schnauzer that I had that I had to put down in 2002. He was the best friend I've ever had. (Sorry to my human best friends!) He and I knew each other's thoughts and were tied together emotionally. I LOVED that dog, and he LOVED me. I miss him terribly, even 8 years later.

I miss Adam, my whippet that died unexpectedly last October, right at the time of a big birthday of mine (ugh). He was such a dumb, lovable, naughty, sweet, funny, cuddly Mama's Boy of a dog that was GREAT with the kids.

We have Daisy, our Boston Terrier, who is a DARLING little spitfire of a dog, but who is not at all cuddly (with anyone other than her daddy!), though she is very affectionate, fun, funny, friendly and all things wonderful. But she is her DADDY'S DOG, and really only has eyes for him.

I MISS HAVING A DOG WHO LOVES ME!!!

SO!! Guess what my sweet husband did?? He bought me a puppy!! He picked her out when she was just a few days old and we've been waiting for her ever since. We discussed what breed we liked and made sure that we were set on that breed (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and he did his research and picked out a breeder, then when a litter was born, he picked out our darling Mary!!!

Sweet little Mary Faye flies in Friday evening (please pray for an easy time for her as she will not be sedated!!) and is in for a big adjustment, but please pray that she won't be scared and that she will assimilate easily into our family and our home. She should be ready for some LOVIN'!!!

The breeder is wonderful and takes pictures of her every week. She sends us 5 or 6 every Tuesday along with a little synopsis of how she is doing and what her personality is shaping up to be. I have looked forward to Tuesdays for 2 months, now!!

I thought it would be a fun "welcome" to put a little montage together of my sweet little girl - call it "nesting", call it what you will, but I am ready for my little bundle!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Put your lips together..."

2010-04-05T17:18:00.001-07:00

Some parents may disagree with this, but I've been working with Erik, trying to get him to be conscious of his mouth hanging open. His tone isn't that low, and when his mouth is open for long stretches, his tongue dries out or he drools like crazy. He often very naturally closes his mouth, so there's no physical reason why he can't, but when he is conscious of it, he makes the cutest faces!!! He has come to learn that when I try to get him to close his mouth that it's a fun game and he usually ends up clapping his hands and smiling, which is PRECIOUS!

I hope you get some giggles out of this adorable video of my little guy!! I love him so!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T14:01:00.001-07:00

I always like to say that Christmas is my favorite holiday, but I always feel like Easter is the most important holiday! After all, if it weren't for Easter...!!!!

We had a nice holiday. Nothing exciting. Eggs, egg/basket hunt, church, cookie making. Church was excellent, which was wonderful - a very moving service in so many ways! I am soooooo thankful that God chose ME to be in His wonderful family!!! To be the daughter of the King is so humbling and exciting!!!

Anyway, I know you are after pictures, so here they are!!

Ahh, coloring eggs... This year we did a "sponge painting" type method, which I thought was quite a bit of fun.

Erik, as expected, showed no interest in coloring eggs, but he sure had fun playing with the empty carton! LOL

Mark even got in on the fun!!

The kids with their loot.

Erik knows you've got to grab where ever you can to keep from falling down! (How did Reese keep from falling...?)

Ready for church. :o)

Ahh... SPRING!!

2010-04-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally gotten beautiful enough around here (we had the coldest winter on record here - "Global Warming", kiss my patoot!) that we can start enjoying the things that we love most about FL. You've seen the Universal Studios pictures already, but this weekend we decided to take on the beach!! Our usual beach, Playalinda, was closed due to the Shuttle launch coming up on Monday (it is next door to Kennedy Space Center) so we were forced to try a new beach, which was okay because we hadn't tried any of the Melbourne places yet (I've been to Cocoa Beach several times, but it's too crowded for my taste), so we decided to try one down there, and Mark got to visit a music store specializing in horns, which made him very happy!

It was fun to visit the beach again with Erik, after having him be with us for several months now and having seen so many changes in him. He is so much more obedient now, and understands things so much better! ...some things never change, however, as you will see. ;o)

"If any chicks walk by, I'll dazzle 'em with my smile."

Erik, don't eat the sand!!

Headed out to catch some waves, after no chicks were dazzled by his smile, I guess... Turns out the water was too cold, so he mostly hung out with Erik and me.

Eriiiiiik!!! Don't eat the sand!!

Oh, sick.

Warning to those in Central FL...

2010-03-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

I guess it was inevitable... The Boy got his learner's permit...

On a safer note, we are getting more and more ready for our new little pup to arrive!! I got her ID tag today and we are almost set: just need some puppy shampoo and creme rinse, some ear cleaner, and a small hair clipper for the underside of her ears to prevent infection by keeping hair from going down her ear shaft (I remember how hard it was when I groomed cocker spaniels - the hair in their ears was really troublesome!). I can't wait!!

Splish Splash!

