oh my, what's this?...

well, i think we've hit upon something (thanks everyone!)... i've prayed, researched, talked to everyone under the sun, read articles, etc. on how to get ruby to stay sleeping once she gets there at night/wee hours of the morning... i'd heard everything from: giving her warm milk & turkey at bedtime to punishing her everytime she wakes up & EVERYTHING in between... we took all the opinions that were offered (thanks everyone) & have tried some... we'd a huge number of people recommend having her go to bed earlier, rather than later... she usually goes down at 8-8:15pm, so now (when we're home) she's in bed between 7:30-7:45pm... since all 3 bear cubs go to sleep in separate beds (karleigh in her bed, ruby in brit's bed & kiara in our bed) & then once they fall asleep, we move them into their own bed, ruby never realizes that she's the only one going to bed 'early'... another thing that we've been told by many, many, many deaf people's that to them, having a night light burning in their room's a hindrance as it keeps them awake or wakes them when they're in a lite sleep... the girls do have a very dim night light in their room, way up high on a shelf, but i did that more for ruby than the other 2 as i thought when she'd wake up & not hear anything (she doesn't wear her CI to bed), that a little dim light in there would help her not to be afraid - guess i was making it worse!...

so ------------ with ruby going down 30 minutes before the other 2 & turning off the night light permanently (drum roll please.....), i'm happy to announce that we've completed 4 (yes, FOUR) nights sleep without her waking up at all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD ON HIGH!!!... not sure if this' a 'fix all', but for now, this sleepy mommy's doin' the happy dance!!!... thanks for all the suggestions (i've kept them all) & we'll keep you posted on how things are going over the next lil' bit... again, thank you all

been sick, but getting better...

boy, over the past several days, i've been very sick, but praise the lord, i'm getting better!!... it's very cold here today & so we're not getting out... was planning on going to DJ's (hair supply store) & mom was going with me, but she 'chose' to go visit the dentist instead - hmmmmm... i redid the girls' hair yesterday & was able to get kiara & karleigh's completely finished & ruby's is all but finished... i'll finish hers today when she gets home from school... i'd had their hair done, or so i thought, but didn't care for it so needed to have it redone... everyone's doing fine around here & is now over their sicknesses (YEAH)... karleigh's completely potty trained during the day & thinks she's a very big girl... she turned 3 on january 8 & when we went to put her pullup on her that morning, she said, "i'm not a baby anymore, i'm 3 & don't need to wear baby pullups anymore!!"... she went into panties that morning & has never looked back & never had any accidents either!!!... GO KARLEIGH!!!!... we've started making ruby do the same thing & the only times she's had an accident (she'd had 3) mysteriously was when she was mad & in time out - hmmmmm... well, i've got to run & get some things done today... will write more later!

this sleepy mommy...

well, here i sit at 4am as ruby doesn't hardly sleep at all!!!!!!!!!!!!... count yourself blessed with sleeping children, as this' what i'm dealing with (or i should say, some nights, NOT dealing with)...

we adopted ruby (now age 3) from haiti back in July '05, so she's been home for a year & a half now... in haiti, it gets light out about 5am & then it's pitch black about 6:30pm, so their sleeping patterns are adjusted in that they wake & are 'ON' by 5am & they're in bed for the night between 6-7pm... out of all 5 of our bear cubs, ruby's the only one that's not a great sleeper... this' her normal routine (yes, it'll seem very strange, but for her, it's normal - UGH)...

