This weekend marks six months since we brought Elijah & Josephine home. What a whirlwind our life has been since then... and what a blessing! I'm going to take a few posts to tell you about how things are going for us, and how they've changed.
In general, I’d say we’ve settled into routines – although sometimes we have a wrench thrown into things (my surgery, vacation, etc). The kids are growing and learning. The differences in all three kids in the last six months is nothing short of amazing!
Food:
Both Elijah & Josephine eat well. Elijah is a little more tricky because he’s not a fan of vegetables, but we’ve figured out a few things that work well, that doesn’t frustrate any of us or end in tears. We’re finding this summer, with our fresh garden produce, that he eats his veggies REALLY well if there’s dip. We just have to make sure he’s actually taking bites of the veggie instead of licking off the pile of dip he puts on each tiny piece. If we have any kind of tougher meat like steak or chops, we have to cut them up really tiny for both kids, and smother them in ketchup for them to eat it – yuk! But a small price to pay to get the nutrients in. J Josephine is probably our best eater. I didn’t think it was possible, given how good of an eater Kaylen is, but she’s not learned to be picky like Kaylen is. There are only a few things she won’t eat. Sandwiches are the funniest to watch E&J eat – they’re so messy. Josephine usually ends up taking hers apart (or it falls apart) and she eats the pieces separately. Both of them like to take them apart and lick off the mayo or butter or ketchup before proceeding – although less than they used to. I still think their favorites are applesauce, yogurt, bananas, and any grain – noodles, bread, rice, etc.
Health:
Josephine & Elijah are both healthy. At last check, Elijah was still borderline anemic but hadn’t changed in two months. The doc said to just continue making sure he’s eating proper nutrition, and no supplements are needed. Both E&J have received what they can of their vaccines, given the CDC-prescribed catch-up schedule. I think Elijah will have another one or two this fall when they do his 4-year check-up, and I think Josephine’s good until her 4-year check-up as well, which will be next spring. We will probably request a check for another type of parasite that is not part of the common checks. We heard from another family that their adoption medicine clinic tested for it, but most docs don’t know to check for it – and one of her sons tested positive. Yikes! So many things to consider. I’m so thankful for the community of adoptive families that I’ve come to know via the internet!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Another Potty-Training Update
(Sorry for those of you irritated by such private matters, or annoyed the incessant nature of this topic. If you've been here before, you probably understand how both stressed and excited we moms get about such topics. :)
Elijah has only had one accident in his underwear at daycare all this week - although I haven't picked him up yet today - and he's not going tomorrow. That one accident was wetting at naptime, when his teacher had to leave right before naptime and forgot to tell the assistant that he wears a pull-up at naptime at daycare. She apologized profusely, which wasn't needed - I expect there to be accidents from time to time, so it's OK. It actually probably helps him when he does have an accident because he learns how yucky it is to be wet all over, and I think it helps him learn to hold it longer - which he's been doing a great job with.
He's continuing to tell us (and daycare teachers) when he has to go #2 - even when it was in a rush because we'd all pigged out on sweet-corn the night before! But still not very good at telling us when he has to go pee-pee.
Also, Jock said something this morning about his owie clearing up, but since he was wet this morning it was about the same as yesterday... What?!? What do you mean since he was wet?!? You mean he wasn't wet one morning?!? Yup!!! He said Elijah's pull-up was dry yesterday morning when he woke up!!! I almost cannot believe it, except that Jock wouldn't lie or joke about such things. Maybe we won't be wearing pull-ups at bedtime forever after all!!! :)
... and because Josephine doesn't like to be left out when we praise Elijah for being dry ("I dry! I dry! I dry!", until we acknowledge/praise her too), I'll just say she hasn't had any accidents at daycare or at home (or anywhere else) for quite some time (I've stopped keeping track) - and she's still not wearing pull-ups at all. I don't have to even tell her when/how often to go except we do at bedtime, in the morning, or before we go somewhere.
Elijah has only had one accident in his underwear at daycare all this week - although I haven't picked him up yet today - and he's not going tomorrow. That one accident was wetting at naptime, when his teacher had to leave right before naptime and forgot to tell the assistant that he wears a pull-up at naptime at daycare. She apologized profusely, which wasn't needed - I expect there to be accidents from time to time, so it's OK. It actually probably helps him when he does have an accident because he learns how yucky it is to be wet all over, and I think it helps him learn to hold it longer - which he's been doing a great job with.