2010-03-20T17:13:00.001-07:00

Oh, boy, did we have fun today!! We went to Universal (AGAIN, I know!!) but mainly with the intent of letting Erik just play in the kids' water play area. Mark went shopping on City Walk, Reese went and rode rides by himself, and I watched Erik go nuts in the water! It was JUST warm enough to do this, and it was worth it if he got a little cold, for all the fun he had.

At times, it might look like he has CP, cause he points his toes a lot and goes all stiff, but that is not CP, it's just excitement! ;o)

I can't wait for summer! This kid is going to LOVE playing in the pools!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

PLAY BALL!!!

2010-03-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

Though the Cubs's Spring Training is in Arizona, we still are blessed to have a major league baseball team sponsored in a town near us, and we TRY to get to at least one game per season!
Last night, Reese and I went to Viera to watch the Washington Nationals play the St. Louis Cardinals in a Spring Training game. Of course, we had fun (we always have fun), but Mark decided to forego the game this time, and stayed behind on Erik Duty (thank you, Markie!! But we missed you there!!).
Our seats weren't the best, and we left half way through the 5th inning because we were FREEZING, but we still had a ball - we just like DOING things!

We want to take in a day game sometime and watch the Nationals and the Yankees. We only have about 2 weeks left though, before they are all gone, so we need to get on it fast!

I give up...

2010-03-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

I give up...

New pictures of my darling puppy!

2010-03-17T05:43:00.000-07:00

The faithful and wonderful breeder sent "Emily"'s 5 week pictures last night! (I look forward to those pictures every day of the week, knowing that Wednesday is coming!

Here she is!

It's getting sooooooo hard to wait until she comes home!! 3 more weeks!!

Calling Karis Watson!

2010-03-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

I have had a heck of a time trying to get a hold of Karis Watson who runs that blog that alerts us to always enter the ID and password so that we can enter her blog when someone accesses MY blog! I don't know how to get that off of there! If someone who reads my blog knows how to get a hold of her and see if she knows how to get rid of the popup on MY blog, I would be so grateful!!

If I can't figure this out, I may have to start a new blog, and I'd hate to do that. That popup drives me NUTS, and I'm sure it does all my readers. I'm so sorry, everybody...

Did that make sense??

Planes and roller coasters

2010-03-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

What a big day today to end our big weekend! This morning, Mark took Reese to the Tico Warbird Air Show, which is an annual event here in Titusville each March. I picked up Reese around 12:30, and Mark stayed on and had such a good time, he came home with a sunburned face!

Reese, Erik and I headed on to Universal Studios, our backyard (Nik was staying at friends'.). We had a blast!!! Reese is learning that it's possible to have fun without going wild, and I'm so proud of him. In fact, I have been REALLY proud of him with how he has opened up to Erik: when Erik first came home, Reese was NO fan of little kids. He didn't dislike little kids, or be mean to them, but he just really avoided them and was really uncomfortable around them. Fast forward to today: Reese is the best big brother in the world. He is GREAT with Erik and is so proud of him! I do believe he would do whatever it took to protect his little brother if it ever came to that. He is proud of him, and enjoys watching him open up to the world ("Look, his eyes are so big!" and imitates his "va va va" noises with such amusement and love.). He really enjoyed watching Erik explore the overwhelming park, almost like a parent. It was really nice to see. He's going to make an excellent father some day!!

Okay. Enough of the mush. Here are pictures!!

Every time I see the big planet when we enter I get all excited inside, no matter how many times we've been there!

Erik LOVES water; so much so that even to see water running out of the faucet in the bathroom when I get ready to brush his teeth he gets all excited and hands and arms really GO!! This was a fountain in City Walk. He thought it was so much fun to be surprised where the water shoots were going to come up! (Yeah, it was a windy day - look at his hair blowing!) He could have sat there all day, but we had lots more to see!

Still at City Walk, not even in the park yet!!

"Why so glum?? This is a great day!"

I LOVE my little boy!!
(please pardon my fatness...)

LOL! We had such a hard time getting Erik to look the right direction, stand UP on the platform, and keep his elbow out of my eye!!

Marmaduke was just too strong and fast for Erik - see him flying in the air holding on to his rope? (Toon Lagoon is such a fun place!)

Oh, no!! Erik spotted a fountain!!

I LOVE this one!! Reese ran over to "save" Erik from the fountain but Erik was oblivious - he was too focused on the water!! ;o)

Reese said this was one of his favorites, so I'm putting it in here. He's sure having a good time!

Where does this boy FIND all of these fountains??? He toddled right over there as soon as he spotted the spurting water - then sat down on the wet flooring!! (I remember that Nikolai used to love these fountains as well - he'd roll his w/c through them and get all wet! Once I picked him up and held him upside down while the fountains spurted up and they got him right in the head! Yes, I have pictures, thanks to Natasha who took them!)

But wait!! Sitting down wasn't near fun enough - he had to LIE down in the spray!! There were about a dozen people watching him and laughing, and then when I went over there to get him out and he kept trying to break free and head back, they really laughed! Never a dull moment!

Ah, to be 5 years old and completely oblivious!!!