busy next few days...

well, thought i'd better write now as the next few days are going to be extremely busy... tomorrow (tuesday) i'll get ruby on the bus & then i'm off to clean up this house ~ WHOA!!... i'll then need to leave the house by 2:30 to go pick dustin up from work & take him home... i'll stop by our house to scoop up brit & ruby & we'll then race off to the airport to pick up a friend of mine that's flying in... we'll go shopping, running around town, etc. on wednesday & then we'll head to the airport again on wednesday night as barbara will be bringing in my friends daughter *smiling*... we're all so excited!... i've not gotten to see this gorgeous little girl since january 2005 & believe me, i can't wait!!... they'll stay overnight again with us & then thursday afternoon my friend & her daughter will head to their home & barbara will stay another day or so in order to have another tooth worked on... not sure at this point how long she'll get to stay, so we'll see... we'll then pack on thursday night as we're going camping on friday for the holiday weekend & won't be returning home until monday.. needless to say, i may not be blogging for a few days!!

yesterday...

well, yesterday was spikes birthday (52!) & we went to my brother in laws house for a get together... it was a combination of party for spike & a party for their secretary that just retired... the kids swam, we all ate & had a great time... we remembered that it was 4 years ago yesterday (august 26) that we first heard about kiara & started the process... man, how time flies!... well, we're heading out now to go eat lunch & then do some shopping so i'll write more later!

this weekend...

well, tonight we opted to just stay at home so after eating dinner, we played with the girls & then put them to bed... i was able to get things done around here (straightened, etc.) so we're ready (kind of) for the weekend... i've been soooooooooooo tired/drained & sore today as i went for bloodwork this morning & it wasn't the reading they wanted so it's really tired me out WHEW! (i know i'll get yelled at from my mother as i didn't tell her!... she's dealing with a bit of her own 'body weary' things & i know she's got enough on her plate - don't be mad mom *smile*)... anyhow, i'm fine & will get better with each passing day, but for today, man i'm bushed!... here's some pictures of the chicklets that i took tonight when we were playing... aren't they adorable ~ nite!

rubys first week of school...

well, ruby's been in school now for 3 days (she only goes on tuesdays, wednesdays, & thursdays)... she's loving it already & her teacher's great!... here's a picture of her on her first day & also 1 of her & her teacher, kristyn... everyday when she's gotten off the bus, she's smiling from ear to ear & starts signing, "ruby", "friends" & "school"... she's a sweetheart!!

we're home from camping...

well, even though there was a HUGE threat of rain over the weekend (friday night, all day saturday & sunday until midday), we went ahead & went camping, praying we'd stay dry & we're sooooooooo glad we did... we'd a wonderful time as did the girls & also my parents (whom went with us)... don't ask my how i managed it, but i came away from the weekend with NO PICTURES!!... i took video, but forgot to get out my digital camera!... ugh... we're going again in 2 weeks (labor day weekend), so look out, there'll be tons of pictures from that campout... we'll be going with dad & mom again & also spikes sister & her husband (russell & vickie) will be coming along so it's sure to be a good time!... more tomorrow as i'm bushed!!

our day started with...

the girls bringing me beads that they'd found in their beds this morning!... i couldn't believe it, they all brought me some at different times, not knowing the others had done the same thing!!... they've had this hairstyle in for just over 3 weeks & we still had a week or so to go (or so i thought)... i went to put the missing beads back, but found lots of bands had snapped & it just wasn't worth it... i began with ruby, taking each & every braid out (remind me again, who was it that wanted micro braids in their hair???)... i then moved on to kiara & finished with karleigh this evening at bedtime... they're all ready to jump into the tub tomorrow morning & play for as long as mommy will let them... then it's off to the drawing board again to come up with another style... here's a picture of what we decided to do (& it only took 5 hours to get them all 3 done!!)

a bittersweet day...

well, this morning we all got up, dressed & was out the door at 10:30am... we headed to muncie to eat at brits favorite place 'carlos okellys' (mexican)... i'd decided to take her out for 'her day' as today was her last day of summer... she starts school in the morning & she's a bit nervous as she'll be a freshman & is so scared she'll get lost in the high school... after eating a wonderful lunch, we headed back to the other side of indianapolis to dj's beauty supply house for yet, MORE BEADS for our little chicklets!... after going there we went to target as brit wanted to get a certain outfit for the first day of school (nothing like waiting till the last minute!)... after that we went to pendleton for dinner with my parents & spike met us there... we ate pizza at 3rd generation & boy was it YUMMY!... we then came home to 3 little chicklets not feeling so well... kiara's complaining of needing to choke (you know what that means), ruby's got a temp of 103.3º & karleigh's running one of 101.3º UGH... well, we'll for sure be home all day tomorrow... i'll post more then!!

what we did this weekend...