He's continuing to tell us (and daycare teachers) when he has to go #2 - even when it was in a rush because we'd all pigged out on sweet-corn the night before! But still not very good at telling us when he has to go pee-pee.
Also, Jock said something this morning about his owie clearing up, but since he was wet this morning it was about the same as yesterday... What?!? What do you mean since he was wet?!? You mean he wasn't wet one morning?!? Yup!!! He said Elijah's pull-up was dry yesterday morning when he woke up!!! I almost cannot believe it, except that Jock wouldn't lie or joke about such things. Maybe we won't be wearing pull-ups at bedtime forever after all!!! :)
... and because Josephine doesn't like to be left out when we praise Elijah for being dry ("I dry! I dry! I dry!", until we acknowledge/praise her too), I'll just say she hasn't had any accidents at daycare or at home (or anywhere else) for quite some time (I've stopped keeping track) - and she's still not wearing pull-ups at all. I don't have to even tell her when/how often to go except we do at bedtime, in the morning, or before we go somewhere.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
New Blog Design
As if I didn't have anything better to do tonight (like sleep!), I decided my blog needed a new look. It'd been a while since I'd updated it. It's still a bit of a work in progress, but it'll get there.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Potty-Training Update
Potty training has been very interesting, to say the least. We worked really hard on things while we were on vacation. I knew this was my time, since I’d be with them most days, we didn’t have a lot of things planned (were vacationing/relaxing at my dad’s). Also, I didn’t have to worry about puddle clean-up as much at my dad’s because, the kids played outside on the patio a lot, and the house doesn’t have much carpet.
Josephine had been doing REALLY well before vacation – she had basically already trained herself. She tells us when she has to go, too. Sometimes she’s just saying it but doesn’t really mean it – especially since I was taking Elijah frequently and she wasn’t getting as much attention. She has a bladder the size of Texas and can hold it a long time – so if it’s only been a half-hour I just let her go in by herself. In this case, she’ll go in and play for a minute or pretend she’s going. Then she’ll say, “no potty,” and come back out of the bathroom. I don’t have to tell her when to go, except we do first thing in the morning. The switch to panties was very easy. During the day, I think she’s only had two accidents, when she got REALLY busy playing and ran to the bathroom, but she couldn’t get her pants pulled down in time and peed on the floor in the bathroom. She’s usually dry all day and most nights (unless we sleep in too late).
The funny thing was, even before we switched to panties, one day we had a family 4th-of-July party up at the pole barn. We had a big cooler of lemonade for the kids to drink. Josephine must have drank 30 little glasses of lemonade that day. It was hot, so she was thirsty, but she also LOVED the lemonade! Then she said, “potty mommy!” about 10 times within 2 hours. Since we were about 100 yards from the house, the port-a-potty was a necessity – but I was sooooo glad that the company they rent from has newer clean ones – and they have installed those disinfectant dispensers. But, it was so hot in that thing, because it was in the sun! Since it was just family around, I’d just stand in the doorway while she went, but then turned over the potty duties to Daddy. It was so funny though – she usually only goes – at max – every 2-3 hours, but that lemonade was a hit!
Elijah is a little more complicated – typical of boys, so I’ve heard. He would wet his pull-up several times per day, as well as going in the potty – and at least squeezing out a few dribbles – several times per day. He seemed to have a bladder the size of a pea, and no control! He’s always soaked when he wakes up in the morning, so we’re keeping him in pull-ups overnight. But during the day, while we were on vacation, I switched him to big-boy pants. The first day, he only had one accident – when we had gone to a local nature center for about 1½ hours – so I wasn’t surprised, and it wasn’t his fault – there were just no restrooms nearby for me to continue his every-half-hour potty-breaks. He was even dry thru nap – and I caught him right when he woke up and had him go right away.
The second day wasn’t so good. I tried extending to every 45 minutes, and he went through about 5 pair of pants before I switched him to pull-ups to go out for supper - then he told me he had to go in the car on the way to Pizza Hut - go figure! The following few days were good as long as I made him go every 30-45 minutes. Once in a while I’d forget and extend to an hour, and he still did really well. He still won’t tell me when he has to go #1, and says, “no potty” but I make him go anyway, and he does go. He does, however, tell me, “potty mommy!” when he has to go #2, so it’s nice to not have to worry about that clean-up.
