Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
I need more flower gardens...
I spent two hours, weeding one of my flower gardens, replanting a few more, and adding more brick border. Oh how relaxing and peaceful it was! Everyone was busy at doing their own thing, so I was able to get a solid two hours in. Anthony made the kids lunch for me, and Andrew worked on the go cart with Alex. I could spend everyday in the gardens. I do wish I had more. Our veggie garden got only half planted this year, due to the weather and our schedules. Scott and a few of the kids did get corn, watermellon, pumpkin, tomatoes, and cukes in though. We'll just have to use our local farmers market for all the other fresh veggies and fruit we are craving.
Not much more to report...
Have a great weekend
Not much more to report...
Have a great weekend
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Last night we had a pretty big thunderstorm that brought some hail with it. The windows sounded like they would crack or shatter! It didn't last long, and we did need the rain. This morning when I was getting Edline on the bus, we were greeted by these beautiful flowers! It has taken two years to get these babies to bloom.
Anthony had a baseball game lastnight and hit his first double! We were so proud! Alex has a game tonight. It is so fun watching our boys enjoy the game so much.
Not much more to report today. Kids will probably go swimming again.
Our hummingbirds continue to give us cheap entertainment. We have a constant stream of hummingbirds on our feeder. They are right on our deck and don't mind us so close to them. They give us a little stare down if they are out of the nectar, so I have to always keep on top of keeping it fresh.
Have a blessed day!
Christina
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My morning...
I was trying to come up with a way to give others a visual picture of Edlines disabililty. (She is 7). So, just this morning, as I was getting her ready for summer school, (she has four hours with a fantastic cognative teacher), we had one of our frustrating conversations. I did not show my frustration, I only displayed calmness and patience, THANKING GOD for that!
I asked Edline what she would like for breakfast, and this is how the conversation went. "Can I have those things?"(as she was motioning something small with her hands).
"Edline, what is a thing?"
She already was starting to get frustrated that I couldn't read her mind. So I had to stop the mopey's in it's track, and get her to try to explain.
"If you don't know what you are trying to tell me, try to tell me what it looks like, where it is, what it tastes like." Me, smiling, talking in a gentle voice.
"I want toast." Edline
"Toast?" me
Edline, looking at me as if I'm going to give her spinach. "Can I just show you where there at?"
"No Edline, you need to try to use your words." me
She is getting really frustrated with me, but knows I will not back down or let her walk away without finishing what we started, (this is from experience)!
Edline, "those bread sticks."
"Edline, we don't have bread sticks."
"There in the freezo. They go in there," (pointing to the microwave).
Now, at this point, I know that she has had enough of trying to verbalize her intention, so to avoid a melt down, or more mopies, I guide her to the anwer.
"Edline, do you mean french toast sticks?" me
She nods her head, but I make her say it so she hears herself say it.
I praise her for sticking with it and trying to explain it all out. We hug, I make her french toast sticks, and we move on!
Okay, so, we have had french toast sticks in our house for years. This is not something new. But for Edline to verbalize such things, is very difficult. I don't always have the patience, but I never let her get away without trying to work it out in her brain, to make those connections. In her world, no matter how many hundreds of times she has heard something, a lot of the times, the connection can't be made to verbalize it. Sometimes the connection is even lost, where something she has seen, heard, etc., over a few dozen times, ends up being completly new. A window can be a door, or vice versa. A driveway can be a sidewalk, or vice versa. This is just one of our daily situations. Parenting her is very different than parenting our other kids. I have confidence that the older she gets, the easier it will be for her to talk herself through to get to the answers. Thank God that she is so forgiving of me, because there are times when my patience is not there. When I look at her, I see such a beautiful daughter, who does try sooooo hard. I don't know what her future holds, but I do know that she will reach her greatest potential with us and the unending help of Our Heavenly Father!
On a different note...last night we had a late night, due to Anthony's baseball game. Alex went to sleep on our floor (again), Love had a snotty/bossy attitude lastnight, so ended up going to bed earlier. I finally got to the Sunday paper at 10:00 last night. Andrew also was playing his guitar for Scott and I last night. He is so gifted musically. That comes from my husband! Andrew can listen to a song, and play it out on his guitar, or write a whole percussion to it. He is currently working on getting songs for the drumline for Fall. He played me three of them yesterday. It just blows me away how he can do that!
We are still looking for land. We are praying over a 21 acre piece, wondering what to do about it. Not sure if we should wait, keep looking, or buy.
On the adoption front, just doing the waiting game. We are waiting on the I600a approval, so then we can do some more waiting on a referral. That alone can take months. We are in no hurry. Since this is the second time around going through the process, the urgency is just not there. I know that God has perfect timing!
God Bless your day!
I asked Edline what she would like for breakfast, and this is how the conversation went. "Can I have those things?"(as she was motioning something small with her hands).
