2013 - 2014

I was thinking a bit about how the past 2 years I've had a specific Bible verse that spoke to me.  (2012 - Zephaniah 3:17, 2013 - John 10:10)  Sometimes, as in 2012, it came during the year.  Today as I was reading Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst, I found my verse for 2014. 

"Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith."  1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV 1984.

I've also had a song...in 2012 it was "Never Once" by Matt Redman.  For 2013, the song "Worn" by Tenth Avenue North really spoke to me.  I think "Lay Me Down" by Chris Tomlin may be the song for 2014...but we'll see.  (And it's kind of funny because I sort of made fun of a Praise & Worship song with that title...a title that could be taken all wrong...but nonetheless, I think it may be the song of 2014 for me....)  :-)

I was reflecting a bit on 2013 today...
High Points:

• Our camping trip to see each of the 5 Great Lakes.  Fabulous.
• Our week at the beach is always a blessing.
• Redoing our basement (old house)...it looked fabulous!
• The amazing way that moving to this house came about
• The sunrises and sunsets at this home.

Low Points:

• Parenting a very volatile child...I've learned so much (and have so much to learn) about the effects of trauma on children and about what constitutes trauma.
• While moving was worth it, it was also hard to leave our home of almost 19 years (Randy)/16 years (me).  Especially after we had just finished the basement and had 4 of our children in their own rooms...and needed to move them back to sharing rooms again.

Books that I really appreciated in 2013

• Wounded Children, Healing Homes
• Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control vol. 1 and 2
• Dare to Love

2014
Well, I don't do resolutions...that is to say, I see no reasons to tie goals/resolutions to a date on the calendar...if I decide to make a goal I do so whenever.

What do I anticipate for the coming year?  Who knows!  We'll see what comes down our road...but I certainly hope this is the year that we go down to no diapers...I've been buying diapers and changing them for nearly 14 years...

And perhaps this will be the year that I manage my time better and am more effective at managing my household (then again, with the constant needs of children, I have my doubts).

I also need to decide what I'm doing in the meeting with God department.  Last year I took a book a month and focused on it.  I also worked through the book "A Place I Didn't Belong:  Hope for Adoptive Moms."  The (two) years before that I worked through reading the Bible chronologically.  Not sure what I'm going to do this year...

I'd really like to go to the Northeast Adoption Summit in April.  And I'm not sure what we're doing about vacation this year...what with buying the new house.  We'd certainly like to use our camper a bit more than last year.  Last year we used it a lot all on a pile...then not again the rest of the summer.  We'd also like to take advantage of the Creation Museum's offer of free children admissions (under 12).  So we'll see how it all works out...

Now, back to normal programming...dishes, laundry, clean up the house.

Happy New Year!

Potty Training...

...okay, you've been forewarned...potty training is the topic of choice right now...so feel free to move on to another blog.  :-)

I've always been very low key about potty-training...and I have 4 children with whom that pretty much worked.  They were all trained around age 3 or 3-1/2 with minimal effort on my part.  I have the potty available.  They use it if they choose up to age 3 or so (depending on the time of year they turn 3).  I put them in underwear once they understand the concept.  And it usually happens.  A few of them I had to "run out" of pullups or they would continue to go in those, but it wasn't really a big deal.  I do have 1 that still wets at night but that is just not a big deal to me.

Micah was pretty much trained (at almost age 4...he was ready before but I had my hands full with other things)...and then we decided to move so we regressed.  But we are now getting back on track.  He will be wearing underwear at home and then progressing to away for short trips as we are able.

Mark has shown no signs of readiness, but nonetheless I somehow need to figure out a way to train him due to his age and school more than anything.

In preparation, I've read books geared towards potty-training kids with mental handicaps and/or autism.  I've talked about it with parents of similar children and professional therapists in our lives.

Today I had another thought...break it down into small parts.  So today we are "practicing" wearing underwear as he was not interested in even wearing underwear.  I figured out that I need to put him in underwear so that I can see if there are any patterns for when he goes.  Then I hope to progress to having him try at specific times as some children with sensory issues do not feel the urge to go and basically have to train themselves to go on command and I don't know if this is part of the issue.

