yesterday & today...

boy, have these 2 days been extremely B.U.S.Y.~!... yesterday the girls & i went to my SIL's (sharel) & picked up her dossier, had to go get another dr. letter for my MIL, went to the police station as the lady had forgotten to print her name when she notarized it, took everything else to the notary & have things notarized... in the afternoon i took dustin to indianapolis FOR NOTHING as when we got there we found out what he had wasn't what he needed UGH... today i got up early & went to pick up licia (the missionary) as she's here for 1 month... we went to INS for her to file some paperwork (which didn't happen as her hubby's haitian & so they'll have to file in haiti), filed some papers for sharel, went to the statehouse to authenticate everything else that we had left, for sharel... after eating lunch, we went to dad/mom's house so licia could see & take pics of madisyn's room & visit with my parents... i then took her home & headed for kinko's copy shop & copied paperwork for the next 3 hours *smile*... spike met me & we then went to dinner, just the 2 of us *smiling BIG*... tomorrow's going to be a day just for the kids & i... it's been brit's spring break all week, but i've had to work so much, we've not gotten to do anything, so i'm really looking forward to it... i'll take pics & post them tomorrow... nite!

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!

got some new pics today of my sister...

well, i received several pictures today of madisyn... some were sent by barbara walker & others were sent by licia betor (whom madisyn's living near)... they run a rescue clinic in cazale, haiti... you can read all about what they're doing up there by clicking on http://www.xanga.com/haitinurse4life... (note: don't go to their site if you get sick from the sight of blood)... madisyn was to go with barbara today for wrist xrays, but that's all, as every thing else's already done... well, i'll try & blog more later... ttfn

stayed home all day & got absolutely NOTHING done...

boy, i know we all need these days, but i sure don't like them much... days when we're home all day with nothing to do & then at the end of the day, i'm more tired that i'd be if i'd have worked my tail off (is that even possible - to work your tail off?... boy, i sure with it was - anyway, back to the meat of this post)... seemed like kiara was in trouble most of the day as she's into this pushing thing... it's truly not as if she's trying/wanting to hurt ruby or karleigh & neither one of them let her get by with it without telling on her immediately, but she's still doing it... when you ask her why she pushed she said, "cause i did"... well duh, we know you did!!! UGH... i know it's just one of those 'phases' that kids will go through (some bite, some hit & other push), but it's not fair to the little ones & in the end, she's in trouble... one good thing about all this' that she's assured us that, 'it'll never, never, NEVER happen again' *just smiling, as i've heard that exact phrase about 5 times today!*... tomorrow kiara doesn't have school as they're doing their parent/teacher conferences & ours are at 8:45am... what was i thinking agreeing to that time, on a day when we don't even have school & to have to drag out 2 little ones for what, 15-20 minutes!!... it's not the teachers faults, but boy, wish i'd have thought harder about that one... today brit & i went through & added some things to my blog (gotta keep updating it so you all don't get bored ya know!)... i'll keep playing around with it over the next few days (or months) adding/deleting things, so tell me whatcha think!!... have a happy monday!!

the ICK's finally gone from our home - PRAISE THE LORD!!!

well, it's true, we've not heard a cough at all today & we're claiming victory in the 'ICK' department... this junk started christmas morning when brit got up & until yesterday we've been battling it the entire time... it's been one or more of us passing it around & i'm happy to announce, it's outta here!... we're getting together tomorrow with kyle, angie & their kiddos (that's who we're vacationing with this year) & we're all excited about that...

yesterday i started redoing the girls' hair (starting with kiara & karleigh)... i then finished up today (with ruby) & i'm done for another month!!... i love doing it, but man is it time consuming... i'm going to post a few pictures (below) on here for my sister so she can give me tips/pointers on how i'm doing as she's still in haiti, but hopefully will be home sometime by the end of this year (2007)...

this evening we went to my niece's birthday party... megan's 5 today (happy birthday megan!) & boy did the kiddos have fun!... there was bubbles, cake, ice cream, space to run & when you add all that in with 6 little girls ages 5y, 4y, 4y, 3y, 3y & 2y, you've got a VERY fun time... there was also smoochin' going on as my parents were 'caught'... we all had a great time & hope you enjoy the pics of all the silliness!5y megan (the birthday girl)

2y katie (the birthday girl's little sister)

3y morgon (the birthday girl's niece)

5y megan, 4y kiara & 3y karleigh (the back of her head at least!)

