It's Coming!!!!

S-P-R-I-N-G!!!!!!

From snow on Sunday to 75+ degrees this weekend. You can't stop the flowers from blooming and the trees from budding. I LOVE this time of year.

We did have some damage from the snow. It weighted some of the bushes down so far they haven't rebounded (yet). This one split.

Hubba Wha!

What the heck am I doing? I joined Facebook (Why, because I didn't want to be left out. I'm like that you know) I have no idea what I"m doing. Anyone want to give me an idea what you do after you 'login'?

The Snowy Day

They predicted less than 1 inch of slushy accumulation. They got the 'slushy' part right!

It was a very pretty snow coming down with really large flakes.


Three of the four kids loved it. Turner, however, was quite freaked out by it. Cold, wet, slush was not for him.


The temps were never below freezing while it was snowing. I suspect, had they been, we'd have had 5+ inches of accumulation. In the end, we had enough to make the kids happy. That was plenty! Many thanks to our neighbor for finding his 20 year old sled his daughter used to use. The kids loved it.

The Big Day

The Warm-Up

The Test
Notice how those toes are pulled back!!!!
And the concentration!

The Payoff!


Some of the pics are dark and blurry but hey, I figure it's good we got them at all with all the other stuff going on. (namely, Ansley, Sawyer, and Turner)

A Funny Thing Happened

So, we're at the mall. Just Ansley, Sawyer, Turner and Me. We were at the food court and I was in line to order my kids junk food at Wendy's. Chicken-Chinch Fries to be exact. There was a woman with 2 girls in line in front of us. They were African American. One of the little girls, I'd guess she was about 6'ish, was staring a hole through my kids. Now, at the time, I'm trying to figure out who she was looking at. Let's face it, Brangelina has nothing on me, except maybe volume and security. (and tattoos and paparazzi) We are a curiosity. Finally, she turns to her mother and says, "Why does that lady have a black boy?" I didn't hear the answer but the little girl didn't look our way or say anything else again.

I will say, it didn't phase my children. They just stared right back at her. It is always strange when you notice that people have a reaction to you or your family. Basically, I just go through life in my own little world and don't pay much attention to what other people are doing. This time I noticed. You have to just smile, especially when it involves kids. Their curiosity will always get the best of them!

Things we Did This Past Week

Watched a Hail Storm!

Dined at Mickey D's!

Started a FEW Projects Around the House!

Videos

The first is of Ansley and Luyushu "Leading" the 2 Tigers song in Dumplings.
2 Tigers
Two Tigers
Runny Fast
One is missing an eye
One has no tail
Very strange



Second, is the finger pointing game. Who has poo-poo pants?



For the record, Turner had 'stinky' pants.

Take a Look at This Post

HERE.

It speaks to me. I don't know anyone who's traveled (or in my case, seen pics and heard stories) to Ethiopia that doesn't have this itch. The itch that says, we haven't done enough. We need to do more. ( I think that happens anytime you see a need. It's just the need seems so great in Ethiopia) The answer is not easy. Do we give more money? Hard to do these days. Offer our time? In what capacity? Tell everyone we know? Well, we do love to talk. No option we come up with seems like enough. There's always more that needs to be done.

Take a look at the pictures of Kolfe. Believe it or not, much has been done to that orphanage. As you can see, much needs to be done. This is the orphanage where the older boys stay. They are the lucky ones. They have a place to stay. They have an opportunity to get an education. They don't have much hope of being adopted so they will have to learn to become men without a father to teach them. Thus, the itch becomes more intense as these men/boys will not be able to stay at Kolfe indefinitely and will have to make their way this world. Please read the post above, it's very well written and the pictures speak volumes.

Traveling T21 Afghan

I've added another button. I've offered to 'host' the traveling Trisomy 21 (that's Down Syndrome) Afghan. You can read all the details by clicking on the button on the right. Here is a bit of what the person is doing:

The handmade blanket is going to ship out to families who have a family member with Down Syndrome. The family member can be of any age, from birth through the senior years. The family can also be located anywhere on the globe.