When we left my dad’s house on Sunday for the 3-hour drive back home, I put a pull-up on Elijah. He now hates wearing pull-ups – he wants to wear underwear, and whines when we have him put a pull-up on (except at bedtime, so I think he knows it’s necessary then)... But I didn’t think 3 hours would work, so I put the pull-up on him despite the whining. To my amazement, he was dry when we got home. BIG praises for Elijah for that!
We debated whether to continue using pull-ups at daycare, but I decided I didn’t want to lose ground. I just explained to the teachers that he needs to go slightly more often than hourly, and I'd put in his bag several changes of shorts and underwear – and one pull-up in case he got down to the last pair of shorts. The first day, he only had one accident – and it was at naptime. So I had the blanket and one outfit to wash that night. I was so surprised – he did great! The second day at daycare, they put a pull-up on him at naptime, but no other accidents. I was pleasantly surprised to see him in the same clothes when I picked him up. I do kind of wish they’d given it more than one try at naptime though, since he’d been dry for me at naptime most days on our vacation. I wondered though, if he just drinks more at daycare than he does at home - they said he is running to the drinking fountain frequently - so that makes sense.
The third day I didn’t send a pull-up to daycare, but he did have a pull-up on when we got home. He'd had two accidents in the morning, and then was on his last pair of pants so they found one to put on him. He was dry when we got home, but complained of an "owie". The doc put him on an antibiotic and it's clearing up well for him. I don't think it's causing him any more problems on the potty-training though, so that's good. I replenished Elijah's bag for daycare, and he did great on Thursday and Friday - no accidents, although they are continuing to put a pull-up on him for naptime.
Elijah's teacher did say that she's checking to see how wet it is and it's been lessening. She said today it was just barely wet. Hopefully soon we'll be done with naptime pull-ups too! I'm so thankful for such good teachers at their daycare. I was concerned that they wouldn't want to deal with his tiny bladder - especially since he's in an age group classroom where most kids are already fully potty trained, but they're doing an awesome job with him. They just picked up with him where I left off last week, and he's coming along very well. :)
He's been doing great in the evenings at home as well. Although I will say that after tonight's puddle in the entry-way, that I need to help the kids get inside and get Elijah to the bathroom as soon as we get home. I usually have the kids go on in the house, while I check the mailbox, and then grab my stuff out of the van. I'd really rather not have to add cleaning up a puddle to the already-busy evening routine.
Now that we're starting to get past the initial daytime pottying with Elijah, I’m guessing the final hurdle - dry nights - will extend out quite a while. Not really sure how to handle that one, but for now I'm looking forward to only using one pull-ups per day instead of buying a big package every week. Once he can tell me when he has to go pee, can hold it for longer than an hour during the day, is dry through naptimes, or maybe when he's not nearly quite so wet in the mornings, I may just try doing underwear at night – my thought is that maybe he’ll not like sleeping in wetness, and train himself. But I don’t have another change of the waterproof mattress pads – I guess I better get on that so I’ll be ready!
Oh – and I’ve got some 2T-3T girls pull-ups that we won’t be using if anyone wants/needs them – there is almost a full package of Huggies and about 1/3 of a large package of the Walmart-brand. Just let me know - first-come-first-serve.
Josephine had been doing REALLY well before vacation – she had basically already trained herself. She tells us when she has to go, too. Sometimes she’s just saying it but doesn’t really mean it – especially since I was taking Elijah frequently and she wasn’t getting as much attention. She has a bladder the size of Texas and can hold it a long time – so if it’s only been a half-hour I just let her go in by herself. In this case, she’ll go in and play for a minute or pretend she’s going. Then she’ll say, “no potty,” and come back out of the bathroom. I don’t have to tell her when to go, except we do first thing in the morning. The switch to panties was very easy. During the day, I think she’s only had two accidents, when she got REALLY busy playing and ran to the bathroom, but she couldn’t get her pants pulled down in time and peed on the floor in the bathroom. She’s usually dry all day and most nights (unless we sleep in too late).