4y ruby

3y karleigh (making a face cause the bubbles were getting in her eyes)

dad & mom smoochin'!

happy birthday mom!!...

well, we went to grandma's house tonight as it was her bday & we'd not even seen her since a couple days before christmas as we've all been sick!... lots of the family came over to wish her a happy birthday & i think she really enjoyed it... all the kiddos got to play with their cousins & then they got cookies for dessert... here's a picture that was taken over the summer, but i thought it was a good one of her & wanted to share... tomorrow's preschool for kiara & ruby, so karleigh & i are off to papaw/nana's house to help them work on their dossier to bring madisyn home (boy, it's fun when i'm not the one having to do all the running!)... spike will be getting home late tomorrow night as he'll be out of tow all day, so when we're done at papaw/nana's, we'll be heading home for the night... well, more tomorrow... ttfn!

party night!...

well, ruby's birthday was a couple weeks ago (8th), but with all the snow we've gotten & last weekend we were out of town hosting a haitian weekend, we've not had time to take her out for her birthday dinner... we went tonight & dad/mom went with us (forgot the camera, sorry!) & we all had a great time... we ate, they came out & sang to her (which she was a lovin'!), then came the presents & ice cream, YUM!!... she got an outfit from us which i'll take her to get her pics taken in, in the next few days & a huge dora stuffed doll/pillow from papaw & nana... her mouth flew open when she saw it & she started signing DORA!... she's carried it around the restaurant, all the way to the car & proudly escorted dear dora into our home when we got back... i'll be sure & post new pics as soon as we get them taken...

all these sickos!!...

wow, i'm up to my armpits in ill people!!... brit's still got her deep cough (might help if she'd actually TAKE the meds that we've gotten for her, but...), ruby's got a cough & fever off/on, kiara & karleigh both have complained over the past couple days of having tummy aches & spike's got a sore throat!... i'm about the only normal one around here (but you all knew that, right?)... things are going alright, just will be glad when everyone's on the mend & will stay there!... we've not even seen spike's mom since december 23 EEEEK!... she certainly does NOT want us coming over & passing this all around... seems when 1 gets better, 2 more get sick, maybe we'll see her by memorial day, you think?... had to get a new washer/dryer as mine passed away... we'd a stackable unit which i loved, but the dryer's been misbehaving for a long time & just last week the washer decided it was going to follow suit... we went & purchased a new stackable unit with loads more capasity & i love it!!... this set only needs to run the dryer 1 time to get them dry (opposed to the 4 times + that i was having to do with the old set... well, spike's here saying, "car's running, gotta go!", so we're off to run errands & get more meds... ttfn!

BRRRR, it's a blizzard out there!...

wow, we're at 14" of snow & it's still coming down... it's blowing & drifting all over the place... we stayed home all day long & will tomorrow too, except that ----- our washer broke!!... we've gotta try & get out tomorrow sometime to head to HHgregg & purchase a new one - UGH!... spike's going to go out tomorrow & 'play' with the snow blower as all men will be doing & i really think he's looking forward to it!... when johny was here, he sooooo wanted to see snow, well johny, we've got some now for ya!!!... this past weekend we'd haitian camp in ft. wayne, IN & there was almost 100 people that showed... we all had a wonderful time & what we can see's that people that come to these gatherings on a regular basis are now not only just 'people who're connected by haitian adoptions', but rather 'friends' & we could all really feel that this weekend... we missed those that weren't able to attend, but also loved spending time that showed up too... i do think we'll try & have it at a different location (same general area, just different hotel) as this one that we've been going to's getting a bit 'run down' (pool too cold, lock on child play area was broke, etc.)... well, i'm going to get off here as i've still got things to accomplist before heading to bed & it's almost midnight... nite!