Mark has NEVER gone in the potty for me.  I've never started potty-training a child who had never gone (at bathtime for instance) on the little potty before I "officially" started training.

It's going to be a challenge for me...I hate cleaning up messy underwear, but the boys are 4 and 5 and must move on out of pull-ups if at all physically possible.  So my new year's resolution....get the boys out of diapers (and won't that extra money every month be helpful as well...)  :-)

So...pray for me & the 2 youngest boys as we do this together!

Random

Sunday night.  I'm sitting here waiting for the last little boy to go to sleep so I can continue watching the first Lord of the Rings movie.  I read through the books again last week and started through the movies.  The problem is, Micah slept really badly last night so I'm getting really sleepy...so maybe I'll just go to bed instead...we'll see.  He's coughing and hacking over there...

We had a very nice Christmas.  The family get-togethers all went well.  We had some moments with our challenging child, changes in schedule and holiday excitement don't usually bode so well for his behaviors....but we got through it.  I think things will even out this week.

Mark has a therapy appointment this week...but just 1.  Next week we'll get back into the swing of multiple therapy appointments per week.

I really need to potty-train Mark.  He shows no signs of readiness.  He is 5 years old and goes to school in the fall.  I really need to get over myself and just do this....somehow....

Micah...as for his potty-training that derailed when we decided to move...I need to get that kid back in underwear and I think then we can get it accomplished.

Janae got one of those loom things for Christmas.  She's having a good time with that.

Autumn and Josiah have been at loose ends over vacation...they didn't want/get toys, so nothing new to do.  I think they'll be glad to get back to school.

Zach loved the skateboard he got.  And he snuggled up to me a few times while watching movies.  This is unusual for him so I fully enjoyed it and took advantage of it.  :-)

Okay.  I think the house is quiet...now bed or movie....

Merry Christmas!

 

Despite the sparseness of our tree...we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth."  John 1

 

 

 

 

And for those who are struggling this year, at this time of the year, we wish you comfort and peace.

 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.

And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.

The Mighty God.

The Prince of Peace."

Isaiah (something or other)

Random December photos

 

Micah's Birthday

one of the first snows.

The photo of Autumn that I missed from the cookie post I did.

Snow day...snow fun!

Baking cookies on that snow day.

 

Just can't get enough of my view of the sunrise...

Christmas Cookies

I love baking cookies (well, baking in general).  I hate cleaning up the mess.  I love eating the results...preferably with a nice cup of tea or coffee.  :-)

Quick Post

I've got about 2 minutes before the kids come down to get ready for school...and I need to pack lunches (not doing so well on my plan to pack the night before)...in fact, I just heard one of the kids' alarms go off.

We had a lovely weekend...more snow, Christmas caroling, hanging out with friends.

This is a busy week...and then Friday is the last day of school until January 2.  Not sure what I'm going to do with energetic kids for nearly 2 weeks!?!

Our old house goes on the market today...ready to get that chapter closed, but sad too.

Okay, gotta go...well try to elaborate on all this as the week rolls on...

Have a lovely day!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree....

Our Christmas Tree tradition:

 

 Somewhere along the line of lots of babies, Randy started taking the kids for the tree...and now it's a tradition.  Dad & kids go find a tree.  They go to a local lot where the trees are only $2/foot.  They invariably bring home one that takes all of what little creativity I have to figure out a way to put the lights on it.

This year's tree has needles on the last 3 inches of each branch...an not much else.

As you can see...you can see clear through it.

 

I string up the lights and put on the delicate ornaments.

The kids pretty much do the rest.

It's beautiful...just like every year!  :-)

My baby

My baby had a birthday last week...

 

A glimpse into our new home.

Today I bring you a few photos of our new home.  We have chosen not to do any redecorating yet, but to live in it "as is" for awhile to decide exactly what changes we wish to me.  We already know that will include removing wallpaper and painting, but we're biding our time on it all.

