Good News!

Everyone, except for Ralph and Ruby (only morning for them), were home again today. Thomas is sick now too... I thought he had been gone enough lately not to get it, but not so.

Several of the kids had doc appts today, and no one has influenza B! PRAISE GOD! Everyone just has upper respiratory junk like me (not the same thing).

So everyone is on meds, and going to school tomorrow. And I, am going to take a nap as soon as everyone is on the bus! ;)

I felt okay today... not great if course, but okay. The sweet lady who picks Ruby up for school brought me a treat when she dropped Ruby off, and told me her daughter likes them when she's sick. I'm feel blessed, thank you Ms. J!

Can't find my camera at the moment for new pictures, but today was like this too... movies and snuggles.

I lost my pink sweatshirt the other day, and yesterday I was looking all over for it. I just found it blogging this pic. LOL

Thank you all for praying! You have no idea how much I appreciate it! Please keep praying if you think of us!

Hanging onto Him.

Sorry if this is a mish mash of info that doesn't run together and may not make sense. I can't think very well right now, but wanted to update.

Today, I'm hanging onto His promises.

2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

Because of that, and all the prayers form you lovely people offered on our behalf here, is the only thing that got me through today.

Everyone except Thomas had fevers this morning. So everyone was home all day. Chipper, Leroy, Ralph, Zhen, Theo. And even though Jordan, Rose, and Ruby would have stayed home anyways, they were sick too.

Kids with a fever, and who are tired, tend to be cranky. Long day.

Me? Doing much better than yesterday, of course not good still. Wanna know what irks me? Severe headache was one of my symptoms that I told them when I was at the doctor yesterday. So what do they do? Put me on an antibiotic that has headache as a side affect! Other side affects are dizziness, upset stomach and nausea. I def have all the side affects, and I'm thrilled about it, cause that's just what I need.

Sweet Rachel was sick today so she couldn't come. I think we got her sick. :(

Fever is the first stage of influenza B. Then it develops into congestion and cough. Zhen, who has had a fever the longest, is now getting a cough and runny nose.

PLEASE pray everyone doesn't have it. I know in my gut they do, but we need some miracle that they don't.

Today... we snuggled.

And watched movies.

And took lots of pictures.

And Ralph took pictures. This one cracks me up.

Not on my life will you be able to convince me that spiritual attack isn't real. I know it is, and I know that's what is going on. I feel like we are under constant attack here, with one thing after another on today of all days. Stephanie, their mama, is feeling attacks too.

The evil one doesn't want Maxim to leave the confines and death sentence of his institution. He doesn't want him to be set free from that dark place. So he is doing everything he can to stop that from happening, by attacking everyone helping to make that happen.

Friends, can I humbly beg to you please, please pray? Prayer is what will bring Maxim home. Prayer is what will help me get through until everyone is better.

There's nothing else we can hold onto anymore, besides Jesus. So hang on to Him we will.

Important PSA and Prayer Request

aka Today's Drama. Never a dull moment. :)

Public Service Announcement: Just wanted to remind everyone the importance of having a medical release form when your child under the age of 18 travels anywhere that's too long of a drive for you to get to them easily.

We used this form, but in addition to everything on here, it's also important to know or have easy access to the child's SS#, if they are up to date on immunizations,  as well a the employer, employer's address, SS#, and DOB of the person the insurance is under. And they may require to see of have a copy or a faxed copy of both sides of the insurance card if it can't be provided (yes even if you have the number).

How do I know this, and why do I want to remind you of it?? Because, yes I needed to know all this today to go to the doctor. I was doing ok yesterday. This morning I went down hill, and developed a fever.

After conferring with my mom, our doc, and Stephanie (kids mom), it was decided that I needed to go in. After getting childcare for the other kids figured out so I could leave, and sitting in the waiting room with Grandma for WAY to long trying to figure out insurance stuff, I have a diagnosis of upper respiratory bronchitis. Blah.

A sweet friend of theirs named Rachel was able to come over this afternoon, and I was able to sleep for a couple hours. She's coming back tomorrow too. Sooo thankful for her! I also got a steroid shot, and am on antibiotics. Should be on the mend soon!

And then there's Zhen. I kept him home today as he had a fever. His school called today and said that his helper tested positive for influenza B. So he has been exposed. Great huh?

Prayers would greatly be appreciated for all of us here. Thank you!

On a lighter note, anyone have any creative ideas for something short we could have put as relationship to the child for Grandma. Seriously. Her relationship to me is COMPLICATED! LOL We ended up just putting guardian. :)

The Zhenya.

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~Franklin P. Jones

I told him to smile. lol

And this child is teaching me how much I have, and how to have more than I have, that much is true.

Love the Zhenya anyways!

Sweet boy is still sick.. no fun. :(

Bath Time for Theo???

Today I heard the water in the bath go on. Ralph had been in there several times today, but I realized he was downstairs. I went to investigate, and being a good blogger I had to go get my camera instead of turning the water off. This is what I found:

Theo decided it was bath time!

He forgot to take his clothes off though. :)

I turned the water off.

He got some soap.

And turned the water back on to rinse his hair.

I turned it back off. And he turned back on again.

At that point I got him out, but then realized that he needed a bath later anyways, and he was already wet and negative clothes, so I just gave him his bath. When I was drying him off we took some pics. :)

Just like Bellie Bug, Mr. Mouse is smarter than he lets on!

I hate what his 4 years of institutionalization and starvation has done to him (he was adopted summer 2010 at the age of 4), but I love him just the same!