she wakes up about 3am & since we've not been able to move to a bigger home (YET) & she's to share a bedroom with 2 of her siblings ages 3 & 4, she'll wake them up by smacking them in the face (she doesn't even behave this way during the day!), climbs on them, yells (VERY loudly) for them to get up, etc.... we've a baby monitor in their room, so i rush in there to find her sitting in bed, smiling as if she's accomplished what she set out to do... the other 2 are awake (not happy about it to say the least) & everyone's grouchy, except of course for ruby... i'll get onto her, making her roll over & face away from them & i'll leave the room, only to repeat this whole procedure several times over the course of the next 2 hours... she then drifts off to sleep somewhere around 4:30-5ish, but i hear her sweet squeals again on the monitor by (yes, BY) 6:15am... i rush in to get her before she wakes the other 2 (again) & drag her to our room & plop her into our bed so i can try & catch some ZZZ's before having to get up... she'll lay there & whimper, just loud enough to keep me awake or she'll flop from side to side, stomach to back, etc. all the while, i'm 'giving her the eye', smacking her leg (yes, we do smack!), etc... by this time, i'm exhausted & we do this until i've had it & get up... even when i get up, i make her lay there for at least 15-30 minutes, just so she doesn't think she's getting up (rewarded) for this behavior...

we begin our day at this point & it's pretty good, but she's the fussiest one of the 3 all day... if someone picks up something that she's had (she may've had it days ago, but if she's had it, played with it, wore it, etc., at any time in her life, then to her, IT'S HERS!) & she'll throw a HUGE drama queen show stopper, only to be put into timeout throughout the day (she's not the only one that visits that place everyday)... naptime comes at 1:30pm & usually, when i lay her down, she's asleep within about 30 mintues (sometimes she'll lay there forever it seems, before 'giving up')... she'll sleep for only an hour, but when she sleeps it's a hard sleep, then she's up... she'll go strong for the entire evening until bedtime comes which's 8:30-9pm & so sometime between 9-10ish she's out, until 3am, that is...

i've talked to the dr. about this & this' what i get from them (& others)

*try putting a gate at the door (we do this, but she doesn't even get out of bed!)

*put her to bed later in the evenings (we've made her stay up until midnight before & 3am still comes!... also, she attends the deaf school 3 days per week & she's to get up at 6am to catch the bus that comes at 6:35am)

*try taking her take naps away (we've tried this a lot, but she doesn't make it until nighttime & she's an absolute BEAR without that hour during the day... also, they have her take one at her school, so it'd do no good for me to do this 2 days/week & them to allow it 3 days/week... plus, she's an hour bus ride both ways, so she'd just sleep on the bus!)

*putting her to bed in another room (that's not possible with our house size & dynamics, but will be whenever we move!!)

*letting her cry it out/stay awake by herself (where am i to put the other 2 while this' going on?... also, 'if' i did put the other 2 somewhere, she'd just get up & play all night in her room, as she's done that before!!)

i'm just at a loss as to what to do, try, etc., to get her to sleep... several months ago, we thought that maybe if she'd wear her CI to bed, she'd sleep better (she'd not think she needed to get up & see what's going on as she'd hear that nothing was going on!)... the trouble we had with that's that she started taking her CI apart (batteries out, ear tubing off, etc.) & we didn't want to take the chance of her breaking or tearing it up... about messing with her CI, she NEVER touches it during the day, i think she does at night as she's awake & feels there's nothing else to do!!!... it makes it sound like she's a little terror & she's truly not... she's a very easy little girl (big in the drama department), but very good & easy, but requires no sleep at all & we all do!!...

any help, thoughts &/or prayers would be appreciated for this situation & this sleep mommy of 5 (3 of which are toddlers ages 3, 3 & 4)... thank you & good nite!!... (& the heart dr. said i need to limit my stress... HA!!)

i've got sickies, snow & a tired hubby...

well, i got up this morning to find brit still not feeling well (cold symptoms) & ruby (fever, runny nose & cough)... took kiara to school & when i went to pick her up, she had (runny nose & cough) too!... was on my way home & brit called & said karleigh (stomach ache)!!... EEEEK!!... brit & ruby are the only 2 that are to go to school tomorrow, but from the sounds of it, they won't!... we did get some more snow last night & light stuff today, but it's not bad... i just talked to john on the phone (he's the haitian friend of ours that was just here & sooooo wanted to see snow)... i told him it was all over the ground & he just laughed & wished it would've been here a bit sooner... spike's been at meetings all day today & his last one doesn't even start until 8pm so he'll not even be home until 12 (midnight) - 1am... he's got to be so tired after our week last week... hopefully he'll get home & in bed right away & maybe be able to work in the office tomorrow... well, i'm trying to reach barbara right now, but can't seem to get through GRRRR, so i'll keep trying!... c-ya for now!