 

We moved all our furniture and photos, not buying much except extras needed (4 bathrooms instead of 2 require a few additions) to help us feel more at home immediately...less like living in a stranger's house.  And I do think that was a wise decision...anyway, I know I feel more comfortable with our own things here.

 

 

Our dining room window.  This is technically the family room, but we chose to make it a dining room.  I have since redecorated the window.  I have our Jesse Tree ornaments hanging from the curtain rod.

The doorway from the dining room into the living room.  With no mantle at this house, I hung the stockings from the door frame.  There are actually French doors here but we have them fully opened and blocked with furniture.  A bit of the boys banging them open and shut convinced us that making them mostly inaccessible would be easier than trying to persuade them to keep them open.

Our powder room.  I'm not terribly into the "Live, Laugh, Love" Mirror, but it does the job.  I do love all the faucets in this house.  The former owner was a plumber.

My laundry.  I love all this space!

Yes, this is in the laundry as well!

Master bathroom.  I'm not terribly impressed with the rustic looking antiqued cabinets, but they do the trick.  And provide much more storage than in any bathroom at our other house!

The closets in our master bedroom.  There's a matching set of these in the boys room.

Wednesday

It's almost 6 am.  I've been pretty much up since 4 as I was woken up by a little boy vomiting.  Yuck!  And in the top bunk at that...christening the new house.  :-)  Anyway, just when I was ready to go back to sleep another one was sick...so I gave up and got up and am doing that laundry awhile.  I had been up earlier as well as someone peed their bed (a normal occurrence, really, but this time the child woke up...usually sleeps through it).

So...because of this, I'm getting my longed for "day at home".  I need to cancel Mark's speech therapy when the office opens.  I had some other errands that I needed to run but I guess they'll wait for another day.

Yesterday I did take some time to put up a few decorations for the holiday season.  I love light so Christmas/winter decorations help me feel more cheery during the dark winter days.  It's been cloudy around here, not much sunlight, but no snow either.

Once again this year we're working through "Jesse Tree Journey:  A Jesus Advent Celebration" by Ann Voskamp & Nancy Rodden.  I had printed it off the internet several years ago (it's copyrighted 2010...not sure when I got it).  I couldn't find it on her website any more so it may no longer be available.  I love the way it covers everything from creation to Christ Jesus...the waiting and longing for Him to come.

In other Christmas items, I recommend "Buck Denver's What's so great about Christmas?" DVD (or something like that...title may not be exact).  It talks about the meanings behind a lot of what we consider "Christmas" (like trees and Santa) in a fun way.

I (almost) always listen to my CD "excerpts from Handel's Messiah" on the day after Thanksgiving.  Because of our move, I haven't listened to that...or pretty much any other Christmas music.  Hopefully today I can change that.  :-)

Well, the dryer just stopped...got to go switch the laundry around and then pack the kids lunches.

Monday

Moving is exhausting.  It's 8:21 and my body thinks it's 10.  I need to go pack school lunches as I'm determined to start doing that the night before...at least for now.  The kids get on the bus a lot earlier than at our other house so getting lunches done early will be a step in the right direction.  I need to find my alarm clock too.  I love school vacation...but I also love the structure that school forces upon us.

Zach seems exhausted...I hope he's not getting sick.  He left me hold him while we watched a movie tonight...rather unusual.  Several of the kids have complained about their stomachs feeling "off"...but that could be the stress of moving.

Okay...gotta get to those lunches...

Our new home...

Wednesday morning we settled on our new home.  Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning before our Thanksgiving festivities, all day Friday, and all day Saturday we worked at moving our things into our new home.  Last night, with most things in their place, we slept there for the first time.  This morning I woke up, and while drinking my coffee enjoyed this lovely sunrise.

 

Looking out my back door from the kitchen.

The glow in the west.