"Edline, what is a thing?"
She already was starting to get frustrated that I couldn't read her mind. So I had to stop the mopey's in it's track, and get her to try to explain.
"If you don't know what you are trying to tell me, try to tell me what it looks like, where it is, what it tastes like." Me, smiling, talking in a gentle voice.
"I want toast." Edline
"Toast?" me
Edline, looking at me as if I'm going to give her spinach. "Can I just show you where there at?"
"No Edline, you need to try to use your words." me
She is getting really frustrated with me, but knows I will not back down or let her walk away without finishing what we started, (this is from experience)!
Edline, "those bread sticks."
"Edline, we don't have bread sticks."
"There in the freezo. They go in there," (pointing to the microwave).
Now, at this point, I know that she has had enough of trying to verbalize her intention, so to avoid a melt down, or more mopies, I guide her to the anwer.
"Edline, do you mean french toast sticks?" me
She nods her head, but I make her say it so she hears herself say it.
I praise her for sticking with it and trying to explain it all out. We hug, I make her french toast sticks, and we move on!
Okay, so, we have had french toast sticks in our house for years. This is not something new. But for Edline to verbalize such things, is very difficult. I don't always have the patience, but I never let her get away without trying to work it out in her brain, to make those connections. In her world, no matter how many hundreds of times she has heard something, a lot of the times, the connection can't be made to verbalize it. Sometimes the connection is even lost, where something she has seen, heard, etc., over a few dozen times, ends up being completly new. A window can be a door, or vice versa. A driveway can be a sidewalk, or vice versa. This is just one of our daily situations. Parenting her is very different than parenting our other kids. I have confidence that the older she gets, the easier it will be for her to talk herself through to get to the answers. Thank God that she is so forgiving of me, because there are times when my patience is not there. When I look at her, I see such a beautiful daughter, who does try sooooo hard. I don't know what her future holds, but I do know that she will reach her greatest potential with us and the unending help of Our Heavenly Father!
On a different note...last night we had a late night, due to Anthony's baseball game. Alex went to sleep on our floor (again), Love had a snotty/bossy attitude lastnight, so ended up going to bed earlier. I finally got to the Sunday paper at 10:00 last night. Andrew also was playing his guitar for Scott and I last night. He is so gifted musically. That comes from my husband! Andrew can listen to a song, and play it out on his guitar, or write a whole percussion to it. He is currently working on getting songs for the drumline for Fall. He played me three of them yesterday. It just blows me away how he can do that!
We are still looking for land. We are praying over a 21 acre piece, wondering what to do about it. Not sure if we should wait, keep looking, or buy.
On the adoption front, just doing the waiting game. We are waiting on the I600a approval, so then we can do some more waiting on a referral. That alone can take months. We are in no hurry. Since this is the second time around going through the process, the urgency is just not there. I know that God has perfect timing!
God Bless your day!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Feeling unequipped...
Some days, I feel so unprepared, unequipped, and lost. This is my reality. I struggle daily with giving my cares to God. I fully realize that my struggles and anxieties are brought on by my own selfishness, not giving them up to my God. I know how it feels to have the peace that comes with laying it down for the Lord. I'm still growing and learning, everyday, how to do this.
One of these struggles I'll post about today. The Lord gave me a task, that, some days, I don't know what He was thinking!! This task is parenting a special needs child. For those of you who don't know our story, our Haitian daughter, adopted three years ago, has significant cognative disabilities, among other diagnosis'. I would not have chosen this for our family, but God had a different answer. We knew nothing about our daughters disabilities until she was home with us, time passed, and recognized something serious was going on. Parenting her has been so challenging some days, stretching me in so many uncomfortable ways!! But through all this, we know our daughter just fits, we love her dearly and cannot imagine life without her. She has the most beautiful face, happy disposition, (most days), and is the most loving child in our whole family. She has grown leaps and bounds in our family, and will reach her greatest potential with us. I cannot explain the emotions that go along with parenting her, only those who have parented a special child, knows what we go through on a daily basis. What everyone else will see, is a child who is happy, full of energy, polite and eager. For those who are reading this and are considering adopting, read, read, read! Everything you can, including getting on email groups and reading others experiences. That has been the greatest resource for us. Now that I know how to parent a "special needs" child, would I "choose" to do it again with another child? No. I would consider a medical needs child though. Through our next adoption, if we received another child like our daughter, would we be disappointed? NOPE! I know that God has controlled all of this. He knows what He's doing. I don't! I love ALL my kids sooooo dearly. I love being their mom. I just have to lay it down, and let God to His work, and pray, pray,pray!!!!!
I hope that this post has not been a downer for some of you. It's the vulnerable truth about our reality. I'm not going to be one to sugar coat things, or tip toe around so others see only the "rosy" things in our life.
