what's gone on this week...

well, here it is thursday, i've been busy all week, but what have i done??... i know i must have done something as i've been exhausted all week long!!... kiara went to school 2 times this week (monday & wednesday), ruby went 3 days (monday, tuesday & wednesday) & brit went 4 days (monday, tuesday, wednesday & thursday)... brit's off tomorrow (friday) for the start of an early spring break, but then again she's 'off' a lot (we'll not EVEN go down that road!)... i went shopping with mom 2-3 days this week to some consignment shops looking for madisyn (my new sister!) some clothes... i was able to pick kiara up some new things too, due to her growing SO much here lately... she's 4 & she's wearing 6x in pants (some 7's) & she's in size 7 shirts - seems like she was just going into 5's!!... mom & i are wanting to get started working on madisyn's room... mom bought her a beautiful comforter the other day, that i'm sure she'll love, some 'pretties' for the wall & new clothes, etc... it'll be so nice to get everythere where it belongs, bed made up, etc. & make it 'ready for her to come home'... we took the girls out 1 evening this week & let them ride their bikes & they loved it!... i went to the statehouse & INS yesterday to work on paperwork for a friends adoption & we were able to do that all in & amoungst carpooling preschool children... tomorrow morning (friday), my sister & i will be heading down to INS to drop off her adoption paperwork!!... we'll then head over to the department of health to pick up their birth certificates, then to the statehouse to have everything authenticated... she'll then be ready to send everything to the translator!!... they've done very well on gathering their paperwork & moving quickly too... can't wait to see how long (or short) god takes to get madisyn & her sister loudnie home - GO GOD!!... our best friends are coming over saturday to get together with us & so we're all very excited about that & i'll also be getting ready to do hair the beginning of next week, so there'll be more 'hair pics' coming shortly!!... i'll try & blog more when i've got time as i know over the past few days i've not been very good at it... ttfn

ruby's mama's nearing the end...

as much as i hate to think about it, i received word tonight that ruby's mama liz (lee's) is NOT doing well at all... barbara saw her today & she's now in the final stages of aids... she's got growths all over her & isn't well at this time... i pray she comes to know the lord first & foremost & that she doesn't suffer... she's given me so much, when she didn't have much to give & for that i'm so grateful... i can't imagine all that it takes to give a child up... i know some can say, "they don't seem to care for their children", "they don't care, as they can have more", "if they cared, they'd not have given them up", etc., but i don't feel that way at all... they care (maybe not in the exact same way as i do, but they do care)... they don't want their child to live the same way they've lived for all those years & some do make the choice to give their child up for a better life... it's one thing to sign paperwork saying you're releasing them, but then to see them for the last time & know that you more than likely will never see them again, i can't even begin to know what that's like... i so wish i could take ruby back there 1 time & let liz see with her own eyes how she's doing... let her see that she's being taken care of, she now hears, she's getting bigger (she's still petite & always will be, but is getting bigger!), she's a happy, healthy toddler, she's got attitude (which to her, would be a big +), she's silly, loves to dance & sing & is an all around normal little girl with tons of spunk!... here are the 2 of them together in '05, carbon copies, huh?... mama liz, we're praying for you, love you & thank you from the bottom of our hearts for what you've done...

one step down (already??)...

we mailed madisyn's dossier to haiti on monday the 12th & barbara received it on thusday the 15th... she put it into 1st legalization on friday the 16th & got it out yesterday on monday the 19th!!... 1st legalization takes anywhere from 2 weeks - ??? (there are some families that i just heard about tonight that's been in that office for over 8 months, how ridiculous' that!!)... we're just praising god for the 'quick move' on madisyn's adoption as i truly think it'll be a quick one *smiling sister over here!*... barbara's to pick up the haitian homestudy tomorrow, wednesday the 21st & will submit them into IBESR right away... we're praying that IBESR's a quick stay as well as the rest of the adoption, but we'll have to wait & see... we're just trusting god & believing that he's got his hands on it & that she'll come home when he's ready for her to be here... just thought i'd share!! ~ GO GOD!!