Crazy

Yes, it's crazy around here.  Thanksgiving holiday stuff.  Packing.  Boxes everywhere.  Excitement (and apprehension) of both the coming holidays and the move.  And then we suddenly realized that our settlement date is 2 days earlier than we realized.  So yes, it's a little crazy here...

Hopefully will be blogging more after the dust all settles....which may be awhile....

Thanksgiving...

My favorite Thanksgiving hymn.

"My God, I Thank Thee"
Adelaide Anne Procter, 1858

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made 
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy, 
Beauty and light,
So many glorious things are here, 
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that 
Thou has made Joy to abound,
So many gentle thoughts and deeds 
Circling us round;
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain;
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain,
So that earth's bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more,
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

Thursday Musings

November.

The month when facebook feeds are filled with "Thankful for" this and that.

When I remember some family members (like Randy's grandmother, and my grandfather perhaps) who are not with us here any more.

This November is packed with normal life (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.) and packing for our move.

Earlier this month the leaves were amazing.  Now the leaves are mostly gone from the trees.

We're wrapping up yard work.  Wrapping up our life in this home.

How do you wrap up 19 (Randy) and 16-1/2 (me) years in a home?  How do you help kids process the big emotions of leaving the only home they've ever known...even for one that will be wonderful once we are settled into it.  (And I'm sure there's an analogy here paralleling moving with death...but I'm not delving into that one today.)  We talk about it.  We drive by the house whenever we can.  We start packing up boxes.  Start making this house feel more like an empty shell and less like home.  And yet it is home, our love, our laughter, our tears and frustrations.  And in time, the next house will fill with those emotions too.  And one day, we'll know that it is "home".

I do remember, too, that when we first got married, and I moved in here with Randy, that at first I felt as though I was living in "his" house.  I can't remember how long it took until it felt like "ours".  But I'm pretty sure it included time/memories, pictures, and shared stuff.  So we will take all our stuff and our photos to make the new house home.  No, we are not going out and buying all new furniture...what we have will work nicely...and help us feel more at home.

Everything seems to be coming together...but part of me is waiting to see if there will be any crisis before it's said and done...seems so often that happens in these things...but it usually all works out in the end.

We are so thankful that God has enabled us to follow this dream.  And someday I'll blog about how it all came about...

The weekend

This past weekend, 2 friends and I attended a "Joy for the Journey Retreats" Retreat for Adoptive Moms at Sandy Cove in Maryland.

 

 

It was cloudy for most of the weekend.

 

We had 2-hour sessions Friday evening, Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening, and Sunday morning.

I'm not sure what kind of nest this is.

 

The main sessions covered transracial adoption, infertility, parenting older adoptees, outrageous faith, What to expect when it's not what you're expecting, dealing with lying & stealing, being connected, and a Q&A time. 

 

I attended two workshops:  "Connecting, Nurturing, and Restoring Hope:  The Art and Science of Bonding" and "Introduction to Trust-based Parenting".  There were other workshops offered including ones on homeschooling, lifebooks, black hair care, and marriage.

My corner of our room.

 

I enjoyed 5 delicious meals (+ some snacks) that I didn't have to prepare or clean up after.  And there was plenty of coffee and tea on hand for whenever we wanted it.

 

I neglected to get a photo with the other women who went with me.  (If you read this, sorry...or maybe you're not!)  :-)

Sunday morning the sun broke through the fog.

 

There were assorted vendors as well as a Gift Shop and I got some Christmas shopping completed.

 

While I probably would've preferred a bit more time to relax, we did have periods of time here and there to relax.  The water calls my name.  I enjoyed sitting out on the end of the pier.

 

We left around 3:00 on Friday and arrived back home around 3:00 on Sunday.  It was nice to get away.  Of course, because all of our stories and experiences are different, I didn't necessarily agree with every speaker on everything.  But I did enjoy myself.  I relaxed.  I appreciated not being "on call".  I knew that Randy could handle everything quite competently and that I did not have to worry about the home front.  I laughed.  I interacted with the other women.  I enjoyed meeting a friend of a friend.

