May post

Yes, I know I need to post but have been having a hard time deciding what to write about. May has thus far been focused a lot on adoption related things.

All of us U.S. adoptive families had the privilege of trying to help out our wonderful Serbian doctor/adoption facilitator. She has done and continues to do so much for the orphans of Serbia. It was nice to have the opportinity to show our support for her and Serbia's adoption program in general. Many children would not get a chance to find their forever families without Dr. J's advocating for them. I am so thankful for people world wide who help the children.

On a much more emotional front, one of the little girls who got adopted from Serbia last fall passed away this week. Little Chrissie (almost 5 yrs. old) fought a hard 31 day battle following her very complicated heart surgery. There seems to be a sort of bond between those of who have had the pleasure of bringing one or more of these Serbian angels into our families. Chrissie's death really has been difficult for the rest of us. I guess it once again brings to the fore front that we ultimately are not in charge, and that none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. I think each of us realized just how fortunate we are that God has allowed us this time to be parents and how special each of our children are to us.

What else? School is out here for the summer. All are glad about that. Daniella has her next neurodevelopmental evaluation coming up this next week. We attended our annual bigger family retreat weekend. There were about 19 families this year. It was a great time. I am so thankful Matt (my husband) was able to get off work and go with us. Nice treat.

Can't think of much else going on here. Other than children getting in trouble off and on for tearing something up, clogging the toilet AGAIN!!!, or not behaving nicely. Mom feeling the pressure of "we must get all the children's character in tip top shape before the new baby arrives this fall" and daily forgetting whatever it is she needs to remember for that day. Dad just wishing the noise level in our home could be dialed down several notches and still trying to convince Charlie (2 y/o) that he needs to snuggle( i.e. push you to the very edge of the bed with his little self right up against you) in the wee hours of the morning with mama instead of daddy. It is amazing how many little male bodies can fit themselves into one parental bed in a night time. Unlike the knocked out little people, the adults do not always sleep well all smashed up against tiny children. I could go on but......anyway, wouldn't change any of it for the world. These are great times and we are thankful that the Lord has richly blessed us.
until next time,
have a good one,
Vickie

April Birthday

Today Daniella turned "9" years old. She really enjoyed her special day this year. She has been talking about it for a few days now, and she knew she was turning 9. Wow, she really seems to understand the whole birthday thing this year. She was telling people at church this morning that it was her birthday. Cupcakes were the chosen dessert. Her sisters tried to talk her into brownies, but she would have no part of that. It is so neat to see her have an opinion and not waver from that. Yeah, she's getting there.

I'm so proud of her for all of her hard work. Such a neat little girl. At times I catch myself wanting her to hurry up and get caught up, but I have to take a step back and see how far she has come in just 2 years of being home. She is doing a great job. We are so glad God brought her and Dan into our lives. She came up to me before bed tonight and said, "I had fun at my birthday party today. Thanks Mom." Of course, that brought tears to my eyes. She's so thankful for every little thing. You can see why God loves the little children.

March post

Been a little while, since I posted last. Not a lot been going on. The children are starting to count down how many weeks are left until summer break. The day after the healthcare bill passed there was a sadness and disappointment in the air around our home. For awhile now, we have been dealing with a few boys in the house who at times get a bit roudy/rough with other siblings. We've tried most everything to get it to stop. So now dad has decided there is a "do not touch anyone else in this house ever again until I change the rule" rule that has been put into action. I remember as a child my mom telling us frequently "keep your hands to yourself". Just makes me chuckle when we have to tell our children things that we heard a lot as a child.

We've been having vehicle issues lately. One or both have stopped running over the last few weeks. Not a good thing. The week the van stopped; Matt was working long hours. So............. my oldest son and I decided to step up and fix the van. Thankfully when the van broke down at the grocery store, the man who stopped to help us was a mechanic. He told us what needed to be fixed. So I got the part and went online to see how to fix it. Oh ,how I love the internet. It is so full of info. Well, with the help of our trusty neighbor, we got the part replaced. Problem is the van wouldn't start. So the next morning, Matt went out and switched a wire and she fired right up. Thank the Lord! So glad that problem is taken care of. Call me crazy, but I don't really like to be stuck with the children away from home or stuck at home without a car.