i'm getting a new sister!!!...

wow... i still can't believe it, but god's done it again!!!... to make a long story extremely short(er), my parents are adopting mirlande (above) from haiti!!!... this' the girl i'd posted on my blog a few weeks ago that we're sponsoring & sending to school... well, things are just working out so well, that my parents have decided after much prayer, talking to friends/family, etc. to adopt her & call her their own... she's 13 now (14 in may) & will be named Madisyn Mirlande :)... i'm so excited i can hardly wait!... we'll be going to meet her in october as we've already had the trip planned... she's been told that she's to be adopted & seems very good with the idea... please pray with us that god comforts her through this whole exciting adventure called adoption, that he gives dad/mom peace that they're doing the right thing & that finances move in the right direction QUICKLY!... they're both so excited & can't wait to see her... i just had to share as i'm bubbly inside!!

happy birthday ruby!!...

well, ruby turned 4y today... wow, where does time go?... she's doing very well & is working on potty training (yes, still working on it)... she does just fine, until she gets mad & in trouble & then she misteriously has an 'accident' - hmmmmm... she's still a tiny little thing, but certainly holds her own!... we're starting to work on a 'sticker reward chart' & she's starting to get the hang of, 'if i get 3 stickers, i get something good!'... we're all heading out of town tomorrow AM to head to ft. wayne, IN for haitian camp... we're looking forward to it as we go there every year... this year's supposted to be a very large crowd & we can't wait!... i'll add new pictures of all the kids as soon as we get home too... here's recent picture of ruby, but we'll be getting her bday pictures taken soon so we'll add them in when i get them back... happy birthday sweetie, we love you!!

new shoes & COLD weather...

well, today was kiara's first day back to school since being sick & she was so ready... they even had 'hotel' today too (show & tell)... after picking her up, we stopped & got nana & went to muncie to buy the girls some new sneakers... they love getting new shoes (what girl doesn't?) & couldn't wait to show daddy when he got home... this evening we decided to take them all to a movie as we've not been out of the house for almost 2 weeks (EEEK!), so we went to see arthur & the invisables & they loved it... it was a cute movie, but boy, when we left the theatre, it was COLD!!!... we rushed home, hopped into jammies & off to bed they went with no fussies at all as they were beat!... tomorrow, spike's working here at home & then also some at the office & i've got some errands to run... i've gotta hit target & dj's again as i'm packaging up some things for our new daughter, mirlande, that's in haiti... we bought her a couple new outfits today & a new purse, etc. & now i've gotta get her some pretty hair things... i've heard she's such a sweet girl & i can't wait to meet her at some point (our next trip!)... i know a couple that's there now, that's to be taking pics of her, for us & so i'm very excited to see them when they return... well, i'm off to bed (or at least gearing myself that way)... tata!

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...

merry christmas!!...