 

I won a raffle!  (Possibly because everyone else put their tickets in the big ticket chances?!)

2 bags of coffee, a headband, and some plastic bracelets.

It was a lovely weekend.

It was good to take that break.

And it's good to be back home again.

Time Change

coupled with all that's going on around here has me waking up early.  Frequently I have a little boy who comes and snuggles next to me so I still stay in bed so he doesn't wake up, but this morning I did get up anyway.  I love the stillness of these early, dark hours.  So here are my random thoughts this morning...

• As you may remember, I'm focusing on a book of the Bible each month this year.  For November I am focusing on the book of Jonah.  I am also working through the book "Unglued" by Lysa Terkeurst.
• Mark has physical therapy (here) today.
• We have Play Group today...the first one with Zach at school.  It should be a bit calmer (guests stress him), but I know he will be disappointed when he learns that he missed it.
• Tomorrow I'm hoping to get our new health insurance taken care of.  Due to all the changes, our current (small) company decided to stop offering insurance; so we needed to have new insurance to go into effect on January 1.
• Today is 11/12/13.  Small things amuse me.
• I finally finished reviewing a bunch of books for the school library.  Nothing like moving to get me going on finishing up things so that I don't need to move them.
• It is cold here.  The kids are hoping for some snow soon.  We'll see...
• And since there really isn't much to ramble on about right now, I think I'll stop.

Have a lovely day!

Friday morning...

It's early...still dark.  The kids have off school today.  I got up when Randy & Josiah got up (to go to work) because a squirmy little boy crawled in beside me sometime during the night, disturbing my sleep.  Anyway.  I also knew that the photos from last Saturday would now be online for me to preview.  They're beautiful.  No idea how I'm going to decide!

Today I'd like to do some cleaning.  We'll see.

Yesterday I experimented with making "Rice Krispie Treats"...but with Fruity Pebbles instead.  The kids like them...but I'd stick to the regular ones for myself.

Have a lovely weekend!

One more thing...

I forgot to mention a fun part of our Saturday.  We went to Randy's parents house.  Susie from Marks Studio took photos of our family.  It was a lovely fall day.  The kids cooperated well.  We got some great shots of our family, Randy & I, the kids, Randy & the boys, Me & the girls, Randy's truck, All of us and the truck.  I can't wait for them to be edited so I can see them.

This was the first time that our family had done something like this.  Usually our "family photos" are either a photo for a church directory or whatever special at the local studio (JC Penney, Portrait Innovations, etc.) or else a snapshot.  And since we don't even do that regularly, I'm really excited about these.  I think our last "studio" photo was back when Micah was about 18 months old...or 6 months old...can't remember.  We've been using snapshots since then.

November

It's November already.  In my mind we still have several months until Christmas.  In reality, it's weeks.

Today is "Orphan Sunday".  A day set aside to recognize orphans (both true orphans and those children whose parents cannot care for them for various reasons) and what we can do to help.  It is also "Pray for the Persecuted Church" (or something like that) Day where we remember those all over the world who cannot freely worship as Christians as they wish.

November is Adoption Awareness month.  I'm a big proponent of adoption for children who need homes.  I'm also an advocate for doing all we can to keep children intact in their families or origin when possible.

This month I'm excited to attend the "Joy for the Journey Retreat" with a couple of friends.

Since I last wrote, we suddenly had the opportunity to purchase another house so I probably won't be blogging to much between that and the coming holidays.  We are both excited and overwhelmed.  And hopefully I will tell you all about it at some point.

This week is Parent-Teacher Conferences at School so my kids have 2 half days of school.  They also have off on Friday as the teachers have a conference to go to.

Christmas is coming...

....sooner than I'd like to believe.  :-)  I know it's a lovely fall day with a nip in the air here.  The woodstove is burning, keeping the house toasty warm.  But...I'm thinking about these things.

