thanks wes for sending me the pictures of madisyn (my sister) & her sister loudnie (my niece) - i noticed he'd a picture of loudnie on his site as he'd just gotten back from haiti - i emailed him & asked if he'd anymore of her or her sister madisyn - he did & sent them to me & as you can see, they're adorable!!
well, we met dad/mom fur lunch today at applebees & afterwards, she showed me how full her backpack was for her haiti trip - i then added more stuff to it (sorry mom!) & had her to put it on - dad helped her with it & then let go, at which time she was LOADED down - she'll do fine with only taking 2 carryons (suitcase & backpack), but it still's a lot of work - PS as we're all looking at her wearing this backpack, notice where my father's looking... HEY DAD, TURN YOUR EYES UPWARDS JUST A BIT THERE FELLA!
well, we received an early morning phone call (2:30am) telling us that my aunt judy had passed away - she'd suffered with diabetes forever & it just finally took her - she's been in the hospital for quite awhile & just was moved to a nursing home yesterday & then passed early, early this morning - she was my dad's sister & there were 5 children (2 boys & 3 girls) in that family & she was the baby - of those 5, dad & my uncle noah are the only 2 living, & uncle noah's not good at all - even though judy's children are grown (1 with a grandbaby), they all lived together & it's going to devistating on them - dean's about 37+/-, dawn's about 34+/- & then dawns little girl's jazmyn's 5 - she was married to tim, but we're assuming he'll leave & move back to KY with his mother - [hugs!]
when we adopted kiara, we chose to readopt her in the states for a US birth certificate - we contacted an attorney & he said he'd do her readoption for $600 - we said alright & we'd send him the $ when we got it - we then decided to do it 'one more time' so we called him & let him know that we'd just wait & when karleigh came home, we'd do them both at once & he said fine, but that he'd do them both for $600 since he loved adoptive families & that it really wouldn't be much more work - we said, "praise the lord" & was gathering the $ - we then decided to do it 'one more time', so i once again called the attorney & shared what we were doing & that we wanted to wait until our last was home & then we'd do them all 3 together - once again he stated that he'd rather do that too & by doing all 3 at once, it wasn't going to be any more work for him & that he'd do them all 3 for $400 - i said, "$400?, it was $600 & we've added 1, how can it go down?" - he said, "you see, i'm adopted & i love adoptive families & i just want to do this for all you're doing" - well, with that praise the lord, we felt so blessed - we'd the girls all 3 readopted (i think spike was wanting to hurry & send him the $$ as by waiting we kept adding more children & he was a bit fearful - hehe) - we then had to have kiara's name correct due to someone in haiti putting JR. at the end of her name (as in a mans name) on her greencard - it hadn't messed us up to this point, but we didn't want that on all her 'new documents' - we did all the necessary INS paperwork, turned it in, got her passport photos (which INS required) & we waited (we were getting good at that after 3 international haiti adoptions)
here's a conversation that kiara & i had today - remember, she's 5 & just started kindergarten last thursday
me: kiara, nana's coming over tomorrow to get you on the bus
K: why?
me: ruby starts school tomorrow & i've gotta take her for her first day & won't be home in time to get you on the bus
K: don't you wanna race the bus tomorrow?
me: what? race it? what do you mean?
K: well, you took me the first day & then the next day you raced the bus - don't you want to race it tomorrow again?
me: i didn't race the bus kiara, i put you on it on friday for the first time by yourself & then i went on to the school so i'd be there when you arrived to help get you into class, i didn't race it!
ahhh, the memories! [hugs!]
they're in bed!!! - man, we don't have many of 'those' days, but today was one of 'THOSE' days! (notice all the caps?) - it started after church, when i went to take the girls to the bathroom & was taking them away from some friends of ours that we were talking to - ruby gave me 'the look' & i knew i was in for it - she started bulking a bit & as i took them all to go potty, i said the same phrase i always say, "everyone line up to go pee pee" & pointed at ruby to start the process - she signed, 'no' to me & grrrr, i wasn't very happy with her - kiara had already climbed up & was taking care of business & as she was, ruby started bawling loudly signing & saying that it was her turn! - i shared with her that she was told first to go & she made the decision to not obey & since kiara was already going, i chose to not make a big deal of it (this time) - she then took her turn & i thought it was over, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO - after we'd all finished, we were ready to leave the restroom & kiara was passing out everyone's bibles by reading their names on it - ruby was handed her & as we were walking out i hear a loud THUD! - i turn to see 'the look' from ruby as she was frozen in place & her bible was laying on the floor - i told her to pick it up from which she said, "NO" (& in our home that's NOT acceptable at all!!) - i shared with her that we'd deal with it as soon as we arrived at the car & we did - thinking it was the end, we went to lunch & 3 times while there ruby was in the bathroom & no she didn't have a bladder problem! - we came home & she shared her mood with her sisters & it's just been one thing after another all day/night long - finally, at about 7:20 they were all scraping & i said, "ENOUGH, EVERYONE TO BED!" & now the scraping's over & all's well - whew, what a day, i'm exhausted & i don't like days like this one & hopefully it'll be a long time before we repeat it [hugs!]