it's official ~ loundie has a home!!!!...

well, man where do i begin?!?!... first off let me remind you that my parents are adopting madisyn from haiti... she & her sister live together & are VERY close... their birthmother passed away leaving them to care for themselves as they'd done for a few years, since she became ill... well, dad & mom decided to adopt madisyn & although they wanted to adopt loundie too (& were seriously considering it), they opted not to for 2 reasons... 1) was the $$ issue in doing 2 international adoptions at the same time 2) was that after thinking about it, praying about it & talking to licia about it (the missionary that lives near madisyn & is the one that hooked us all up), they all felt that madisyn needed to be adopted separately from loundie as she'd more than likely never be able to give up the 'mother' role in her life... she'd always feel she needed to do for loundie what loundie couldn't do for herself... she'd never feel like she could be a kid/teen as she'd continue feeling as if she needed to 'spend time with her child', etc... as hard as it was, they felt that they should NOT adopt them both, so they proceeded with madisyn's adoption... in 3 weeks time, they got their entire dossier completed & mailed... we've all (licia, my parents, us, our church, neighbors, friends & family) been telling everyone we can about loundie & trying our best to find her a home... we didn't really care where she went as long as it was a good christian home & that the girls could always stay in contact, but we were praying she'd at least be adopted into indiana (where my parents live)... some said they were interested, but it never went much further... there was 1 family that was interested, but was pretty dead set on the girls staying together & for that reason opted not to adopt loundie... some didn't want to take on a 6.5y old child, some are still praying & seeking god in the matter, etc, but to date no one had stepped forward & said, "i'd love to be her parent, now where do we sign"... well, i'm happy to report that loundie's NOT available any longer!!... she's been 'hand picked by god' as were her new parents in ways i can't even begin to share with you at this time... god's been dealing with this family for awhile now, as they've been looking & searching for a 'home for loundie'... they've told everyone they know about her, called everyone they could think of, etc., but to no avail... they finally said the other day that, "if she's not adopted, then maybe, just maybe we could do something"... well, i talked to them tonight & they've already called licia & made it offical, they're adopting her!!!!!... now some of you may be saying, "who are these people that she's talking about", well it's (drumroll please...........) spike's sister sharel & her husband ralph & they only live 10 mintues from my parents & only 25 minutes from me!!!... i'm so excited i just can't believe how god's worked this all out... he's so good & not only has he given both these girls wonderful, loving, christian homes, but he's given this all to them only minutes from each others homes... sometimes i write about us all going camping with our families... well, it's usually our family, spike's sisters & their families, my brother & his family & my parents... we'll all be together so much... oh my goodness it'll be so much fun & think of how excited the girls will be when they find out that they'll be able to spend so much time together living here in the states!!!... PRAISE THE LORD!!... here's a picture of the 2 of them together...

leaving town...

well, tomorrow morning i'll get up & take kiara to school... i've then got to run a couple errands before picking her back up... we'll come home & do naptime until 3pm when brit gets home & then we're off to ohio for the weekend as our niece's getting married... we'll be there until sunday night so if anyone needs/wants to reach me phone 317.432.3103... i called haiti tonight & barbara received dad/mom's dossier (praise the lord) & will go into 1st legalization tomorrow!... i just truly believe that this adoption will be a quick one... we're still looking for a family for her sister loundie & praying that god's getting someone's heart ready to receive her... well, i've still got things to do before heading to bed so i'm off here for now, but will write when i can... tata!!

long day, but it's finished!!!

just wanted to quick write & say, it is finished!!!... dad & mom started 3+ weeks ago, compiling a dossier to adopt madisyn & as of today, it's in the mail & on its way to haiti!!... it should get there wednesday afternoon (we'll breathe a lot better when we know it's arrived)... they worked so hard & so congrats to them's in order - CONGRATS YOU 2!!... here are some pictures of todays trip...

dad & mom walking into the chicago haitian consulate to pick up their authenticated dossier

dad & mom with the gentleman that signed & authenticated all their paperwork

dad & mom getting ready to leave the consulate with papers in hand...

they thought their work was over, but it's only just begun

the 'group' eating lunch & after a long day in the car & were just being silly (note all the hats)...