It's that time of year when I blog about alternatives to the standard gifts.  And yes, I give gifts to family and friends.  But, for the person who has everything AND is charitably minded, consider giving a gift with extra meaning...a gift that by purchasing it you support a favorite cause or a gift given in honor of them.  For instance:

• The World Vision Gift Catalog
• Heifer International
• Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
• International Voice of the Orphan
• Or any other cause the gift giver supports!

This year I found a really meaningful gift for my kids...but because they might read this (although I don't know that they do, yet)...you'll have to just wait and see...  But to be honest, I don't know if they will appreciate "meaningful" the way I do.  :-)

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday

• Sick kids are getting better...I think.
• Suddenly realized that Mark's OT may be here in half an hour (not on my calendar, so I'm not sure).
• Working on the laundry and straightening up the house (most of my time has been with the sick kids yesterday).  And at this house, cleaned up always degenerates to messy without lots of intervention.  :-)  (The main reason I have a hard time with evolution...my experience is that life goes from order to chaos, not the reverse!)
• Mark lost his first tooth!

Random Wednesday

• Had coffee with a friend this morning.  Lovely!  (And the kids played nicely too.)
• My sister-in-law delivered ham & cheese sandwich/bag lunches tonight...lovely to have lunch all ready for tomorrow.
• Randy has developed an allergy to Black Pepper.
• OT & PT for Mark yesterday, ST for him today.
• Kids get out of school early Thursday and have off on Friday (Staff Retreat).  A good time to clean perhaps.  :-)
• Looking forward to checking out our friends annual craft/gift/bake sale the end of the week (Crossroads Craft Sale on Lauschtown Road for you locals).  I usually can find some Christmas gifts there.
• Cannot believe that we're at the end of October already.  "Time is ticking away."
• Have been flirting with gluten free (just can't bring myself to go there completely).  Have switched the kids to GF pasta and no one noticed...well, they noticed the corn pasta, but not the brown rice pasta.  This week made a bar cookie and used Gluten Free All Purpose Flour substitute.  No one complained.  Of course, it did have lots of peanut butter and chocolate which helped no doubt.
• Have Mark drinking almond milk instead of cow milk after I accidentally discovered that his chronic eczema disappeared the week I was out of milk a few days.  Other dairy products don't seem to make a difference...just the milk.
• Started watching "Beyond Consequences LIVE" DVD conference last night w/Randy.  Excellent resource...wish I had watched it years ago.  Definitely recommend it for those with challenging children...but probably all parents could benefit to a certain extent.
• Doing laundry tonight to free up time tomorrow to clean.
• Okay, this is very mundane...will wrap up now...Have a lovely day!

Sunday night

We had another great Sunday.  I really enjoy our church fellowship!  This afternoon Randy took a nice bike ride.  Josiah & Autumn went to play "Ultimate Frisbee" with friends from church.  The younger 4 and I built a fire outside and hung out together.  Tonight we watched a DVD of some old TV shows punctuated by picking up Josiah & Autumn and snack.

Saturday we got a bunch of odds and ends done around the house.  Because I saw that out west they got snow, and because I saw the weather (at least at nights) is going to be getting chilly, we took inventory of snow boots, gloves/mittens, & hats.  I took Josiah & Autumn to the store for new shoes/boots.  On the clearance rack I found some for the little boys to grow into as well.

This week is somewhat busy, but with ordinary things that are a part of our schedule.  I do have 1 day completely free.  But most days it's nothing major.

Have a lovely week!

Random

Okay...I'm trying to write more often.  :-)

Tuesday Mark's IU13 PT came out and worked with him.  I continued to work on the mounds of laundry from the weekend.

Wednesday I went with Randy to his pulmonary doctor.  There is no change with his lungs which is good news.  He still has the enlarged lymph nodes and pulmonary nodules, but they have not changed at all in 6 months.  We go back in a year.  His probable diagnosis is sarcoidosis...which frequently resolves on it's own.

Today I did something quite out of my comfort zone.  My friend asked me to speak at MOPS (where I attended for the past 4 years) on "Avoiding Mothering Comparisons".  So I did that.  No, I am not hoping to become the next national women's teacher phenomenon.  :-)  I had a good time seeing many of my friends from last year.