our new 'daughter'?...

well, we've been waiting anxiously to hear from the zachary's (missionary family we're very good friends with that live/work in cazale, haiti), who we're going to be sponsoring to send to school... they've had the huge task of matching sponsors to children over the past several weeks & we were notified this afternoon of our new 'daughter'!!...

her name's mirlande (pronounced 'meer lon') & she's 13y old... her bfather's not around at the present & her bmother's passed away... she's the 'motherly' figure in the home where she & her 2 siblings live (brother 18y & sister 6y)... she'll now be able to attend school & we'll be able to send her things... we'll also be able to meet her, spend time with her & take her things during all our trips to haiti... we're all so excited & can't wait to see what god's arranged through this... here's a picture of her, isn't she beautiful!?!?!?!... please pray with us, for her that she enjoys this 'relationship' as much as we do!!

who's got the sniffles?? - WE DO!!...

well, brit came home from school friday afternoon not feeling all that great... she had the sniffles, watery eyes & was achy all over YUK!... she stayed home last night when we went out with friends (yes, we've got friends!!) as she was feeling so puney... then when we got up this AM, ruby had the same thing only she's coughing & sneezing too!... i'm giving them both meds, hoping they can attend school tomorrow... we got about 2" of snow dumped on us last night/early this AM & the kids think it looks so neat outside (yeah johny, we finally got snow!!)... johny, who's haitian & works with barbara came to our house on the 29th of december & was here for just over a week & was soooooooo wanting to see snow, but nope, that didn't happen... he leaves & it snows!, wouldn't you know it!... he'd never been out of haiti before so it was such a pleasure to be with him as he experienced everything for the first time... here's a picture of him with our younger girls... well, i'll close for now, but may post some more later on this afternoon/evening... tata!

my heart cath results...

i just wanted to update everyone on my test results... they didn't find hardly any damage at all when they got in there to investigate (PTL)... there was some damage to the heart, but they did say that it could've been there for 20y... my valve's working great & they couldn't find any blockages at all & the drs. are very pleased with what they found (or in this case, didn't find)... they don't wish to do any other procedures at this time (PTL)... i've been under a tremendous amount of stress here lately & they believe that's the cause of my chest pains... they think i need to slow down (wow, that'll be a breeze NOT!)... thanking everyone for your prayers & well wishes as the outcome could've easily not been what we wanted to hear - BUT GOD!!... god's so faithful & i'll never underestimate anything that he can & will do for his children... prayers does move the hand of god & i believe i'm proof of that... again, thank you

heart cath & a new blog!...

well, my heart cath's tomorrow & we'll be leaving her at 7am... the actual cath. appointment's not until 9:45am, but i need to have blood work etc. done prior to... i'm not nervous at all & will be so glad to get tomorrow underway so we'll 'know' what's going on & can move on from there... now, on to bigger/brighter things - how's the new blog look?... i've updated, revamped, moved things around, changed colors, etc. for a whole new look & feel... i've put a guest map on there for you to click on & list what state you're from (just for fun!) & also a guestbook to sign (as if you didn't have anything better to do!) so please play along, k?... i'll continue to update my blog as i can, but also love to read other blogs of friends/family so keep the new posts coming!!!... i'll blog tomorrow night & 'fill ya in a bit'... keep prayin' as no matter what the outcome, i'm NOT giving up!!

what i'm dealing with...