LtoR: dad, mom, karleigh, spike & kiara

scenes from around town

well, heading to bed as i've got to braid hair tomorrow UGH & i'm very tired... will write more tomorrow night more than likely, but remember, it is finished!!

WHAT?... IT CAN'T BE!!

what's going on?... i know for sure i can't really be as old as my parents say that i am... how can it be that yesterday i was feeling so young (ok, maybe that young feeling was several days ago) & now they're telling me i'm the big 4-0?... 40?... are they really sure they calculated things correctly & didn't maybe, skip some numbers?... i just don't understand how this can be...

i woke up this AM looking like this (smilin' aren't ya?!?)...

i know my face looks a bit 'full', but that's due to me eating a lot of salty foods here lately & getting a bit 'bloated' in the face... for all readers who 'know' me, who're picking their chins up off the ground, this really isn't me (surprised aren't ya!)... it's a swimsuit model's face & my body (oh sorry, the other way around - their body & my face)... i know you were all really wondering how i'd lost so much weight, well truth prevails & i didn't (WAAA!), but one of these days, maybe, juuuuuuuuust maybe i will *wink*...

last night kiara couldn't go to sleep so i went in to lay down with her for a bit... i ended up falling asleep & sleeping with her all night... i woke up at 8:30am WET!... now mind you, i'm not THAT old that i'd be having bladder problems already, but i know wet & wet i was!... i looked & sleeping peacefully next to me was my little girl, wet, but yet sound asleep UGH!... i got up & was telling spike what had happened & he said, "well honey, you can go back to bed if you want, just sleep on the other side"... I CAN'T SHE PEE'D IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BED!!!... welcome to being 40!!... at this moment i'm listening to the screams of my 3y old in the next room as she sits in time out for shaking her cup & spilling water (on purpose) all over the kitchen table... welcome to being 40!!... not that all this has to do with being 40, but it's just funny to think of all that's going on in my life right now & doing it all at 40... in my 30's, 40 seemed so 'old'... i never looked at myself as being 'old', but then again, some days i feel 60!...

what i'm doing at 40?? - i (along with spike) am raising 4 daughters at home... brit's 15 (16 in july), hormonal as all get out, but a great kid... she's a big help around the house & a 2nd mommy to our bear cubs... kiara's 4 (5 in may) & about the best little toddler you can find... she wakes up with a smile on her face & is happy most of the time... she tries to 'mother' the 'twins' as she calls them & to our surprise, they let her!... one might say she's the 3rd mommy in this house... ruby's 4 & the best drama queen by far & loves that role & practices it daily (sometimes several times a day - she's trying to perfect it, i guess!)... she's the hardest working kid i know & can pull well over 2 times her weight i think... she's very competitive & strives to 'prove' that she can do whatever needs to be done (sometimes things she's NOT supposed to do!) & then there's karleigh who's 3... she's such a joy, but boy's she sneaky!... out of the twins, she's usually the 'leader of the pack' & loves that title... she's the most cuddly little thing that loves to be held, but boy when she's hot, watch out!!... i know she's really a redhead underneath all that black hair!... even though dustin's out of the house, i think of him & pray for him often... he's working hard on getting his life squared around & seems to be improving in that area - YEAH... keeping up with all of them can be tiring to say the least, but it's so worth it in the end... i really don't do much for spike in his business, but picking up prints or something like that from the print shop so that really doesn't count, does it?... i've been helping dad/mom A LOT here lately preparing their dossier... i know first hand how much work's involved in putting one of those together & so in the beginning i told mom, "i'm going to run your fanny in the ground to get this done quickly, so when i say do something, please don't question me, just do it!"... she said alright, but i was secretly laughing inside as i knew what that would involve & i knew she'd have a hard time keeping up... it took me 2+ months to complete kiara's dossier as i'd no idea what in the world i was doing... 1 month to complete karleigh's, but less than 2 weeks to complete ruby's - so seeing how long it would take her was going to be fun!... they committed to madisyn on february 14 & 3 weeks later they're done!!... i still can't believe it... i'd tell them to do 'this' & by that evening she'd be calling me saying, "alright, that's done, what next?"... i'm so proud of them & their hard work (& believe me hard work's an understatement)... i also need to publically thank paralegal on call http://protectourchildren@pocinc.org for their amazing working on getting to their home, doing the homestudy, getting it written up, notarized & to them all in just 3 days (go vickie!)... it all then went to our fabulous translator who worked on it at lightning speed to get it finished, which she did & we so want to thank her for that (thank you nikki - again!)... at that time it went to their psychologist, whom we'd used for all our adoptions & although his daughter was getting married & he had tons of things to do & his mind needed to be anywhere except on doing a psychological evaluation for someone, he still came through & got it done (thanks phil!)