The funny thing was, even before we switched to panties, one day we had a family 4th-of-July party up at the pole barn. We had a big cooler of lemonade for the kids to drink. Josephine must have drank 30 little glasses of lemonade that day. It was hot, so she was thirsty, but she also LOVED the lemonade! Then she said, “potty mommy!” about 10 times within 2 hours. Since we were about 100 yards from the house, the port-a-potty was a necessity – but I was sooooo glad that the company they rent from has newer clean ones – and they have installed those disinfectant dispensers. But, it was so hot in that thing, because it was in the sun! Since it was just family around, I’d just stand in the doorway while she went, but then turned over the potty duties to Daddy. It was so funny though – she usually only goes – at max – every 2-3 hours, but that lemonade was a hit!
Elijah is a little more complicated – typical of boys, so I’ve heard. He would wet his pull-up several times per day, as well as going in the potty – and at least squeezing out a few dribbles – several times per day. He seemed to have a bladder the size of a pea, and no control! He’s always soaked when he wakes up in the morning, so we’re keeping him in pull-ups overnight. But during the day, while we were on vacation, I switched him to big-boy pants. The first day, he only had one accident – when we had gone to a local nature center for about 1½ hours – so I wasn’t surprised, and it wasn’t his fault – there were just no restrooms nearby for me to continue his every-half-hour potty-breaks. He was even dry thru nap – and I caught him right when he woke up and had him go right away.
The second day wasn’t so good. I tried extending to every 45 minutes, and he went through about 5 pair of pants before I switched him to pull-ups to go out for supper - then he told me he had to go in the car on the way to Pizza Hut - go figure! The following few days were good as long as I made him go every 30-45 minutes. Once in a while I’d forget and extend to an hour, and he still did really well. He still won’t tell me when he has to go #1, and says, “no potty” but I make him go anyway, and he does go. He does, however, tell me, “potty mommy!” when he has to go #2, so it’s nice to not have to worry about that clean-up.
When we left my dad’s house on Sunday for the 3-hour drive back home, I put a pull-up on Elijah. He now hates wearing pull-ups – he wants to wear underwear, and whines when we have him put a pull-up on (except at bedtime, so I think he knows it’s necessary then)... But I didn’t think 3 hours would work, so I put the pull-up on him despite the whining. To my amazement, he was dry when we got home. BIG praises for Elijah for that!
We debated whether to continue using pull-ups at daycare, but I decided I didn’t want to lose ground. I just explained to the teachers that he needs to go slightly more often than hourly, and I'd put in his bag several changes of shorts and underwear – and one pull-up in case he got down to the last pair of shorts. The first day, he only had one accident – and it was at naptime. So I had the blanket and one outfit to wash that night. I was so surprised – he did great! The second day at daycare, they put a pull-up on him at naptime, but no other accidents. I was pleasantly surprised to see him in the same clothes when I picked him up. I do kind of wish they’d given it more than one try at naptime though, since he’d been dry for me at naptime most days on our vacation. I wondered though, if he just drinks more at daycare than he does at home - they said he is running to the drinking fountain frequently - so that makes sense.
The third day I didn’t send a pull-up to daycare, but he did have a pull-up on when we got home. He'd had two accidents in the morning, and then was on his last pair of pants so they found one to put on him. He was dry when we got home, but complained of an "owie". The doc put him on an antibiotic and it's clearing up well for him. I don't think it's causing him any more problems on the potty-training though, so that's good. I replenished Elijah's bag for daycare, and he did great on Thursday and Friday - no accidents, although they are continuing to put a pull-up on him for naptime.
Elijah's teacher did say that she's checking to see how wet it is and it's been lessening. She said today it was just barely wet. Hopefully soon we'll be done with naptime pull-ups too! I'm so thankful for such good teachers at their daycare. I was concerned that they wouldn't want to deal with his tiny bladder - especially since he's in an age group classroom where most kids are already fully potty trained, but they're doing an awesome job with him. They just picked up with him where I left off last week, and he's coming along very well. :)
He's been doing great in the evenings at home as well. Although I will say that after tonight's puddle in the entry-way, that I need to help the kids get inside and get Elijah to the bathroom as soon as we get home. I usually have the kids go on in the house, while I check the mailbox, and then grab my stuff out of the van. I'd really rather not have to add cleaning up a puddle to the already-busy evening routine.
