O.K., so much for posting once a week. I didn't figure I would be able to keep up with that; so we will settle for posting whenever I can. :) Our household was excited to see that Dejan and Danijela's pictures made it onto the adoption website. untilallhavehomes.org Proud mama moment!!

I have decided we are going to start eating healthy again. There was a 2 month period of white, processed sugar mania!!! Mom was the main instigator. This resulted in all but 1 family member getting sick. flu, chest cold, flu. Not good. It takes us about 2 weeks to spread it to all the household. Now those of us with the weaker immune systems (mom,dad, baby, and 2 --3 yr. olds) are struggling to be well again. I am not one who likes to visit the doctor's office, so tea tree oil, essential oils in the humidifier, and immune boosters are being used. It usually works, but takes a little bit longer than antibiotics. While pregnant, I consume no processed white or brown sugar. This , along with God's help, lots of protein/pregnancy tea/and some herbs, seems to help my blood pressure stay down and prevent being put on couch rest at the end. As soon as the pregnancy is over, I typically go on a sugar binge; since I felt so deprived for those 9 months. Before this pregnancy, we were not even eating white or brown sugar, but for some reason I still felt like I was being deprived. Oh brother !! Now my reward for poor eating is to be sick. Serves me right, sometimes I just need a stern wake up call. Now, I'm awake and choosing to make healthier choices.

The 4th of July was a big hit. Dejan and Danijela loved the fireworks and parade. This was a bit surprising because anything loud produces a reaction of sheer horror(lawn mower, chain saw, weed eater,etc.) Time was spent with 2 sets of grandparents and 1 set of great grandparents. The family game of woofle ball was fun. After a couple of innings, grandpa had to have someone run for him. It worked out just fine.

We are still working on how to act in public. I have seen some improvements, but D & D need a lot of training in this area. Dejan will go up to everyone, lift his arms up to be picked up, and do his cute little smile/giggle face. Danijela will do some of that, but also stand really close and walk off with anyone. This ,of course, happens in the 1 second that you turn your head to do something else. When the children are nicely corrected and you ask the adult to put him down or move Danijela away, it results in the adult totally disagreeing with you and saying , "oh they are o.k." No, no they are not. At church especially, there has to be as much retraining of the adults as their is D &D. If the adults would just be on the same page as Matt and I, redirect D & D when they are acting inappropriately; it would result in the children getting in a lot less trouble. I'm sure it will all work out in time though.

Besides patience, the Lord has really been growing Matt and I in the topic of weight. Dejan and Danijela came home with chubby, very minimal muscle, soft bodies. We have been able to help get Danijela's (7 y/o) body into shape. She can do so many more things now. It is wonderful. She just didn't have the body strength or coordination to do much of anything. Dejan (3 y/o , mentally about 1 1/2 ) on the other hand has been very resistant to his physical therapy training. He is just now starting to crawl a little bit when asked to. He can do a lot more physical activities despite his resistance; but he weighs more now that when we first got him. How can that be!!! He is only allowed to eat as much as our other 3 yr. old. Well, we have finally decided to stop focusing so much on Dejan's weight. That is a big step for us. Our family is quite active and mostly in shape. I'm sure when Dejan gets a bit older, he will be more in shape. We have to keep reminding ourselves that he is not really 3 developmentally. We wouldn't ask another 1 1/2 yr. old to be more physically active than they are ready for, so for now Dejan gets a break.

Our biological children are all finally starting to accept and include D & D. Most of them/us did real good from the start, but there were a couple particular personalities that had a harder time accepting that they are delayed (not textbook normal) and come to us with some baggage. I am very proud of all the family for working through the difficulties. Prayer has made a big difference.

Well, we will keep on working through this journey together and find as much as possible to enjoy about each day. Our lines of communication need to stay open. We must remember how far we have come and be patient with the rest.

have a great weekend,
until next time,
Vickie