The afghan will travel from one family to another, along with a journal.

Each family, upon receiving the afghan, takes a picture of their little one with it and we post it on a "T21 Travelling Afghan" page. After having the afghan for bit, the family writes a note in the journal and sends it off to the next family,who's address I will email to them.

Sounds like fun!!!!

Last Basketball Game

Today was the last basketball game of this season. Judson had a wonderful time playing and learning. He definitely learned how to better play defense. His offense is better in that he can make a shot now. They had a nice pizza party after the game. Everyone got a trophy. They even gave me a nice plaque with the team picture and a nice hooded sweatshirt with the league logo on it and a $50 REI gift card. (How did they know we were in the market for a nice Day backpack?)Now off to the next activity. (wouldn't want my home schooled kids to be anti-social) Hopefully, Judson will take swimming lessons. He's a bit worried about them this year as they require jumping off into the deep end. So, right now, he says he's not going to take them. He also tests for his belt in his martial arts class at the end of the month. He is so excited and so far hasn't said anything about being nervous. Of course, we don't want to put that idea in his head so we haven't asked. He keeps saying he'll be a higher rank than Daddy. That's a pretty big deal!

There's a league for Sawyer to play t-ball but he needs to be 1 year older. So, I"m saving that til next year. Trying to find him private swim lessons. That's what he REALLY wants to do. Ansley may start martial arts next month but only as a 'place holder' until she can start dance lessons in the fall. Little T, well he's just happy to be going where ever anyone else goes. And that's the story from our little family. We're making Valentine's Cupcakes right now and Dad is taking us all out for Valentine's Dinner tonight. Happy Valentines!

Happy Pics!

Why a picture of shoes? Because both Judson AND Ansley learned to tie their shoes this week. Mental note: Do NOT try to teach them both the same thing at the same time.
Click on the picture to make it larger. Dad, once you click on the picture, slide the bar at the bottom over so you can see all the pictures.

Happy and Sad Today

A Feel Good Video
Click HERE!

A Very Sad Post by Meredith (About 2 little girls in the Ukraine)
Click HERE! And Shelley writes from her heart HERE. And Charissa writes HERE.
She is also giving away a camera HERE. These women are moved by the death of 2 little orphan girls. They are trying to make a difference in the lives of children who have no one to speak for them. Take a look at each of the blogs. Maybe you can help but you won't know unless you look!

Love It!

You cannot help but smile when these 2 are around!

Don't you just love this warm weather in February! It's just right to be outside without a jacket.The boys all got their monthly haircuts this weekend. (For Sawyer, it's every other month because it's such a pain to cut his hair) Makes it hard for Sawyer to do his James Dean hand swish through the hair to make sure his cowlick is standing straight up.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2 tickets to play in man-made snow : $30
1 lost Elmer Fudd Hat (Randy's): Not sure, it was a gift
1 pair of long johns: $5
The LOOK on their faces:

Before

(Pooh did not go)

AfterPRICELESS!!!!!

Another Prayer Request

I know many of you remember Emma. (Her button is still to the right of this blog) Make sure you go over and check out how well she is doing 6 months after surgery!

Now, there is another little girl in the same situation as Emma. Mattea just came home to her forever family. She has lived with AV Canal diagnosis her whole life, without treatment. Now at the age of 7, her chances are bleak. She has pulmonary hypertension and her lungs have been compromised. She is going through the same tests as little Miss Emma did. (And by the way, Mr. Sawyer did) She will most likely have a similar prognosis. Her family needs your prayers/good wishes/positive thoughts/whatever it is that you can send. So check out her blog by clicking HERE.

Thanks.

Laugh If You Will, Kelly

Today, I pulled out my winter coat for the first time in several YEARS. I really don't like wearing winter coats. Living where we do, we don't need them very often. Alas, today, I caved. It was 16 degrees outside with a wind chill of 0. (That is a ZERO!)

The crazy thing is, by Friday, it's supposed to be back up to 60. So, eat your heart out Kelly!