In between things we've also been working at finishing the last few details in the basement.  I think I just need to hang photos yet.  I've also tried to work in a bit of online Christmas shopping as I come across discounts.  I suddenly realized that Christmas will be here in no time at all...despite my brain feeling like we just did that.

Tomorrow we meet with our insurance agent as we need to change health insurance companies January 1.  I am not looking forward to this....

We have no plans for the weekend which is wonderful...we've been spending all our freetime on the weekends on the basement.

Weekend

The end of last week we had a lot of rainy days.  Thursday I took the boys to Burger King to run off some energy at the play area.  Friday Randy was home.  We spent much of Friday and Saturday completing our basement project.  Autumn is thrilled with her new space.  Janae, despite her initial misgivings, is enjoying her own space as well.  I still have some boxes to figure out what to do with.  We took down bookshelves and now I'm not sure what to do with all my books.  I want them accessible so the attic is definitely not my first choice.

We had Renewal Services this weekend at our church.  Ervin Stutzman was our speaker and I thoroughly enjoyed his messages.  Our worship team introduced a new song to us as our theme song for the weekend.  Unfortunately, I have a cold and couldn't sing...which was very hard for me!

5 years ago...

We got the call saying that Zachary's birth mom had another baby, and would they be able to place him with us.  We said, "yes"!

 

Not sure how old he was here...I would guess 6 months or younger.

 

A few weeks ago.

 

We love you, Mark!

 

(and by the way...this is post #1100...scary thought!)  :-)

A Storm is Coming

Supposedly we will get some rain over the next few days.  The kids were rather wild today...I think they are as accurate as a barometer!  Of course, we've been home for a week because of illness so that may have contributed.  We are better (other than my voice) so we went to speech today and then got groceries.  I forgot my list, but remembered the most necessary things.

We are hoping to have our basement project just about wrapped up this weekend if possible.

Last weekend, while Autumn & I ran errands, we stopped at a small shop that specializes in skirts.  I have a new favorite store.  Autumn needed more skirts for school and we found a bunch.  Now, because she is so slim, we bought small ladies skirts and will then have my mom alter them to fit.  (Mom, if you read this before I tell you...now you know.)  :-)  The store has both used and new skirts as well as some tops and scarfs.  I love that it has modest tanks and camis.  So often I have bought tank tops to wear under things only to find that they were to low to provide the coverage I wanted.  This store also has head veilings.  And...if you were wondering...it's called "The Main Street Exchange".

Tomorrow's plans are the same as every day that I'm home.  Cook, Clean up/Clean, laundry, bake, etc.  I've been trying to reorganize and declutter...but the fact is, 8 people live here.  So most of our stuff is used.  When I do that "if it hasn't been used in a year, get rid of it" thing...most stuff has been used in a year!

Good night...

Sunday Morning Rambles

and I'm home from church with the 3 youngest.  Zach could've gone along, but I left him stay home another day yet.  Tuesday he will need to go back to school.  It almost seems that he's been home so many days that he just wants to stay here.

Mark & Micah still have fevers and are coughing, but are acting more normal so I think they're getting better.

I'm making chicken & waffles for lunch.

Last night I made a cake...now I'm wondering how it is as I basically just made it up.  I took a spice cake mix.  Mixed in 3 eggs and a partial can of apple pie filling (leftover from making mountain pies) and baked it in our large cast iron skillet.  I plan to serve it with Cool-Whip.  We'll see...

The boys are watching "Milo, the mantis who wouldn't pray" for their "Sunday School" since we're not at church.  Recently they've been into cutting...so I constantly have bits of paper around...guess they feel the need to hone those skills!

I'm listening to WJTL for my spiritual input this morning.

It's been hot and humid again, but a storm's supposed to come through.  Hopefully we'll soon go back to more fallish weather!