Now that we're starting to get past the initial daytime pottying with Elijah, I’m guessing the final hurdle - dry nights - will extend out quite a while. Not really sure how to handle that one, but for now I'm looking forward to only using one pull-ups per day instead of buying a big package every week. Once he can tell me when he has to go pee, can hold it for longer than an hour during the day, is dry through naptimes, or maybe when he's not nearly quite so wet in the mornings, I may just try doing underwear at night – my thought is that maybe he’ll not like sleeping in wetness, and train himself. But I don’t have another change of the waterproof mattress pads – I guess I better get on that so I’ll be ready!
Oh – and I’ve got some 2T-3T girls pull-ups that we won’t be using if anyone wants/needs them – there is almost a full package of Huggies and about 1/3 of a large package of the Walmart-brand. Just let me know - first-come-first-serve.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
6 Months Since the Earthquake
With the 6-month anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti having been Monday, I’ve been watching the news coverage on CNN this week regarding how things are going in Haiti now. Haiti will always be in our hearts, and it pleases me that they are again getting coverage that is so desperately needed to bring attention and much-needed help to this tiny nation. It pains me to watch some of the coverage, yet I remain glued to the coverage, in hope of what could be.
It’s brought tears to my eyes to see the people still struggling so with basic living activities – that seem like they should be so simple, yet they remain so difficult in a country of so little – even before the earthquake. I can see pain in their eyes, yet a people so strong and resilient, because they have to be.
I’ve been angered by a few things I’ve seen and heard, such as the corruption in the customs officials in the port, where equipment and supplies – even a shipment of beans – are being held for ransom for months, when they could be put to such good use if released… and all the while the president (who was interviewed on AC360) seems to be unaware or perhaps unwilling to make sure that the situation is corrected. Or the enormous warehouses full of food, yet an orphanage almost next-door that isn’t sure how they will feed the 50 children beyond the pot of beans that is currently cooking.
I’ve smiled at seeing great things accomplished – or even seemingly small things, that to one person, is a great thing: medical treatments, food and water supplies provided to people in need, a wall being built for protection, a home being planned for a family that lost theirs, shoes or diapers or sanitary napkins provided to families living in a tent city.
So I continue watching, in prayer, hopeful for the small miracles to be transformed and multiplied into large ones. And I pray for each and every one of us watching – and those not watching – to learn of even the tiniest way that they can help someone in need, even today. Maybe someone can spare financial resources to donate towards a cause. Maybe someone has had it laid on their hearts to adopt a child. Maybe someone can take a week to travel and share their skills on a mission trip. Maybe someone can spare a smile to brighten someone’s day and encourage them. There is so much we can do. I pray for the LORD to show me how he wants to use me today, right now, for His Glory!
It’s brought tears to my eyes to see the people still struggling so with basic living activities – that seem like they should be so simple, yet they remain so difficult in a country of so little – even before the earthquake. I can see pain in their eyes, yet a people so strong and resilient, because they have to be.
I’ve been angered by a few things I’ve seen and heard, such as the corruption in the customs officials in the port, where equipment and supplies – even a shipment of beans – are being held for ransom for months, when they could be put to such good use if released… and all the while the president (who was interviewed on AC360) seems to be unaware or perhaps unwilling to make sure that the situation is corrected. Or the enormous warehouses full of food, yet an orphanage almost next-door that isn’t sure how they will feed the 50 children beyond the pot of beans that is currently cooking.
I’ve smiled at seeing great things accomplished – or even seemingly small things, that to one person, is a great thing: medical treatments, food and water supplies provided to people in need, a wall being built for protection, a home being planned for a family that lost theirs, shoes or diapers or sanitary napkins provided to families living in a tent city.
So I continue watching, in prayer, hopeful for the small miracles to be transformed and multiplied into large ones. And I pray for each and every one of us watching – and those not watching – to learn of even the tiniest way that they can help someone in need, even today. Maybe someone can spare financial resources to donate towards a cause. Maybe someone has had it laid on their hearts to adopt a child. Maybe someone can take a week to travel and share their skills on a mission trip. Maybe someone can spare a smile to brighten someone’s day and encourage them. There is so much we can do. I pray for the LORD to show me how he wants to use me today, right now, for His Glory!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Garden!