Our new home furnace is almost in. The old one is out and the new one is in, but the wiring is not all hooked up yet. Our oldest boy decided he could hook up the thermostat; and amazingly, I think he did. God has given him some talent in fixing things, and he likes to do that. I am most thankful for everything he fixes around here. Don't get me wrong, he does his fair share of breaking or messing things up around here too, but I am so glad for what he does fix. Thermostats, tread mills, loose screws, etc...

We have several birthdays coming up this and next month. Truman starts the list off. He turns "5" on Monday. It doesn't seem like he should be that old yet. He is our boy who makes us laugh a lot. He comes up with a lot of funny things to say. We celebrated his birthday tonight; because Matt works late on Monday. Since our family has grown , we don't really do birthday partys much any more. Instead we let the birthday child pick their supper meal and dessert for their special day. Truman wanted a green cake with spider man webs on it. He likes spiderman. I think daddy and Baylie did a good job making/decorating the cake.

Truman's statement for the night was, "now, nobody better try to spank me on the butt tacks tonight; I'm not having that kind of birthday party". He has heard us call it the buttocks before, so I guess that is his version of the word. Too funny...

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. Have a great day.

Vickie

Jan./Febr. 2010

I'll try to recap some of the last month's events.



Daniella had another neurodevelopmental evaluation. She is continuing to make progress. Sometimes I forget how much progress they have made. Our 2yr. post placement visit is coming up this week with the social worker. In order to get ready for the visit, I have gone back and read the old reports. Wow, what a difference a year makes. The doctor was able to determine Daniella is supposed to be left handed. That has required me to learn some new knowledge on how to teach a person to do things left handed. It seems to be going well.



Zarah had another gymnastics meet. She did real well. She got 5th place overall. This week her coach moved her from level 3 to level 4. Way to go Zarah!! Here's a clip of her floor routine.

Some of the boys decided to work on a snowman with our last snow. Jack decided to make it huge. This required getting dad involved because the ball was so heavy to move. Too funny.

That's about it for now. Hope you all have a good week.

Vickie

Winter Entertainment

Here are are a few things that have been happening around our house. Face painting--unfortunately they did not use the kind that is easy to get off--, hair painting/coloring, a fashion show, and a date for mom and dad.

Let me give you some more details on the last activity. One morning I am told by my oldest daughter that my husband and I will be having our own special dinner that night. She asks me to use my cell phone to call my home phone number to make the reservation. See where this is headed? I make the reservation with a smile on my face. Throughout the afternoon various items are carted upstairs to the boy's bedroom ( a folding table, chairs, lamp, table cloth, etc.). I hear furniture moving and lots of commotion going on. I am given a ticket that I'm told to keep and use later that night to check in. The children begin preparing supper- potato soup, sandwiches(or Zarah says --sandMitches) --named after a friend of ours, and dessert. After my husband arrives home, he is told what will be happening for dinner. We are told to go get dressed with the clothes that have been layed out for us. After we dress and pictures are taken, we check into the "restaurant" named , "Somethin' Good and Alot of It". Too funny. We are taken to our table in the bedroom. There we are treated to a lovely candle-lit dinner with Christmas music playing. The food was great and such a treat. The waiters....and several different ones popped in and out periodically..talked to each other via walkie talkie watches. hahaha What a great idea they had! I'm thinking we will have to visit this "restaurant" again.
Hope you all are having a good week,
Vickie

A Christmas summary:

Rip,rip....tear, tear

thank you... thank you

Please be sure to share.

Lots of food... lots of snow

Stuck in a large snow drift.

Hurry ,pull us out. We must go.

Don't slam that door.

Stop yelling baby boy.

Don't tackle him and push his face in the snow any more.

Lots of fun.

Four different gatherings in three days.

Good to see you... Now we must run.

It all goes by so fast.

Give hugs...say goodbye.

Once again, another Christmas time is past.

We have had a few days lately, where the weather was pretty chilly. Those days are always fun to watch and see what the children come up with to do. Here are a few ideas the little boys had.

I guess there are many uses for my bowls.