Our basement project is coming along nicely.  Josiah's room is now almost finished.  He just needs a door on his closet yet.  So we moved him back in yesterday.  He's so happy to finally have that space again.

We're hoping to get Autumn's room finished next weekend, and then the family room will be next on the list.  After that we'll move all the family room stuff & toys out from the corner they are in, then that area will need painted to match the rest of the room.  It's very exciting to see it coming together.  As I put things back I want to go through them and pass on or trash things we no longer want or are broken or ripped up.  We're not sure what we're doing about bookshelves yet as they used to be in Josiah's room and we rearranged things so we're not able to put them back where they were.

My dishwasher hasn't been washing well.  The dryer squeaks every time it runs.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Sick

Zach is on the upswing...but going kind of crazy...I think it's the dye in the amoxicillin.  If so, we've got a long 8 more days ahead of us!  Hopefully it will taper off.

Micah is still running a fever.

Mark & Janae both started running fevers today.

Hopefully the other 4 of us will miss out on this!

The week goes on.

And I continue my week of "mostly staying home".  I went to the dentist on Tuesday (no cavities) and got my sister-in-law to trim my hair.  I've been enjoying being able to get some work done around here...but wish I had another week or two just like this...all in a row.  :-)  But next week is back to the frequent appointments.

Zach is sick.  He's been fighting a sinus infection all week and today he's just been laying around and has very little energy.  I ended up taking him to the doctor.  He has bronchitis is now on an antibiotic (+ inhaler if necessary).  Micah started with a fever this afternoon as well.  So more staying home on my agenda.  I was hoping to do some errands this week, but with Zach not feeling well, I've mostly stayed home.

We did go to the New Holland Fair last night and went on some rides with cousins.  Lots of fun!

Adoption and Trauma

It's been awhile since I posted anything about adoption and trauma related issues.  I need to say, first, that our boys are doing very well.  And since I've concentrated hard on changing me and my parenting, focusing on "what's driving the behaviors", and "what am I afraid of/what is he afraid of" things are really going better.  Behavioral issues are not escalating as much, as often, or as intensely.  So much so that I am considering canceling an appointment for an evaluation to have a TSS (mobile therapist/therapeutic support staff) assigned to us.  I am very thankful...as challenging as life has been at times the past several years, I do realize that our attachment issues are relatively minor (although still challenging) on the attachment spectrum.

That being said, in the past 5 years I have often found myself overwhelmed and paralyzed by all of this "should I try this, should I try that" stuff.

I follow Lisa Qualls - One Thankful Mom on facebook.  Yesterday she posted a great blog post that talks about this and I thought I'd share it here for anyone who's interested.

http://www.onethankfulmom.com/attachment-and-trauma/if-you-would-just-try/?fb_action_ids=10202116335740583&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=.Ukn79z5TXhc.like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210202116335740583%22%3A405730729527681%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210202116335740583%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210202116335740583%22%3A%22.Ukn79z5TXhc.like%22%7D#.UkwsAZvD9et

Zach has adapted well (so far) to school and is not showing signs of ADHD (which backs up my opinions that it's not a true diagnosis...but that the diagnosis should be anxiety).  So I've canceled our appointment to see a doctor about meds to help with impulse control.  Still, of course, an option in the future, but with school going well and the behaviors less intense at home, I think we'll continue to go the "no med" route.

Sunday Jaunt

Sunday Randy & Josiah went to the race in Dover, DE.  The rest of the kids and I went to church.  They slept in and we still got there early...amazing!  :-)

 

After church, we went home for lunch and some downtime watching a DVD.  Then we went to "Project 70" (as I call it) or Middlecreek Wildlife Preserve (the more accurate name).

A nice lady left us use her binoculars to look at the birds...we saw several bald eagles!

Lots of yellows and purples.

 

Autumn was with us as well...but somehow I missed getting her on any of the photos.

 

Afterwards we went home and started a fire in the fire pit.  We had mountain pies for supper and enjoyed hanging out at home.  Randy & Josiah got home around 8:30.  We had a lovely day!