well, it's officially over!! (for this year at least)... we'd a wonderful christmas... ours started out last night (christmas eve) meeting at dad/mom's house... spike, i & all 6 of our kiddos (suzy came too!), aaron, sharon & 2 of their kids, jim jones, dad & mom were all there... we all ate until we were stuffed (great food too!)... then the natives began to get restless & wanted to open presents so we moved that direction & everything that everyone got was a hit *smile*... we stayed & visited for quite awhile & then left, came home & dropped everything off (gifts, chairs, tables, food, etc.) along with brit who got very sick (stomach flu) on the way home & the little bear cubs... we got everyone in bed & then spike, myself, dad & mom all went to the indianapolis airport at midnight as some great friends of ours were there to pick up their 2 newest children from haiti... donalson & stevenson hilty arrived just about midnight to some very happy people who've had an incredibly long way... praise the lord their home & have started 'living' now *smile*... we then came home, got to bed about 3am, got up at 6am to exchange gifts as we had to be done by 8am as spike was taking barbara (who brought the hilty boys 'home' & had spent the night with us) to the airport... we knew that when he returned from the airport we'd all be needing to get ready as we were having christmas with his side of the family at 1pm... after opening everything, spike made his 'airport run' & then returned & said he wasn't feeling well... it's now evening & i've got spike, brit & dustin just walked in & they['ve all 3 got the stomach flu YIKES!!... needless to say, we did NOT go to grandmas today for christmas, we'll have to catch her later on this week... saying all that, now we know we could've all slept in had we known all this, getting up only to take barbara quickly to the airport & then we could've opened gifts when spike got back, but who knew?!?!... i'd started friday, taking all the girls' hair down, bathing, washing hair, rebraiding, etc.... then after braiding, i decided to jump in there & try extensions & here's the outcome (above)... they turned out much nicer than i even thought they would (for my first try)... i was rather pleased & they LOVE IT!... well, i'm bushed & heading to bed as it's after 1am & i've been up since 6am & only running on the 3 hours of sleep i got last night which i can assure you, was NOT enough... nite all & merry christmas!!

still got some sick kiddos...

well, karleigh's somwhat better, but still keeps complaining her belly hurts (poor baby)... kiara's got a runny nose & watery eyes so they're both a bit under the weather... ruby's for now doing fine, so she may sidestep the whole thing... we're all just like shut-in's over here in that we've not been out of the house for days - talk about stir crazy!!... we've still got all the wrapping to do (UGH, haven't even started), still have to take brit out for her last minute shopping (alright, up to this point, she's only bought 1 gift!! - how can this be, with a mother that's always shopping?!?!?!?)...

we've a sick little bear cub around here...

well, our littlest bear cub's not feeling well... karleigh got up this AM complaining that she was sick... boy, she's been very sick all day long & i so hope that she wakes up tomorrow feeling better... she's mainly been on the couch or sitting on my lap all day... no fever, just an upset stomach & 'choking' (you guessed it!) a lot... i'll post tomorrow on how she's doing, but please be praying for her as she's a sick little girl...

our new family pictures...

well, we got everyone together the other night & had family pictures taken & they turned out really well... our kiddos are great & it sure shows!... dustin's 21, brit's 15, kiara's 4, ruby's 3 & karleigh's 2 (in picture of kiddos laying down, kiara's on bottom left, smiling really big, ruby's just to the right of kiara & then karleigh's at the top!)... dustin's the great protector of 'the group', brit's (AKA edna~long story!) is a HUGE helper around here, kiara's the mother of our group, ruby's our drama queen & also miss independant & karleigh's our fireball - what would we do without any of them?!?!...

he's 21 today!...

well, our son turned 21y today (how can he be that old & we're still so young? *wink*)... we spent some time with he & suzy this weekend & took them to olive garden (his favorite place)... he's a great guy & committed to himself & everyone that he's on the right track to getting the things in his life cleaned up (YEAH DUSTIN!)... we love him so much & can't imagine not having him around... if you've got dustin for a friend, you've got a friend for life... here's a picture of him, isn't he handsome??... i hope you've a great birthday dustin... remember how special you are to everyone that knows you... we love you & want only the best for you... always remember ~ we're a team!

rainy weather & snow's movin' in!...