This is what Kelly sent me: (She's from Michigan, don't you know)

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. .

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
people in Michigan plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Michigan sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Michigan drive with the windows down..

40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Michigan throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Michigan have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero
People in Miami all die.
Michigan folks close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico .
People in Michigan get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Michigan are selling cookies door to door.


20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Michigan let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Michiganians get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.

40 below zero :
ALL atomic motion stops .
People in Michigan start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'

50 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Michigan public schools will open 2 hours late

We Did It!

My friend and I took our Ethiopian children to church today. We did opt for the Baptist church as opposed to the Orthodox church. Turner and her youngest were actually too small to do anything, so they were in the nursery. Her two oldest had a blast! They got to meet many kids their ages and even got a few phone numbers. I have to say, this was one of the friendliest church congregations I have ever visited. It was a very small congregation, maybe 30 adults. Sometimes, I think that's the way to go. Smaller is better when you want to get to know folks. I've never been much on the mega-churches unless I wanted to go unnoticed. Of course, I was not going to go unnoticed at any Ethiopian church. But this was a very nice experience!

Funny side note: The guy who was interpreting for us was having trouble going back and forth between Amharic and English. He was doing a great job but trying to find an English equivalent to some of the Amharic phrases is difficult as they don't easily translate. Anyway, the preacher was preaching from Psalms. He kept saying "Dawit". ("dah-weet") The guy, whose name was Dawit, leaned over and told me Dawit was Amharic for David. That was the one thing I managed to figure out on my own.

Afterwards, she brought her girls over to play. The kids had a blast! It was in the 60's and sunny yesterday. So, they went outside to play. There was lots of laughter and squealing and fun had by all. We also made cookies on a stick. Again, much to the delight of the kids.

It was a good day!

Things We Like to Do

Jump at our Favorite Jumpin' Place

Basketball
Climb Trees
Play Outside
(Those are gardening gloves J is wearing)

Take Walks

*Remember to double click on the image to make it larger*

Funny Haps at Basketball

So, I'm still doing the 'director thing' at basketball. Tuesday, I had all 4 kids with me because Randy was working late. Three sat off to the side with Turner and Sawyer in the stroller. (How else can I contain them while trying to organize 30 5-6 year olds)

Three little girls (probably 3 years old) were walking around and came over to visit with my 3 who were sitting on the sidelines. They talked and played for a bit and then walked off. Later, I passed the same 3 little girls. One asked me if all those kids were mine. I said, YES. She said, "ALL of them?". I said YES. She said, "Even HIM" (pointing to Turner). I said YES. Mind you, these were the sweetest, cutest little girls. Very nice and well behaved. Not a mean thought in their 3 year old heads, just curious. Finally, after pondering this for a minute, she asked, "Does he have a daddy". I said YES. She said, "where is he". She was going to get to the bottom of this situation. Unfortunately, I had to disappoint her. I said, "He's at work".

Don't you just love kids!

Calling the Experts **UPDATED**

Need an Ethiopian Orthodox expert. A friend of mine and I are wanting to take our Ethiopian children (She has 3) to an Ethiopian Orthodox church close to us. They told her a skirt/dress and a scarf (they called it a netella) to litergy was appropriate. So, is this a special scarf or will any scarf to cover our heads work? Does it have to be white?

*I had someone tell me that they just purchased an extra long length of muslin (bleached or natural) and that sufficed*

Since her children were not raised orthodox, we've decided to try another ET church though. Will update you on how that goes.

Another Drawing

Good stuff. Trying to fund their travel to Taiwan.
http://taiwanindependentadoptionprizes.blogspot.com/

Check ***edited***

One 6-month post-placement report visit, DONE. It was with a new social worker but everything went well. The kids wanted to show her where they slept. Hmmm, guess I should have cleaned and straightened back there. Oh well. It's over with. One more to go at the 1-year mark and then we do them ourselves after that until Turner turns 18.