well, for those that know & for those that don't, i'd appreciate all the prayers you can muster at this time... i had open heart surgery when i was 18y old (1986)... i'd had my son & with that came a blood transfusion as he was SOOOOOO big & i lost a lot of blood... well, things were going alright, until several months later i was rear-ended while on my way to church & immediately following, i'd to undergo open heart surgery for a valve replacement as my valve had an infection on it... when looking closer, they determined that my spleen also destroyed by the same infection & could only assume that when i'd received the blood transfusion, the infection could've come from there, layed dormant until the car accident & then got stirred up, landing on my aortic heart valve & also on my spleen... i'd to undergo open heart surgery & then about a week later had my spleen taken out... well, i'm on a blood thinner (coumadin) that i take daily so my blood's thin enough to pass through the mechanical valve that i've got...

well, some of you know i've been experiencing quite a bit of chest heaviness... it's not hurt, but only 1 time, but the heaviness' quite HEAVY... i went into my cardiologist a few months ago for them to check me out, they did & didn't find anything abnormal... they've continued to run more & more tests just to make sure everything's alright... i'd a stress test today & that all went alright, but on my way home, i received a phone call from the dr... she said that my tests weren't normal... she said that i've got significant heart damage... she said at this time she's not able to determine what % of it's damaged, nor could she tell exactly where it's damaged, but she wants me to go back in tomorrow at 4pm for them to show me how to give myself lovenox shots over the next week or 2... i'll also be going in next Thursday (18th) & spike will be going with me for a heart cath... they said that after that test's done, they'll be able to tell us what %'s blocked, where it's blocked & what they suggest be done to fix it (providing it can be fixed)...

i've been through open heart surgery (the old way) & swore i'd never go through that again & still don't want to, but do know they do things differently now then 20 years ago...

i'm also the mother of 5 (3 being 4 & under) & i'm exhausted between:
chasing them all around
carpooling
church
trying to help out our son as he's getting his life straightened out
cooking
dealing with a teenage girl in the home that can be sooooo hormonal
doing housework
paying bills
doing laundry
planning gatherings for haitian camp
dealing with my grandfathers unexpected passing
*& all the junk that followed, with settling up his estate
trips out of the country (which i WILL continue to do!)
etc.

i'm saying all that to say this, please pray with/for me that i get a good report & that it's not as it sounds... i know god's in control & i'm comforted in that fact, but i'm human too & my mind still works & thinks, etc. so thoughts are still racing through it... i know the devil's wanting to take this as an opportunity to scare me & he's not going to do it... i know that god sees the big picture & that i can handle whatever's put before me as i've done in the past, but still would appreciate the prayers... thank you

grandpa & edna!...

well, you've got to be around our family for this to even resemble a funny story, but anyway, for those of you who 'know us', here goes:... my father (the older kids call him grandpa) has a crazy sense of humor anyway & he loves (& I DO MEAN LOVES!), to play around & make digs with our daughter brit... she's got comebacks for him left & right so they both just go round & round all the time... well, he's one that even if he knows your name, he constantly slips up & calls you something else on accident (he still does this to me & i'm 39 & his own daughter!!!)... he slipped up one time & called brit, brenda & we've laughed about that for a long time as brit's always saying, "gosh grandpa, don't even know your own grand-daughter's name!"... well, brit's really big into thinking up new names, looking in baby name books for cool ways to spell names, etc. & one day recently she ran across the name edna... oh brother, that's all we've heard ever sense's that she'd LOVED to be named edna & she says it with such 'snip' with a break of sorts between ED & NA saying it with a bit of sass... well, if any of you are familiar with the cracker barrel 'peg game', you'll know what i mean when i say, brit's been able to get down to only 2 pegs left... well, grandpa called her this evening & asked how 'low can she go' on that game & she said, "2 pegs"... well, he started laughing (devilish laughing) & said he'd gone there tonight & got down to only 1 peg, so now the war's on... he was bragging a bit & said, "oh edna, wanna go to cracker barrel soon?!?!?!"... she then said, "bring it on!!!"... oh brother, those two!!... i'm going to buy them both one of those peg games, sit them at a table & take a picture to add to this blog as they're both so competetive & will NOT let the other one off the hook for anything... they're 2 of a kind no matter how you cut it... just thought i'd share the kind of family members we've in our family... so, how did i turn out so normal?... hmmmm *smile*

she'll be how old?!?!?!