We doubled the size of our garden this year. Well, actually we had a raised garden and just made another the same size right next to the one we started last year. We have mostly the same produce we had last year, with the addition of jalapenos, spinach, and more tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. we also added kohlrabi, but haven't had much luck with them - we planted from seed and my mom/sister always did/do plant seedlings. Because of my surgery, I wasn't able to get out and thin them like I should have. There might still be hope, but we'll try again next year.
The radishes, spinach and lettuce are done - they were yummy. We didn't quite get the crop I would have liked to on the lettuce and spinach, but we had a fair amount before I had my surgery. Our onions are doing beautifully - we're enjoying picking them as we need them. I planted a bunch, but I'm not sure how many we'll have left to save for the winter, because we keep pulling them to eat. Oh well, at least they're not going to waste.
We just started getting in cucumbers - and they're plentiful. The zucchini and yellow squash aren't looking good. :( The jalapeno's are bountiful. The green bell peppers are coming along nicely - should be able to make stuffed peppers this weekend! :) We've had two tomatoes so far, and there are many more that just aren't ripe yet.
Tonight Jock grilled cheeseburgers, and we cut up a smorgasboard of garden vegetables to go with - our small tomato, onion, cucumber, green beans, sauteed onion and onion/jalapeno mix - yummy!!!
The kids and I stopped by the grocery store on our way home to pick up bananas and milk, and a 4# of strawberries jumped right into the cart (they were on sale for $5, and they weren't going bad)! So for dessert I mashed some to have over ice cream, along with a little banana and some chocolate syrup (except for Josephine who just had the fruit/syrup). Yummy again!!!
The radishes, spinach and lettuce are done - they were yummy. We didn't quite get the crop I would have liked to on the lettuce and spinach, but we had a fair amount before I had my surgery. Our onions are doing beautifully - we're enjoying picking them as we need them. I planted a bunch, but I'm not sure how many we'll have left to save for the winter, because we keep pulling them to eat. Oh well, at least they're not going to waste.
We just started getting in cucumbers - and they're plentiful. The zucchini and yellow squash aren't looking good. :( The jalapeno's are bountiful. The green bell peppers are coming along nicely - should be able to make stuffed peppers this weekend! :) We've had two tomatoes so far, and there are many more that just aren't ripe yet.
Tonight Jock grilled cheeseburgers, and we cut up a smorgasboard of garden vegetables to go with - our small tomato, onion, cucumber, green beans, sauteed onion and onion/jalapeno mix - yummy!!!
The kids and I stopped by the grocery store on our way home to pick up bananas and milk, and a 4# of strawberries jumped right into the cart (they were on sale for $5, and they weren't going bad)! So for dessert I mashed some to have over ice cream, along with a little banana and some chocolate syrup (except for Josephine who just had the fruit/syrup). Yummy again!!!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Crazy-boring blog!
I know... Only two posts last month, and this month is almost half over, and I haven't posted yet. Well, my excuse this time is that I just got back from a 10-day vacation - hanging out with my family.
I've got tons of pix to share, so I'll try to work on a few this week at least. I've got photos of t-ball, animal sightings, swimming lessons, hair-dos, E&J's dedication, vacation/4th of July, etc., etc., etc. We even took some family pictures over our vacation that I'll hopefully be able to post soon. They were shot by my sister and neice with the assistance of my other sister, my dad, and two of my nephews, and my professional-photographer step-sister has offered to do her editing tricks on them as well--but she's a busy gal. I might have to give a pre-editing sneak-peak, so keep your eye out.
I'll just post a couple landscape photos I took at my dad's place one night this past week. The rainbow was off to the east, and the sunset was off to the west when I walked up the driveway in the light rain.
Not the best photo, as I was experimenting with my camera's panoramic options after the rain subsided - but the colors showed up almost exactly how they were that night - beautiful country up there!
I am going to do just a general update on how our kids are doing, but I'll likely wait until later in the month to post that, as they'll have been home 6 months on July 25th! The earthquake struck 6 months ago tomorrow. We're still praying for Haiti. It's still such a weight on our hearts, the stories we continue reading about the struggles there...
For now, I need to get some sleep. Monday morning, after a vacation, is going to come TOO early for all of us! G'nite!