Before and after pictures with his big brother Richie. This is why adoption is important. It saved his life.
I'm not saying his life and is carefree and struggle free now, he still has many institutional behaviors that he is working through (4 years of neglect is not easily undone), but the difference is now he is loved, cared for, and has a family to love and help him through it.

Friday Fun!

I'm bad at coming up with post names or making these posts interesting. It seems like I am just typing the same post over and over with different pictures and captions. Nothing seems new, but that's what it's like around here too. Same old same old, with new little things happening every day to keep me hopping. :)

Love this gorgeous girl - she looks like her mama in this pic!

Ruby and Ralph were well entertained for a half hour yesterday playing with these bottles. Why do we even buy toys for kids?? They like this kinda stuff much better!

Never stop moving... my camera's kids and pets mode works well, can't you tell??
Hey wait... where's Ralph's head?? I think we may have lost it. Shh, don't tell his mama.

She picked out her own clothes today. She wasn't going anywhere, so I didn't argue. ;)

Making blueberry muffins! They were SOO good.... the name definitely doesn't lie - To Die for Blueberry Muffins.

Baby Ralphie...

Ralph was so cuddly and wanted to be held today... sweet boy is missing his mama!

Love my Ruby Jean!

Stubborn and opinionated these two are, but they never fail to make me laugh.

Theo climbed up into the desk tonight, and was so proud of himself...

Then he got annoyed with the pictures. He cracks me up.

Football with Ralph.

Tonight, Ralph was playing football with the rest of us (me, Jordan, Rose, Leroy and Grandma). I took some video... it's not always this calm! ;) The other three littles were in bed and Dad and the oldest two boys were gone. 

So... health update. Dad and I are still sick, but not as bad. Now Theo and Zhen are getting sick. Poor babies... Please pray for them, I'm the next few days aren't going to be fun for any of us with them being sick. :(

Oh and just for your amusement... some pictures I found goofing around on facebook today when I was supposed to be doing dishes. ;)

Exactly, but change mommy to Sarah! Weekends are the hardest days of the week because everyone is home! ;)

More for my mama than me... I enjoy laundry so usually manage to stay caught up!

Waiting Wednesday: Casey

Today, meet sweet Casey. He will turn 16, and age out in a matter of months. He needs a family not just because of that, but because every child, including him, deserves to know what love is.

Casey

Born June 1997
Cerebral palsy, significant mental delays, seborrheic dermatitis

Casey is very sweet.   He is bedridden, yet full of smiles.  He desperately needs a family to save him.

Travel required;  married couples only.  Large families welcome.

$381.20 is available towards the cost of my adoption!

 My bloggy friend Jane met him and has been advocating for him.... Please go read her post about him here - A Call Out to the Army. But here is a little bit of it.

Casey is such a sweetheart, I met him at orphanage 50 (listed at Reece's Rainbow here!)  If you ever wanted to make a difference to somebody in desperate need then look no further. Casey is a child in desperate need, he is warehoused at present in a remote mental institution. Buried alive because of his special needs! He has until he turns 16 to be saved.

He turns 16 in June!

I am sending out a warrior cry today to assemble an army for Casey! He needs a miracle and the rainbow army need to come together! You see this is his last hope.

His last hope for a family.

His last hope for security.

His last hope for love.

 His last hope for a home.

 His last hope for adequate medical care. 

His last hope not to be hungry.

His last hope for a life.

His last hope to live!

Can you see how urgent this is? Can you see why I said you really do not need to look any further?

Another day down.

And I can't say I've had some of my finer moments today. After getting one of the older boys up at 5:30, I forgot to reset my alarm. I woke up a half hour after I normally start getting the kids up. Did you know squeezing the getting ready that normally takes an hour into a half hour is possible without missing any buses?? Not easy, but it is. And that's all I'm going to say about that. ;)

Some of the things we've been doing yesterday and today....

Puzzles....

Balloons...
(yes, I made sure they were put away when the little ones were around)

Dishes...
Theo loves to stand next to me pushing on me while I'm doing dishes. He won't stay out of the kitchen. In a moment of deperation, I put him on the stool to watch me. He loved it. Today I did it again. He figured out my trick and figured out how to get down! Drat.

Coffee filter snowflakes with Rose, Jordan, and Leroy...
Chipper told me that there wasn't snow outside, and it was warm out... I told him not to tell them that, and that we had to make snow because we didn't have any! :)

He was trying to keep the glasses on over his firefighting mask... it didn't last long.

Jordan had a giant light bulb moment. About what, I'm not sure. Math?

I was crowned. My name does mean princess after all. I was thrilled. 

Mustaches...

Wearing my new Meredith Andrews shirt in honor or her new CD being released today! YAY! Can't wait to listen to it!
For those who don't know, it is her song this blog is named after.. read more here.
LOVE this shirt... bird flying free from a cage, and "Not for a moment will you forsake me" on it. Doesn't that just scream orphan advocate? :)

This afternoon, Rose and Jordan learned to crochet. Rose is making a hat , and Jordan is making a scarf. I'm so proud of them for how fast they are learning. They kept saying how bad they were and that they weren't very good, but I had to keep reminding them that they were comparing themselves to me, and I've been crocheting 4 years longer than them. :) Practice makes perfect. My knowledge about how crocheting originated finally paid off as well because they were asking about that. :)

Tomorrow is a new day, and don't worry, I won't make that mistake again. :)