mom got the whole dossier done in just 23 days & we're heading to chicago monday morning to have it haitian authenticated & then it'll be in the mail by that afternoon *smile*... it's been a family project in getting it this far, but will be so worth it when my sister (boy, that still seems so weird to hear!), madisyn, comes 'home'...

as you can see, i've a lot going on, but it's all fun & so worth it & i've a lot to be thankful for (& i am)... not only am i married to the man of my dreams - my bestfriend, we've 5 great kiddos, are very close to both sides of the family (which's still growing), love the lord with all my heart & have made it to the big 4-0, what more could i ask for??... have a great day - I WILL!!

well the end to another week...

man, where's the time going??... i can't believe it's already march!!... today i took kiara to school, got mom & we headed back to INS (yes, again!) as they now require SS cards on both adoptive parents... we'd already given them everything you could think of & more, but didn't think of the cards UGH... after dropping them off, we headed to meijer, then we picked kiara up & then we went to lunch (ruby tuesday YUM!)... after we got home & the girls took their naps, i took them all for a walk in the neighborhood... they seemed to have a good time, just getting out of the house for a bit... here's some pictures that i took while on the walk...

karleigh 'riding the fence'

ruby 'riding the fence'

kiara 'posing'

peek-a-BOO!!

brit really wasn't posing here, just happened to get 'caught' with her hand in the air... i teased her about trying to act like a model (hehe)... hope you enjoy the pics!!

the good - the bad - the 'ugly'...