well, tomorrow our youngest 'baby' turns 3 years old... i remember when we went to haiti to meet karleigh she was only 5 months old at the time... it was my first trip there & i was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least... we arrived at the PAP airport & had to claim our luggage & then proceed outside to where barbara would be with our daughter... i was trying to help spike find all our containers, but so wanted to hurry to get outside as i was beside myself with anticipation... finally everything we'd brought with us was loaded onto the cart & we were ready to move on, but where, as we were all sandwiched in that room like sardines... we started inching our way through & on the other side of the room held high above the sea of black faces that were all around me was one of the most beautiful baby girls i'd ever seen, all dressed in pink & being held by someone with white hands (which really stood out)... i said, "spike, there she is, HURRY!" (like how was that going to happen!), but just about that time it was as if the red sea parted & everyone just moved out of the way for us & we zoomed her way... when we got over there, this little thing was placed in her daddy's arms as he prayed over her (as we've done all our children up to this point) & after he finished praying, he placed her in my arms & she sniggled down as if to say, "this' where i needed to be"... i was so in love (again) with this little one & wanted so much to protect her from everything bad in the world... our eyes locked & i was in heaven... she wasn't through the social services yet & we were only there to meet with the officials & basically beg to get out, as they'd requested we come & meet with them... i'd gone there knowing i'd have to leave her behind, but hoped it'd not be for to long... i went saying, "i'll be alright in leaving her, although it won't be easy", but at that moment i knew i couldn't leave my daughter there, but how was god going to pull this all together in just 6 days?... we had to get out of IBESR (social services), through courts, get a visa, etc. - so pray we did!... we called everyone we knew from haiti & asked them to pray that things move at lightning speed... we were to leave on saturday & wednesday night at 10pm our hotel phone rang & it was our attourney saying we'd gotten out of IBESR & he'd put us into court... thursday afternoon we were with barbara & our attourney called to say we were out of courts (only in 19 hours!)... barbara called the visa office & got an appointment for friday morning, got the visa in the afternoon & flew out of there WITH KARLEIGH on saturday morning... all i can say's GOD IS GOOD!!!... it's been fun getting to know this little person & her spark & zest for life... she's a quick whitted little girl with tons of spunk & personality... above's a picture of her this evening opening her birthday present from us (a new outfit & necklace) as she's getting pictures taken in the morning & we wanted her to be able to wear it... happy birthday karleigh, we love you!!!

busy as bees around here...

boy, christmas was over, new years was upon us & we've had a house guest since last friday from out of town (johny), so we've been busier than you could even imagine!... we've eaten out so much (taking him to out all time favorite restaurants), that i so long for a homecooked meal - even if i'm the cooker!... we've taken him to our church, the movies, to see around amish country, to work with spike 1 whole day seeing what spike does on a day in/day out basis, shopping at the mall for like 5 hours straight, visiting with several of our friends, to see kiara's new pre-school, which she started today, to the purdue campus (is there really any other university??), etc., etc., etc.... we've taken pictures galore & run his tail off, but he does seem to be enjoying himself, which's good... we're heading out tomorrow AM to meet up with yet more friends (guess i paid all these 'friends' good $$ to 'show up & pretend' while he's here, huh?) & out to lunch... we're then heading to my parents house for the evening & he's spending the night there... he'll be returning to our house on friday afternoon where he'll pack up & get ready to head back home on saturday AM... we'll miss him when he goes, but have had a wonderful time while he's been here & for that i'm very thankful to have gotten this opportunity to spend it with him...