One of these struggles I'll post about today. The Lord gave me a task, that, some days, I don't know what He was thinking!! This task is parenting a special needs child. For those of you who don't know our story, our Haitian daughter, adopted three years ago, has significant cognative disabilities, among other diagnosis'. I would not have chosen this for our family, but God had a different answer. We knew nothing about our daughters disabilities until she was home with us, time passed, and recognized something serious was going on. Parenting her has been so challenging some days, stretching me in so many uncomfortable ways!! But through all this, we know our daughter just fits, we love her dearly and cannot imagine life without her. She has the most beautiful face, happy disposition, (most days), and is the most loving child in our whole family. She has grown leaps and bounds in our family, and will reach her greatest potential with us. I cannot explain the emotions that go along with parenting her, only those who have parented a special child, knows what we go through on a daily basis. What everyone else will see, is a child who is happy, full of energy, polite and eager. For those who are reading this and are considering adopting, read, read, read! Everything you can, including getting on email groups and reading others experiences. That has been the greatest resource for us. Now that I know how to parent a "special needs" child, would I "choose" to do it again with another child? No. I would consider a medical needs child though. Through our next adoption, if we received another child like our daughter, would we be disappointed? NOPE! I know that God has controlled all of this. He knows what He's doing. I don't! I love ALL my kids sooooo dearly. I love being their mom. I just have to lay it down, and let God to His work, and pray, pray,pray!!!!!
I hope that this post has not been a downer for some of you. It's the vulnerable truth about our reality. I'm not going to be one to sugar coat things, or tip toe around so others see only the "rosy" things in our life.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day...
Today I am giving extra thanks to all the wonderful daddy's out there! (Especially to my own! I love you dad)!
The greatest thanks and praise goes to my Heavenly Father, who gave us these wonderful dad's and father's! He is the Father of all nations, and the ultimate role model for us. I am so humbled at His gifts He daily gives! Thank you Lord!
Today my husband was greeted this morning with a bed full of kid greetings and "happy fathers day!" Including the dog, who thinks she is just one of them.
Yesterday we had a wonderful "boat day." I will post some photos of some of the pics I got. It was hot!
God Bless and Happy Fathers Day!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
It's all HIS!
Yesterday we set up our 15ft pool for the kids. The weather has been really warm for this time of year, so we were able to start the pool earlier this year. Well, after filling up the great pool, the kids decided it was too cold and made their own bathtubs, filling with warm water and soap!
These are my Alpaca girls! Coyilla, Alpanda, Zoee and Elliation. Three are preggers, so we will have 7 Alpacas by next summer. We have been looking for some acreage around our area since last summer. We have had our eye on a 20 acre property that is 15 minutes from our house now. It would still be in the same school district, and has amazing views and contours. The kids would have a ball hiking the property. Even though we will have to spend quite a bit for a driveway to where the house could go, we are making a lower offer on it today.
We could use some prayers our way for this!
On the adoption front, I just checked our package/dossier, which was on it's way to AOH in Wisconsin...has now made it safetly to it's destination! Now, it's just waiting for them to call and let us know it everything is in order and ready for a referral!
My encouragement for today, God whispering..."Trust in me, lay it down, EVERYTHING you have is mine."
What a peaceful feeling to know I can take my worries to HIM! I love you my SAVIOR!
God Bless! Christina
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
PICS OF MY KIDDOS
BAD HAIR DAY!!
ISN'T HE HANDSOME?
COOL!!! MY OWN CELL PHONE!!
RUNNING THE RACE, YET SMILING FOR THE CAMERA!
BIRTHDAY PRINCESS.First blog!
I am now on a new adventure! Blogging! I am using this as a tool to help organize my own thoughts, keep friends and family up to date. About me...I'm 38, married to a great husband, mom to 5 kids! Andrew 17, Anthony 12, Alex 7, Edline 7 and Love 4. We are also just starting the process again for another adoption! Yahoo!! We will be adopting through Acres of Hope in Liberia, praying for a little boy. God has given me a heart for these beautiful children, and to seek His desire for my life with them. We adopted our girls, three years ago from Haiti. Although the process and parenting my girls has been a whole new learning experience, I know that God gave us these wonderful gifts. He has stretched me in ways I never would have thought I could go. Uncomfortable? Yes! Rewarding? Yes! I love being a mom, especially to five kids! Can't wait to have six! We just sent all our paperwork/dossier to Acres of Hope. So now the wait for the next step, making sure everything is in place for a referral! I can't wait to get to know others adopting through Liberia! Another exciting thing in our household, is the purchase of four beautful Alpacas! Three are pregnant! So this time next year, we will have 7! They are currently being boarded somewhere else, and will continue being boarded until we can move to more acreage. We are looking for at least a 20 acre site. This is a dream job for me...being a full time mom, and raising a herd of Alpacas! God Bless! Christina
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