well, where do i start?... yesterday was a good day, but VERY VERY busy... i dropped kiara off at preschool (fishers), drove to mom's to pick her up (pendleton), drove to the statehouse to drop off mom's paperwork for it to be authenticated (indianapolis), went to pick up kiara (fishers), drove to mom's police station as there was a problem with their paper (pendleton), drove to pick up mom's homestudy (indianapolis), went back to the statehouse to pick up the paperwork we'd left earlier in the day (indianapolis), went to INS to file their homestudy (indianapolis) & then took mom home (pendleton)... WHEW!... while at their house we assembled their original dossier & ran 4 copies of it as well... the girls that i had with me were kiara & karleigh & they'd been SO good, running into & out of meetings/offices/appointments all day long... they were tired & VERY hungry as we'd eaten lunch at 11:30am & it was now after 6pm so we were trying to hurry to get home & eat... i'd made veggie soup in the crockpot so i'd been telling them all day that when we got home that's what we were going to eat... i phoned brit when we left dad/mom's house (about 6:30ish) to let her know i was on the way & for her to go ahead & start getting things ready (ie: drinks in glasses, bowls filled, setting the table, etc.)... she was working hard on all that as i was driving home... i'd not seen ruby all day as she went to school at 6:30am & it was past 6:30pm so by the time we got home & ate, it was going to be bedtime... we pulled into the neighborhood at about 6:50pm & this' where things went all wrong - sooooooooooo wrong!... NOTE: i'm a VERY strong advocate of children being a carseat for as long as they can fit... making sure they're securly fastened in properly, everyone in the car wearing seatbelts, no children in the front, etc.... when pulling into our neighborhood, we're the 5th down on the right, so what we started doing about a week ago's letting the girls unstrap their seatbelts once we were IN our neighborhood as long as they stayed seated... the girls have thought that was neat & made them feel big to 'do it by themselves' & it saved us a minute or 2 once we parked as they were already ready to get out... well, we pulled in last night & i said, "go ahead & strap", which they did & were sitting just fine... i did what i always do & pulled up in front of the house, put it into reverse & started backing up... our drive's on an incline & as i got about half way up the drive kiara (being a 4y old) screamed, "MOMMY STOP!!!"... i didn't know she was just teasing & i slammed on the brakes very hard & it was at that time i heard the most horrible sound a mother could hear... it was karleigh (3y) being thrown out of her carseat toards the front of the van, a hard thud & then a bloodcurdling scream & i knew it was bad... this makes it sound as if i was driving 55mph & i wasn't, but being in reverse, slamming the brakes & making the van lunge forward a bit & then on an incline all that added together didn't make for a good situation at all... i threw it into park, jumped out to check out what happened & just as i was opening the slider door on the van brit walked out saying, "need me to help carry anything inside??"... at that moment i looked at my little girls face & there was blood everywhere!... it was gushing from her mouth at a rate of speed that scared me to death... she was loosing so much blood & i truly didn't know where it was coming from (teeth, throat, tounge, etc.), but i was concerned at the lose of blood that she would/could pass out... i scooped her up & ran (yes, this fat mama went running!) into the house & layed her on the bathroom sink... she was still screaming & i could see it was her teeth & her bottom lip... her lip had a HUGE cut on it & was split wide open... i scooped her up, ran to the car & rushed her to the hospital... i checked her in & after being there 6 hours they finally released her at 1am this morning... she'd split her bottom lower lip from the middle all the way to the left corner of the mouth (about an 1" - 1½" long)... the cut's on the inside - side touching the teeth & it's all swollen & brused... her cheeks bruised & swollen today & it hurts when she opens her mouth... they had to put stiches in her lip, but thanks to 'goofy juice' she was pretty much in lala land so even though it hurt & she cried when they did it, she doesn't remember it YEAH!... she's now got a loose tooth, but until the swelling goes down, we won't know how loose it really is... her gums are all black as they're so bruised & swollen & she living on yogurt, jello, pudding, ham salad, applesause & soup for the next few days... pray for her to heal quickly as i feel HORRIBLE (that's an understatement as i know i'm the one that caused the whole thing just from not thinking & using my head - now she's the one that's suffering)... she's doing fine & will be seeing a dentist in the next week or 2 as soon as the swelling goes down a bit... also pray for me as i was a bit of a wreck (& i'm usually very good in stressful situations & don't tend to 'loose it', but i did last night)... i'm better today, but totally wore out... thanks & when she gets up from her nap, i'll post a few pics to show (or sort of show) the damage to that ugly little boo-boo on her lip... (P.S. - lori/licia, where were you when i needed you to stitch up my baby!?!?!?!... praying for you all even more than ever because i honestly did think during all the comotion, this' nothing compared to what you deal with on a regular basis!... just letting you know that even in the midst of everything, i was thinking of you all & how you'd handle it... praying for you!)... i'm sorry karleigh & mommy loves you!!

left this morning & didn't get home until 10!!...