***Turner dressed himself with a help snapping his snaps. He loves playing dress up. The more hats he can fit on his head the better.***

A Story (borrowed from Charissa's blog)

Notes From the Deep End
by Jennifer Enderlin Blougouras

...So picture this: Parenthood, to me, was like a giant swimming pool. I saw other people in the pool and they looked okay...

Other parents said to me, "Going into the pool can be really scary. But it is all worth it."
I thought to myself, If they can do it, so can I. And, tentatively, I put my foot in the water.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and threw me in the deep end of the pool. In the deep end! How unfair!...Throw another person in the deep end...!...

How did this happen? Who did this to me? Gagging and coughing and choking and sputtering, I railed against the shock of the cold water, the unfairness of it all. My head went under and panic set in. I am going to die, I thought. But instinct kicked in and clumsily, I moved my arms and legs. And I did not drown.

Now I was treading water. After a few big breaths I looked around and noticed there were other people in the deep end with me, and they were offering to help. But I didn't want to be in their Deep End Club. And besides, I didn't think I even belonged here. It was only a matter of time before someone told me it was all a mistake and I'd be pulled out of the pool to safety. I should have left well enough alone. I should never have tried to go into the pool, I thought. But since nobody came to my rescue, I continued to tread water. And I did not drown.

Soon I started to float. My panic subsided. I knew I could survive, although it surely wouldn't be pleasant being stuck at this end of the pool. I was able to rest for short periods, suspended on the surface of the water. I felt pretty much alone. Yet, I did not drown.

The I noticed that there was a little boy in the deep end with me, a little boy named Nicholas with eyes that crinkle up like half moons when he smiles. A little boy named Nicholas who loves Bruce Springsteen and Puccini's La Boheme and 1940 Big Band Music. And Nicholas could swim.
Looking at him, I realized that someday, I might be able to do more than float. I might be able to swim. And I might even enjoy it. Perhaps I'd even love it.

As I watched Nicholas I discovered that the deep end allows for underwater somersaults, and in the deep end, it's possible to dive. You can't do that in the shallow end. And I realized that perhaps someday, with Nicholas at my side, we'd both wave to the parents at the shallow end of the pool and say, "You don't know what you are missing, here in the deep end."

Check It Out

A blog give away and a chance to help. Click HERE.

Almost 6 Months

Wow. Can it be? Turner has been home almost 6 months? Where has the time gone? As I've been trying to get the post-placement report scheduled (still no luck), I've been thinking about all that Turner has been through in 6 months and how well he is doing.

His speech is amazing. He is trying to say everyone's names. I hear this at 2am most mornings. He wakes up and starts yelling everyone's names. Then he will go back to sleep, as if he was 'just checking'. He can ask for the food he wants. Of course, this one is easy since he wants anything and everything that anyone else is eating. He'll ask, "What's dat?" and then repeat what you say.

He understands routine. He loves riding in the car. He knows when his shoes go on, he's going somewhere. He'll jump down from my lap and yell to his siblings, "Come on" and run to the door. If they don't immediately jump up and head to the door, he'll run in and turn off the TV and yell, "Come On" again.

He imitates very well. Sometimes, it's too well. Ansley will throw one of her fits and he'll turn around and shake his finger (with the very top section crooked) at you and babble something that sounds very similar to what Ansley just fussed about. He does NOT know what he's fussing about but he's good at it.

He's a loving child. He'll tell you that he loves you. (mostly after you say it first) He'll initiate hugs. He loves kisses. Wet, open mouth, sloppy kisses are his trademark.

He's smart. Loves to read and is learning his shapes. Of course, right now, every thing is a "Kirkel" (aka, circle)

Busy Weekend

Saturday morning, 8:30, Judson had a basketball game. Warm Up

In the Game (well, as much as he gets in the game)

Then Saturday night, we had a pot luck with the martial arts families. Judson LOVES this group! Didn't get any pictures.