just wanting to remind everyone that prays, to be praying for haiti & it's people as they're to be getting hit with this hurricane dean this evening - we've got several people there that we're very close to (some family, some friends, some both) & we're praying that they stay safe & that we can get in contact with them all as quickly as this passes over - here's a picture of where it's at & where haiti's located in comparison - [hugs]
yep, she's got the opportunity to fly to haiti & spend 2 weeks with madisyn at the village & help take care of the babies with lawanna - she's so excited & can't wait for her departure date (which's august 25) - she'll be staying until september 8, so pray for my dad as he'll be beside himself until she gets home - she'll be phoning madisyn tomorrow to share the news (unless licia reads this blog tonight!) - anyway, pray now as she's looking so forward to this opportunity that god's put before her, but has so much to do prior to leaving next week! - so anyone that's got kiddos in the village, my mom will be the traveling photographer for me & when she returns, i'll send them to you! - email me & let me know who's at the village before she leaves next week [hugs!]
well, this morning mom came over & watched ruby & karleigh & kiara went to the elementary school with spike & i to meet her teacher for the first time - she's so friendly & kiara just loves her - they got to make a handprint paper, make their own snack that they'll eat tomorrow & draw a picture of themselves after a sort of 'scavenger hunt' - they were given a paper with the words: 'restroom', 'pit', 'reading', 'math' & 'art' - they'd to find each of these 'stations' & pull off a sticker from each one & place it in the correct area on their sheet of paper (making the words match) - she met 1/2 of the children that'll be in her classroom so all in all she'd a very fun morning - spike & i will go back this evening at 7pm for a parent/teacher meeting without kiara - i'll take her to school tomorrow morning & pick her up, but from them on (starting friday), she'll be riding the school bus to school & i'll be picking her up - gosh, with all 4 of the girls in school, this mommy's having a hard time dealing with it as we love our kids being home *sniff, sniff* - thanks for watching the girls today mom, we really appreciated it! - i'm sure i'll post more later [hugs!]
kiara 5
ruby 4
karleigh 3
i love you girls & hope you've an awesome school year - like brit said in her blog, i truly miss the 'baby days' when i rocked you all to sleep - it's not that you've gotten to big for it as you'd all let me do it, but i've gotten to busy & that's unacceptable for me as a mommy - i love nothing more than to watch you close your eyes & drift off to sleep in my arms knowing you feel safe with me as you sniggle up with your 'kids' (kiara: douglas, ruby: silkie & karleigh: silkie) - you're still young enough to get the time back & recapture those memories & i'm making a public statement that this mommy's going to do just that - (brit, once i rock you to sleep, you'll have to awaken to walk yourself to your room as i'm certain i can NOT carry you!) - again girls, i'm proud of each & every one of you & love being your mommy - thanks for being you (all 4 of you!) [hugs!]us not feeling well's got nothing to do with mirlande leaving, but it's all happened at the same time - spike started not feeling well, wedensday & she left on friday morning - he's at the tail end of this cold thingy he's got working (headache, runny nose, coughing, fever, watery eyes, etc.), so hopefully it'll be gone quick before he shares it with all of us - i woke up this morning with a headache, but it's not what he has, i'm sure of it - we didn't go to church this morning due to us both feeling poorly as he was up all night long coughing his head off & is still doing it now - hopefully we'll both be feeling back to normal (yes, for all you that know us, we're the normal ones!) tomorrow & can get on with the week [hugs]
just wanted to publically wish my dad a happy birthday!!! - he's a great dad to aaron & i & i know he'll be a great dad to madisyn too - here's recent picture of him with our son dustin taken a couple weeks ago - everyone email & wish him a happy birthday at webegoen@aol.com - we'll flood his email with birthday wishes - again dad, happy birthday, we love you!