well, this past weekend we went camping at clifty falls state park with our best friends (caswells) & their children... they've 3 little ones from haiti (6y, 4y & 2y) & along with ours (4y, 3y & 2y) there's never a dull moment... they're the same family that went with us to myrtle beach this summer (boy, does that seem like a long time ago - we're already looking forward to seeing mickey mouse next year!!)... it was so nice that when we got there friday night, angela had already made homemade cornbread & garden greenbeans over the fire & kyle was cooking chicken on the grill & man, was it a gooooood meal!!... we got up saturday morning & went to their town (madison) & spent the entire day walking around & they were able to show us all over... they took us to a fabulous lunch at the downtowner & we'd highly recommend it!... they serve sandwiches, chips, soup, salads, etc. & they were soooooooo good... we had campfires every night & then had to leave on sunday, but not before spike hit angela square in the eye!... yep, you read it right, he was holding a hard rubber ball (about the size of a softball) & had been holding it for quite awhile & went to throw it over to our camper, but when he went to release it, it hesitated as his hands were sweaty & about the time it did release it met up with her eyeball & boy does he feel bad now!... here's some pictures of the kids while we were out...

kiaras day wasn't so hot...

well, since we've come home from haitian camp kiara & karleigh have begun showing signs of being ate up with mosquitoes... karleighs have been driving her crazy (itching!), but we've noticed that kiara hasn't been bothered by that at all... this' been odd as kiara's our 'scratcher' anyway & scratches all the time for comfort (ie: when she's tired, sick, scared, upset, etc.)... i began noticing kiaras 'bites' on sunday night at the same time i noticed karleighs... i began giving both girls benedryl for itching & it seemed to help... i lotion the girls down 2 times daily (morning & night) & did so on monday night as well (feeling the bumps all over them)... karleighs are mostly on her arms & back, where kiaras are ALL OVER HER!... she's got them on both legs from ankles to very top of leg, both arms, shoulder blades, wrists, face, etc... when she got up yesterday (tuesday) i went to lotion her & upon starting at the high part of her left thigh & moving towards her ankle i felt something NOT RIGHT... i turned her leg over & all down her left calf was huge blister type things where the small 'bites' had been... i knew then they weren't an ordinary mosquito bite so i called her pediatrician... we went in yesterday for them to say they had no idea & for us to go to a dermatologist... we went this AM & he didn't know what it was UGH... he did want to biopsy it (which he did) & will send it off to a lab & should have the results middle of next week... here's a picture of what it looks like... we're just praying that things come back alright & there's nothing to worry about... BTW, she did fine during the procedure although she did get a pickie (numbing shot)... she wasn't very happy (alright, screaming), but in the end went out smiling (just like kiara!) & was very polite to all that she spoke to...

well, we're home from haitian camp...

well, we had haitian camp this weekend (friday/saturday/sunday) & had a blast!... there were several families that stayed the entire weekend & then other families just came for the day on saturday... the food that was served was wonderful & we all got to spend so much time together just visiting... there was swimming, chatting, eating, playing, bonfire, singing, testimonies, stories, etc., etc., etc... we were able to use our camper for the first time & it worked great... here's some pictures from the weekend... i've even posted one of all the kids that barbara's adopted out...

heading to haitian camp tomorrow...

well, we're heading out to haitian camp tomorrow for the weekend & we all can't wait... we're going to be able to use our new camper for the first time & we're very excited about testing it out... the girls all had a horrible time getting to sleep as they're sooooooooooooo looking forward to heading out in the morning... i'll post pictures as soon as we get home too...

our time with barbara...

well, barbara got in several days ago & has been staying with us since then... we're having a very good time & really enjoying her company (as always)... today she went to visit some haitian children near us that have been home a couple months... they really enjoyed seeing her again & she was very happy to see that they've grown so much!... this evening we had brit watch all the 'little people' at our house & spike & i took barbara out to dinner & to the movies... here we had no children to take with us & what did we go see? "the ant bully" (a kids cartoon movie!!)... it was cute & we had a good time so i guess that's all that matters, huh?!?!... tomorrow we're planning on doing some shopping & then we're heading over to spend some time with my mom, who's going to haiti with us in october... the girls haven't seen dad & mom for several days & that's all i heard today was, "can we go to nanas house??"... i'll try & post some pictures of girls kids & barbara tomorrow...

our new (to us) camper...

well, we've been 'moving up' as far as campers go for several years now... when we married we started out with a tent (one that leaked no less!) & moved up to a popup/fold down... we then sold it & purchased an small, old motorhome as it was only spike, myself, dustin & brit & we had plenty of room... we then decided to add more to our family tree so we sold the motorhome to pay for an adoption... we knew that 'one of these days we'd get another one'... we had a very close friend of ours phone us about 1½ - 2 years ago & said that he'd aquired an older motorhome, didn't want it & just gave it to us!!... we were back in the camping business (whooo)... well, since then we've added to our growing tree AGAIN & had been thinking about getting another bigger one, but just knew that we'd get one when we found that 'perfect' deal... well, last week spike was on his way to work & spotted a motorhome for sale... he stopped & fell in love with it... he phoned me to go look at it, i did, we both loved it so it's now ours!!... it's a 1998 34' coachman mirada & has everything inside that we'd wanted & only had 24,000 miles!!... it's in excellent condition & has only been stored inside... here's a picture of 'our new camper!!'... we already had camping plans for the next 3 weekends in a row... this weekend's haitian camp (bedford, IN), next weekend's camping with the caswells (madison, IN) & then the following weekend it's camping with my parents (greenfield, IN) & hopefully many more yet this year... oh, we're so excited to finally have a bit more room!