I've got tons of pix to share, so I'll try to work on a few this week at least. I've got photos of t-ball, animal sightings, swimming lessons, hair-dos, E&J's dedication, vacation/4th of July, etc., etc., etc. We even took some family pictures over our vacation that I'll hopefully be able to post soon. They were shot by my sister and neice with the assistance of my other sister, my dad, and two of my nephews, and my professional-photographer step-sister has offered to do her editing tricks on them as well--but she's a busy gal. I might have to give a pre-editing sneak-peak, so keep your eye out.
I'll just post a couple landscape photos I took at my dad's place one night this past week. The rainbow was off to the east, and the sunset was off to the west when I walked up the driveway in the light rain.
Not the best photo, as I was experimenting with my camera's panoramic options after the rain subsided - but the colors showed up almost exactly how they were that night - beautiful country up there!I am going to do just a general update on how our kids are doing, but I'll likely wait until later in the month to post that, as they'll have been home 6 months on July 25th! The earthquake struck 6 months ago tomorrow. We're still praying for Haiti. It's still such a weight on our hearts, the stories we continue reading about the struggles there...
For now, I need to get some sleep. Monday morning, after a vacation, is going to come TOO early for all of us! G'nite!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Busy Summer
It seems like we have little down-time this summer. Well, that's not exactly true, but things are quite busy!
They got busier than we'd have liked when I had emergency surgery the week before last. I'm SOOOOOOO thankful for my dad and step-mom for taking the kids for several days. The kids and the grandparents thoroughly enjoyed themselves while they were there, and I really appreciated being able to rest and recover, with Jock to take care of me. I think I surprised everyone - including myself - letting them go for a few days. I missed them so much, but it worked out great for everyone.
We'd planned to go to Adventureland - a nearby amusement park, the day before my surgery - well, that didn't happen. Our back-up day (in case of weather - ha!) was for the following week. Well, I was recovering, so that didn't happen either. We wanted to hit the park during the week to avoid the weekend crowds, but no luck, we'll be fighting crowds. We already bought discounted tickets from Jock's employer, so we just have to find a weekend day to go before Elijah's birthday, or else the admission cost goes up by about 60%! (Elijah & Josephine's admission is free while they are 3 years old.) I think we'll be able to do it though.
Kaylen has one more t-ball game left. The season would have been finished this past weekend, but due to rainy weather pattern we've been in for the past few weeks, she's got one game to make up. I'm surprised she doesn't have more than one to make up, but just the luck of the timing of her previous games, they got them in. It actually worked out well, because the game that was postponed because of rain was while she was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kaylen does a great job with t-ball, so long as her competitive nature (even against her own teammates) is kept in check. But she decided that she'd rather play soccer, so I've signed her up for the league that plays two seasons per year, and no more softball.
This week and next, Kaylen has swimming lessons in the evenings. It's at a nearby indoor pool, so our "rainy season" should not cause problems. She's taking Red Cross Level 2, and she's got a small class. I didn't get much of a sense for her teacher, but I'm sure she'll do fine. She's turning into quite a good swimmer, and really enjoys the water! The only challenge is picking her up at daycare without the little kids seeing me. Jock's been picking them up since my illness, so he's going to continue that thru the swimming lesson weeks. It helps that Elijah's class is split up this week and next while his lead teacher is on vacation - so he's in Josephine's room, which is enclosed instead of the open room near the front that he's usually in.
After swimming lessons, we'll be off for a little vacation - at Grandma and Grandpa's house again. Jock has to work part of the time, but we're looking forward to spending time with my family, and also attending my high school class reunion.
A couple weeks after my high school class reunion, we're all excited to be going to St Louis for a reunion of the kids from Elijah & Josephine's orphanage. I can't wait to see some of the other families and children that we've met on our trips to Haiti. It'll be awesome to see so many children with their forever families!
Then we'll have a few more weekends to stay home and maybe relax and keep (catch) up with the garden before Kaylen starts back to school. It seems like this summer is FLYING by! But I wouldn't have it any other way - time with family, time with friends, and time to enjoy each other at home.
...and time to style Josephine's hair. Up next: box braids with beads themed for Independence Day - red, white, and blue, with silver stars!