i added a link to my blog the other day, but never mentioned it - i've seen others doing this & it's worked for them, so i thought i'd give it a try - my parents are adopting madisyn & are needing to raise $5000 in order to bring her home - i'm asking for 5000 people to donate $1 each so they can get her home quicker - i've donated money over the years to help other people with their adoptions & although my parents did NOT ask me to do this, they're very grateful for whatever comes in financially - they're just wanting to help this young girl have a life that otherwise she'd not have - they're both so excited & know she'll be home in god's timing, but as an 'expectant parent', waiting's not the easiest (believe me, i know!) - i'd love to call mom on the phone in the next week or so & say, "mom, your $5000 has been taken care of!" - won't you help me in this? - for any questions, feel free to email me at ChatterboxLS@aol.com - you can click the link at the left of this blog where it talks about raising $ for madisyn & it'll take you to another page that'll explain everything about her & her sitation - you can then click back to my blog from the link on madisyn's page - if you're considering helping, THANK YOU - if you're not, that's fine too - i'm just a older sister that's doing all i can to get my younger sister home where she belongs [hugs]
here's some pictures i took today of brit today - she's getting so grown up & looked so good - they all came out so well, but that's to be expected when you've got a great subject, huh? - she turned 16 in july & will be a sophmore this year - the first picture's my favorite, what do you think?
this morning brit & i took off & went to get our hair cut - spike watched the girls & let them stay up until 2:30 (naptime's at 1!) - he said they were great (his words!) & they seemed to have a good time with him as well - they're now in bed, he's watching a movie & brit & i are blogging so that's about it for us! - trying to come up with a cute hairstyle for me, but keep in mind that i'm heavy (alright, fat!), but still would like to keep my hair shorter as with the bear cubs & us being on the go all the time, it's easier for me & less time consuming - what i'd really like to do's loose weight (as i sit here munching on M&M's), but that's not going to happen anytime soon - if we lived in a perfect world, we could just go to a 'body salon' & have our bodies trimmed off & leave, THINNER! (guess that'd be plastic surgery though, huh?) - if anyone has any suggestions of a cute hairstyle for 'fatter/heavier' people, please let me know - i'm not wanting it past my shoulders, but other than that, i'm open to anything! - can't wait to hear/see some suggestions that you all have for me! [hugs]
well, my poor father! * you've got to know him to appreciate this post * he's very intense & gets upset/concerned/worried, very quickly * when there's 'bad news' or 'not great news', etc. we usually don't share it with dad, so he doesn't become crazy * well, they're in the process of adopting madisyn (14y) from haiti & he's consumed with getting her here * i know first hand what they're going through as we've went through this 3 times already & warned him in the beginning that it wouldn't be easy, but well worth it in the end * he's so excited & wants things done NOW, but also knows (& says) that it'll be done in god's timing * well, they're in the process along with sharel (my sister in law) & cheryl (a friend of ours) & all 3 girls that they're adopting know each other & live near one another * well, he keeps saying, "keep me posted on the progress & i won't get upset if/when i hear we've slowed down or stopped, etc. * well, we do share things with him, but only AFTER they're taken care of, due to all that i've mentioned above * well, a couple months we found out that all 3 couples needed their psych evaluations redone, due to the gentleman that did the testing wrote them all up in pencil (duh!), so instead of telling dad there was a delay, we all scrambled around, got them redone, resubmitted, etc. & THEN shared it with him * well, we found out yesterday that sharel & hubby ralph got out of IBESR & that dad/mom didn't, but we didn't share this with dad (yet) * he just called me to tell me that sharel/ralph were out of IBESR & i said, "how did you find out???" * he laughed & said that he'd just talked to madisyn on the phone & then he talked to licia (friend of ours that lives next door to madisyn & kind of watches out for her) & she mentioned it to him (she didn't know that he didn't know!) * she said, "you guys didn't know?" * he said, "no, we (& then as he looked at mom & noticed her face), well, i guess 'i' didn't know, but georgi did!" * licia thought she'd done something wrong by telling him & she didn't, we're glad he knows now & accepted it just fine * i'm going to start sharing things with him, but the first time he says, "well, they said our papers would be out .....", i'm gonna smack him as we've told him, "in haiti, it's NOT always what they say" * spike says dad's just like a mushroom, usually up to his knees in poo poo & always in the dark * dad, we love ya, but you've gotta stay calm!!