it's been raining all day long here & boy is it soggy out there... we took kiara to school today, then karleigh & i went to nana's house, went back to pick up kiara, brought both girls home for naptime, brit & ruby came home from school & now we're into the evening as spike's out on business tonight until late... i got a big box of hair supplies that i'd ordered from a friend of mine & was thrilled to see all the 'goodies'... i'm now trying to think ahead of what hairstyle i'll be doing next... it's driving me nuts this planning as i'm now ready to jump in there & do it, but we're getting pictures taken on december 10 & if i do it now, i'm not sure it'll look as crisp as it could (i know, i'm obsessing about it!)... we're due to get some snow starting tonight & into tomorrow, but at this point, not sure how much... dustin turns 21y on december & i still can't believe time's flown by that fast... spike & i are taking him & suzy out for lunch on saturday at olive garden & he's very excited about that... well, i'll add more later, but now have to get dinner started...

all but 4 gift cards, my christmas shopping's done!!...

well, you read it right, i've only 4 gift cards left to purchase & i'm done with ALL my christmas shopping!!... here's a picture that we recently took of our christmas tree (the girls had a wonderful time decorating it!!)... there's also a few pictures from today when i took the girls to the park... they had such a great time (although it was a bit chilly)... there's also a picture of brit on thanksgiving day as she's watching a movie, but paused long enough to pose for mom!

happy thanksgiving...

well, it's already the end of the year & turkey day's tomorrow... usually spike & 'the guys' from his side of the family all leave the night before thanksgiving (tonight) & head out for a camping trip of 4 days or so... well, this year, they were having trouble pulling it together as spike's been working so much overtime, a nephew of ours just got a new job so he can't take off work, etc., etc., etc.... spike decided to not go (so the trips off now) & to stay home to make sure he's got things caught up by the beginning of next week... it'll be the first thanksgiving we'll ALL be together & i'm looking soooo forward to it... there's been so much going on in our family (not immediate family) that's just plain 'not right', but even with all that, we can still see we've so much to be thankful for... god's been very good to us & he's given us so much... we've got jesus christ, our health, roofs over our heads, children around us, friends, family, etc., what more could we ask for?... it's just a nice time of year to sit & reflect on what we've got in our lives & pray for those that don't have nearly as much... again, happy thanksgiving!!

ready for the holidays??...

well, we're getting ready for the holidays around here... i've already got 2 layaways going & ready to come out soon (YEAH!)... i've got tons of other things in mind to buy, just waiting on the $$ to come in (if i could only remember where that money tree is that i planted!)... the girls will be so fun this year & with dustin & brit being older i'm really looking forward to it... last year was our first year all together, but karleigh was still soooooooo little & ruby didn't have a clue & couldn't hear, so this year for us will be a great one i think!... we'll be having thanksgiving at mom's this year i think & then spending christmas eve with them as well... we'll have christmas morning with our kids & then it's off to spike's side for christmas there... we'll be bushed by the end of that day, but it's all so fun... i've been talking to spike about putting up christmas lights pretty soon as we usually wait & then FREEZE putting them up & that's noooooo fun!... we'll see, but for now it's looking like freezing's what we'll be into *frozen smile*... well, i'll post more soon when i get time, but somedays i get none to myself, so we'll see... ttfn!

our 5 bear cubs...

well, we're still on the go over here... last night was a bit rough as i woke up having severe chest pains for about 1-2 hours... i'm a heart patient so was a bit concerned, but phoned the dr. today & they'll be waiting to hear from me if anything else occurs, but will be seeing me at the my dr. visit that's already scheduled for december 1... other than that, we're all feeling great... dustin's still working both jobs right now, getting bills paid off & planning on saving for another car, etc.... brit's started in a small group (bible study) on monday nights & really likes it... she's met several girls & they all get along really well... kiara's having a wonderful time at preschool this year & comes home with a smile on her face daily... ruby's working hard at learning new signs & also correcting us when we use one incorrectly... karleigh's been a bit 'snippy' here lately & i really don't know why... she's just got that testiness about her & we're all hoping that it goes away, QUICK!... well, that's what our 5 bear cubs are up too so i'll close for now & write more soon...