Just had to share this with you all! Remember Selah who was in the accident in the canal?? She has recovered a long way, and she still has a long way to go, but today, she SPOKE!!! And in next few weeks they are going back to FL! Read all about it on Yvonne's blog! Here are some recent pictures of her:
Selah and Mommy
She loves her daddy and responds to him the most!
♥♥♥
Today it felt like 75 out (in the sun), even though the temp only said 62. So what did Ralph, Ruby, and I do? Went outside to play while we waited for the other kids to come home.
3 going on 15... texting in the baby swing!
They love swinging!
This was when Ralph kicked me and knocked the camera fell out of my hand. Luckily I was using the wrist strap. :) (I take the blame for being kicked. I was goofing around with him soo it was kinda self induced!)
Got Dirt?
Ruby - "I see a little spider on there. My Mommy like spiders, and but Jordy killed one." (Her shoes - you gotta pick your battles. ;))
See that gorgeous green field?? That's my view looking out the kitchen window everyday! Love it!
LOVE this warm weather being "down south"! I only wish I would have brought my flip flops. And LOVE these kids!
Today was day 1 solo without Mommy and we made it! Everyone got off to school on time. :) Mommy also made it to Ukraine today and has her appointment tomorrow to get Maxim's referral!
Sorry for my lack of posts the past week, I just realized I haven't posted since Monday... opps. Didn't think it had been that long! Life kinda got a little crazy.
I spent a good majority of the day yesterday either in the car, in the airport, and on a plane... the rest of the day was spent trying to stay awake and at a craft sale which raised $150 for Lilly and Owen! :)
Last night I slept in a new bed where I will be sleeping the next 3 weeks. Yup, I'm doing childcare for an adopting family again! :)
Dad was gone, so we went on a field trip with everyone to the airport... fun fun! Everyone except me got gate passes so they could go through security and wait at the gate. Thankfully there weren't any lines, and no problems going through security.
Funny story about security... after we got all put back together and started walking away, one of the TSA guys comes up after us and asked if someone was missing a sock. It was my 6 yo sister Rebekah's. She said they told her to empty her pockets so she did!!
Here are a few pics from the airport waiting to board my plane.
Elijah wanted to wear my hat. I put it on and he turned it backwards! ;)
Thank goodness Mr. Jonathan is soo cute or I would be terribly mad at him for not giving me a goodbye kiss!
Notice I got him to say cheese, however his eyes are still looking down at the computer not the camera... we forgot the iPad in the van, sooo I was trying to keep the Kranky 'Krainain without a nap entertained with the videos I had loaded on my computer... which were just ones I had saved to upload to youtube.
Note to self: load Signing Time on the laptop when I get home!
"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child." ~ Linda Sunshine
Soo true... I never thought I'd say this, but I miss her sassy stubborn attitude! ;) Love you Rachel!
The crew!
Flights were good and uneventful, I found my way through Chicago, and I was thrilled to see a few members of the family I'm helping out after I landed in KS! I am here helping the Nance family who is adopting none other than sweet Maxim!!
Tonight we decorated the tree before Mommy leaves.... I'm thankful I got to be a part of this since I'll miss it at home.
Jordan and Ruby
I can't wait to spend time with this awesome family the next few weeks! But, if you remember, could you please say a prayer or two for me?? I'm going to have my hands full! So thankful for the huge help I know the older kids will be! It's going to be hard, but soo worth it to help bring Maxim home!
Also, I would love it if you followed along on Maxim's Mama's blog while she travels!
P.S. I would like to extend a thank you to Mr. TobyMac for getting 'Lose Myself' stuck in my head while trying to navigate my way through O'Hare yesterday. It was very very comforting... ;P
She is almost 6 years old, and weighs less than 10 pounds.
I didn't realized I had become desensitized until I was telling someone about Princess Carrington, and they were shocked and said that she weighed less than a Thanksgiving turkey!
Not the best comparison, but it's so true! Carrington did weigh less, and Zoey does now.
Your. Thanksgiving. Turkey. Weighed. More. Than. This. Six. Year. Old.
Even if you've seen a situation like her before, really think about her and her situation. She has only weighs 2-4 pounds more than her birth weight. My recently-turned-6-yo sister weighs 5 times as much as her. My 2 yo brother weighs almost 3 times as much as her.
Please don't be desensitized! PLEASE realize the URGENCY of finding her a family!!! PLEASE do something to HELP!
Whether that be adopting, or sharing her everywhere you can!
(You can use the share buttons under this post, or go to her RR profile and use the share buttons there.)
Thanksgiving Eve I was home with the little ones while everyone was at the Thanksgiving Eve service, so we made Thanksgiving treats! All was going well. Rachel was having fun, Elijah was getting lots of good OT, Jonathan was being cranky. Until they finished peeling the Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and I let them each have one. Then Elijah decided he did not like his, and gagged on it, and I was reminded again I don't do puke. ;P
Here are some pictures from before our little episode:
My day Thanksgiving day started at 5:30, when my dad, my 8yo brother Isaac, and I got dressed in orange. But unlike usual when we dress in orange that early, we were'nt going out in the woods. We were also getting dressed to go running, and to go and take a picture with a giant turkey.
Our first Turkey Trot! A 2mi run/walk. I'm not athletic and I'm not a runner, but I started running about a month ago, and am happy to say I finished my first "race"! I'm homeschooled and have to get my 2 PhyEd credits in somehow, right? ;)
Here's my vlog (video blog) of the race. But if you don't want to watch it, here are a few pics.
Getting ready to start!
That's a lot of peoples!
Isaac crossing the finish line!
Me crossing the finish line!
2 mi in 26 min! My first run was 1/2 mi in 30 min, so not bad to improve my pace that much!
I posted this on our Handiwork for Lilly and Owen Facebook page Thanksgiving night - Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today we are thankful for YOU! Thank you for helping us help Elijah (now Sarah's brother), Anastasia (now Carrington Burman), Sergey, Eddie (now Gideon Evensen), Noah (now Noah Silva), Jonathan (now Sarah's brother), and now Lilly and Owen home!!! Plus Carter Gibson, Caleb Prevost, Naika T, and Jimmy Ott home through benefits and craft sales! You guys are amazing, and we could not be doing this without you!
In addition to that, today I am thankful for all the usually things - family, friends, a roof over my head, always enough to eat, etc.... but I'm also thankful that God has broke my heart for what breaks His, and that I am able to advocate on this blog for the least of these. All the hours I've spent blogging, all the tears I've shed over children, it's all worth it, if it helps bring one child home.
Ok, Black Friday. First of all, I love this picture, and I totally agree with it's message. Such a wonderful reminder.
At the same time, I am not against getting good deals on things that people would have bought anyways even if it wasn't on sale. But you do have to draw a line somewhere, and some people can get a little crazy and obsessive on the day after they say they are thankful for everything they have. Ironic, isn't it, that those two days, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are right next to each other. :P
We did do some Black Friday shopping at Kohl's (it opened at midnight... we can do midnight, but not 6am!), but it was mostly things like church clothes we would have bought anyway. I went mostly for the fun of it, and did another vlog, about it and the... people there when the store opened. I would call them crazy and stupid, but that's not very nice.
We weren't one of those in and out people.. we were actually looking around and shopping. And picking up knocked over cloths. And trying not to get run over. This one lady barged her way through where I was standing, and literally knocked me over. She didn't stop to help me up, say sorry or even acknowledge what she just did. And another lady got mad at me because I was in her way when I was trying to get up. People weren't even treating each other like human beings!