we've been on the run all day since this morning... spike & brit went in for haircuts & we left as soon as they got home... we went out for lunch (chinese - YUMMY!), walmart & then to the movies... we took the kids to see bridge to tarabithia & they/we loved it... tomorrow we're heading to calvary temple to try it out... not wanting to be church hoppers, as we love where we go now, but sometimes our little ones can't go to their classes due to not being enough helpers & their classes get full (# of adults to # of children ratio)... it's so hard to walk in church with all 3 of them being so excited to go to class & then to hear 1 of them being told, "well, you'll have to go to the service as your class' full, but your sisters can come on back" UGH... at this age, they really don't understand, but handle it alright... they're very excited about going to this new church, knowing they'll for sure get to go to class... we'll see how it goes, but it looks very promising & we're all excited! *smile*... we'll post tomorrow on how things went!!

busy day...

well this morning i took kiara to school & spike was working at home so he agreed to keep the twins... after taking her to school i went to the grocery, ran home, dropped everything off, put it all away (with the 'help' of 2 little ones), then went back & got kiara... after coming home we had lunch & now it's naptime... i'm so sleepy today & have a bit of a headache UGH (guess i should be laying down, but there's so much to do - like blog!!)... i'm glad today's friday as we're planning on staying home & doing nothing tonight... the kids can just sit around & play, i'll make dinner & then go to bed (ahhhh, that's the life)... here's some typical pictures of haitians doing just the things that i mentioned

& we think we've got it rough... it shouldn't take looking at pictures like these to make us all realize how good we've got it... we've nothing to complain about at all... as we go through the weekend, we all need to think about what we've got & not what we don't have... if we did this, we'd all be happier for it...

what's in store for us today...

well, today's going to be busy to say the least... i'll be getting all the girls up in about an hour & get started for the day... spike & i are taking all 3 of them to the dr. for a 'well baby check' just for measurements, height, weight, etc.... after that's finished, 2 of them will head to the waiting room with daddy, but karleigh will have to stay back with me as she's GOT to get her ears cleaned out!... this kids got the dirtiest ears of anyone on planet earth & i clean them every other day!!...it's pretty typical for children from haiti, but hers are over the top!... alright, enough said about earwax so early this morning... we'll then try & catch lunch & then it's off to INS... when kiara came home they sent her greencard stating she was a jr. (ie: kiara m. jr.) as a guy would UGH... we're taking it back today to try & get it fixed... we're also hand delivering dad & mom's paperwork (their I600A) for them as they've got a homestudy this afternoon & can't come with us... they're doing so well on gathering all this paperwork up, it's really unbelievable... i told her in the beginning, there wasn't room to slack & that i was going to run her into the ground (with a smile on my face) & that she HAD to keep up when it came to getting papers i needed ----- & she has!!!... we're down to all she needs now's their homestudy back (will get it this monday) & their psych evaluation (will meet with the psychologist on tuesday)... we've explained to him that we're in a HUGE hurry, so hopefully he'll move a bit & get it done... IF, after they meet with him on tuesday, we could pick up the letter on wednesday, get it translated on thursday (& IF everything else's finished being translated as it's already being worked on -- go nikki go!!), then we'll go to the statehouse in indiana on friday (9th) & then we'll be off to chicago the following monday (12th) to have the haitian authentications stamped & they'll be DONE!... if it doesn't work out quite that fast, then we'll have to go to chicago the following week (21st, 22nd or 23rd), but we're really pushing hard to get it done sooner rather than later... pray, pray, pray that we can accomplish this at the faster rate of speed... a lot will need to come together in a short amount of time: (ie: the homestudy they're having today will need to be in their hands by monday, the psych eval they're having next tuesday will need to be in their hands like the following day & nikki will need to continue working as quickly as she has for all our adoptions in the past & get the translations done in record time)... our goal's to have everything back to us & translated by the morning of the 9th & i truly believe that it can happen... they just started their dossier on the 14th of february, so at this rate they'll be able to turn it in about 3+ weeks later -- go dad/mom!!!... well, that's it for me today, i'll try & post more tonight... have a wonderful thursday!