They got busier than we'd have liked when I had emergency surgery the week before last. I'm SOOOOOOO thankful for my dad and step-mom for taking the kids for several days. The kids and the grandparents thoroughly enjoyed themselves while they were there, and I really appreciated being able to rest and recover, with Jock to take care of me. I think I surprised everyone - including myself - letting them go for a few days. I missed them so much, but it worked out great for everyone.
We'd planned to go to Adventureland - a nearby amusement park, the day before my surgery - well, that didn't happen. Our back-up day (in case of weather - ha!) was for the following week. Well, I was recovering, so that didn't happen either. We wanted to hit the park during the week to avoid the weekend crowds, but no luck, we'll be fighting crowds. We already bought discounted tickets from Jock's employer, so we just have to find a weekend day to go before Elijah's birthday, or else the admission cost goes up by about 60%! (Elijah & Josephine's admission is free while they are 3 years old.) I think we'll be able to do it though.
Kaylen has one more t-ball game left. The season would have been finished this past weekend, but due to rainy weather pattern we've been in for the past few weeks, she's got one game to make up. I'm surprised she doesn't have more than one to make up, but just the luck of the timing of her previous games, they got them in. It actually worked out well, because the game that was postponed because of rain was while she was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kaylen does a great job with t-ball, so long as her competitive nature (even against her own teammates) is kept in check. But she decided that she'd rather play soccer, so I've signed her up for the league that plays two seasons per year, and no more softball.
This week and next, Kaylen has swimming lessons in the evenings. It's at a nearby indoor pool, so our "rainy season" should not cause problems. She's taking Red Cross Level 2, and she's got a small class. I didn't get much of a sense for her teacher, but I'm sure she'll do fine. She's turning into quite a good swimmer, and really enjoys the water! The only challenge is picking her up at daycare without the little kids seeing me. Jock's been picking them up since my illness, so he's going to continue that thru the swimming lesson weeks. It helps that Elijah's class is split up this week and next while his lead teacher is on vacation - so he's in Josephine's room, which is enclosed instead of the open room near the front that he's usually in.
After swimming lessons, we'll be off for a little vacation - at Grandma and Grandpa's house again. Jock has to work part of the time, but we're looking forward to spending time with my family, and also attending my high school class reunion.
A couple weeks after my high school class reunion, we're all excited to be going to St Louis for a reunion of the kids from Elijah & Josephine's orphanage. I can't wait to see some of the other families and children that we've met on our trips to Haiti. It'll be awesome to see so many children with their forever families!
Then we'll have a few more weekends to stay home and maybe relax and keep (catch) up with the garden before Kaylen starts back to school. It seems like this summer is FLYING by! But I wouldn't have it any other way - time with family, time with friends, and time to enjoy each other at home.
...and time to style Josephine's hair. Up next: box braids with beads themed for Independence Day - red, white, and blue, with silver stars!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Hair Day!
Elijah got his hair cut. I was working on Josephine, so he had to sit still by himself - and he did awesome! He didn't even complain too much this time. He thinks it's so funny to see the chunks of hair fall out, and likes Daddy to hand them to him as they are cut so he can throw them on the floor. Doesn't he look so handsome with his hair really short?!?
I wanted to post before-and-after photos of Josephine's cornrows. They lasted four weeks, the first two pix are from the day after I did them, and the next two are from yesterday right before I took them out - how fuzzy they were!
It probably took me 45 min to an hour to take the cornrows out, then washed, parted and put in these double-stranded hanging twists. LOVE how cute they look on her. I need to take advantage of this style while she's still young,
because she likely won't like them when she gets a little older.
I'll probably touch them up weekly, but I hope they last three weeks. Then I'll be putting in box braids again, decorated nicely for the 4th of July!
I wanted to post before-and-after photos of Josephine's cornrows. They lasted four weeks, the first two pix are from the day after I did them, and the next two are from yesterday right before I took them out - how fuzzy they were!
It probably took me 45 min to an hour to take the cornrows out, then washed, parted and put in these double-stranded hanging twists. LOVE how cute they look on her. I need to take advantage of this style while she's still young,
because she likely won't like them when she gets a little older.
I'll probably touch them up weekly, but I hope they last three weeks. Then I'll be putting in box braids again, decorated nicely for the 4th of July!
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