Sunday was Ansley's Dumplings group. So while she and Dad went to Dumplings, the boys and I went to McDonalds.
New friends

Best Friends Forever
(We call them The Twins, they are so much alike)

Things We Did Today

Broke boards in martial arts class:
Pull out the 'tent' because the temps started dropping outside and Mom didn't want to get out. She's a wimp. Make sure you watch the video until the very end. Turner is a sweetie.

Henny Youngman Reincarnated

Want to Adopt?

Then check out Shelley's blog on "A Dad's View". I think it's a good view of the asymmetrical 'dance' a family does as they wrestle with the decision to adopt. I should mention that Shelley and her husband, Robert, adopted TWO little boys with Down Syndrome! The dance is the same, though. Usually, one person gets the nudge in their heart to adopt but the other one drags behind. It's frustrating for the first one sometimes. I know with us before we got married I told Randy I wanted to adopt. He was cool with the idea. Then we had 2 children biologically and I thought we were done. After Sawyer's surgery and recovery, one day Randy asked, "So shouldn't we start the adoption process if we're going to do it?". I didn't waste anytime. I started contacting agencies and gathering data. We first thought we were going to S. Korea but were led to Taiwan. A year after we adopted Ansley, I wanted to adopt again but Randy was hesitant. So, I started giving away clothes and assumed our family was complete. Finally, after many little comments from Randy like, "Why are you giving away clothes, what if we need them for #4", I asked, "Do you want to adopt again or are you just teasing". This time around he was a little more hesitant because while we were making bills and saving money and managing with 3 kids, #4 scared us both. So we had many more months of wrestling with the idea before we started down the road to #4. The rest is history as they say.

I do have to say, if you want to adopt, don't follow our path. Apparently, where ever we go, trouble follows. Our path to Ansley was very painless (as international adoptions go) and quick. Right after we brought her home, the adoption agency we used closed. The timelines for adopting from Taiwan lengthened and the rules changed dramatically. (I doubt we'd be allowed to adopt from Taiwan under the same circumstances again) Then we go to Ethiopia. Again a quick and painless adoption. Soon there after, our home study agency closes to international adoption. Our wonderful placement agency, Gladney, is still in business. Ethiopia changes their rules dramatically and timelines start growing. The reality is growing pains happen. As countries become more popular for adoptions, the rules need to be tweaked and timelines need to grow in order to help protect the children as well as the program.

So go read Shelley's blog.

Slacker

Just getting back into the routine. Nothing to report. The picture is of Sawyer on his first try riding his Christmas trike. However, no sooner than we got out there, it started to rain. The look is because I told him we had to go inside. Not good....

Another Opportunity

To learn and to possibly help. Check out Meredith's post. We went through our adoption experiences about the same time. We both used Gladney and think they are a great organization. See what you can do by either learning more and passing it along or perhaps making a donation.

http://ethiopiaguzo.blogspot.com/2008/12/for-ethiopia.html

Thanks,
Jan

Ahope

I added a new gadget to my sidebar. "AHOPE" is an organization doing much good in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They run two children's homes for children who are HIV+. What a wonderful group of people! Please take the time to read about Ahope and the work they do. You may be able to help. You may be inspired to even check into adopting one of these precious children. Or maybe you could sponsor one or more.

The button will take you to a blog about Ahope. On it's side bar is the link to the main Ahope website: http://ahopeforchildren.org/

Back to our Routine (sort of)

So, we got up this morning and took Sawyer to school. He was happy to be back and see Miss Kris. (He LOVES Miss Kris) Then I surprised the other 3 by going to our local inflatable jumpy place and met Olivia and Luyushu and their mommies. What a fun time, I had. The kids had fun too. Only two cries. Both by The Princess. True to form, Turner didn't miss a beat. He played on the 'kiddie' thing for a while. Then he got brave and went to one of the intermediate slides. Climbed right up. Did a little dance at the top. Slid right down with a big grin on his face. He continues to amaze me. (Not that I'd let him out of my site as he'd probably go home with anyone there but he's coming along on the attachment side and doing great) Here are a few pics of the kids. (thankfully, Kimmy took some pictures.)