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| Yep, you guessed right. |
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| Always up for adventure, |
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| with a perfect smile, |
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| And a good sense of humor (teeth from Dad, humor from Mom). |
Happy birthday to one of the sweetest people we know. We love you bunches Leanore!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Leanore Post.....
Who's the birthday girl?
Happy birthday to one of the sweetest people we know. We love you bunches Leanore!
Happy birthday to one of the sweetest people we know. We love you bunches Leanore!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
You are at the right place....
Mary says...
I'm just trying out a new look for the blog. The winter and barren tree scene was making me kinda sad. And since we are moving into a new season in our family, I decided to have the family blog reflect that. This one is a bit peppier and shows a lot of books. Which I don't get to read right now, but am making my kids read our kids are loving to read. (Look Amy D., I did it, I changed it on my own! I'll let the kids do the next one.)
Actually we have some avid readers in the house. Even the non-readers love to pick up and peruse books. And of course they love being read to. I don't do it as often as I used to or as often as I should. But I'm working on it.
All of the kids have been to the dentist, only one itty bitty cavity between them. BOOYAH! The dentist even got to look at Alina today. Alina in NO WAY let the hygenist touch her mouth, but we insisted that the dr be allowed to look in there. She was very quick and saw a good deal of plaque build up on her gums. By the end of the visit, Alina was smiling at the dentist and holding her new toothbrush. I love this new dentist, she sat next to me (I was holding Alina in the chair) and talked calmly and would occasionaly rub Alina's leg to get Alina familiar with her. You know you have found a good dentist when your kids actually ASK to go back. No kidding, they did. And her and her husband starting homeschooling their son this year. Oh yes, we'll stay. :)
It has been a rough couple days around here. I believe that I have discovered why (mostly). There has been a lot of out of the house activity, sometimes just me on errands, and sometimes with some or all of the kids. Our family is used to being on the go, but it really throws off the new additions. Which in turn throws me off, and if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So, I'm not sure how to address this issue right now, but it does need to be done. We didn't really understand how much routine would mean to the new ones. We (insert I because my husband knew this all along) thought that we'd be able to just add them right into our routine (or lack of it) and keep going. Finding that to not be the case. Imagine that.
Every day is a learning opportunity to see what our new children can keep up with and when they need things slowed down. What they can handle and what is too much stimulation, break in routine, absence, etc. Tomorrow will be another test. We have a birthday party in the afternoon, then we split and some go home while others go to a corn maze. Then Saturday is Upwards basketball/cheerleading sign up and a football game. Slowing down will come sometime. Or we'll have to artificially make it come. Christmas. That will be a lovely time. :)
Another reason for rough waters lately is our lovely 2 yr old. The girl with the pink arms in the former post. That's nail polish by the way. She didn't like it when it came time to take it off. Lesson learned I think.
She's been getting into everything and being very clingy. We suspect that she's wanting to make sure that she's not forgotten about or replaced. We shower her with love everyday, and she continues to get into stuff. Not sure what else to do but pray and love on her. She adores her new siblings and is sweet and loving toward them. Thank God for that.
The biggest reason of all, I haven't been reading my Bible as much as I should. I know that I am in a "busy season" right now with many little ones, but what I need to refresh is in that Book and I should go there.
Note to self: Read Bible daily. Don't put it off. God loves you and wants to refresh you with His Word. Do it!
I'm just trying out a new look for the blog. The winter and barren tree scene was making me kinda sad. And since we are moving into a new season in our family, I decided to have the family blog reflect that. This one is a bit peppier and shows a lot of books. Which I don't get to read right now, but
Actually we have some avid readers in the house. Even the non-readers love to pick up and peruse books. And of course they love being read to. I don't do it as often as I used to or as often as I should. But I'm working on it.
All of the kids have been to the dentist, only one itty bitty cavity between them. BOOYAH! The dentist even got to look at Alina today. Alina in NO WAY let the hygenist touch her mouth, but we insisted that the dr be allowed to look in there. She was very quick and saw a good deal of plaque build up on her gums. By the end of the visit, Alina was smiling at the dentist and holding her new toothbrush. I love this new dentist, she sat next to me (I was holding Alina in the chair) and talked calmly and would occasionaly rub Alina's leg to get Alina familiar with her. You know you have found a good dentist when your kids actually ASK to go back. No kidding, they did. And her and her husband starting homeschooling their son this year. Oh yes, we'll stay. :)
It has been a rough couple days around here. I believe that I have discovered why (mostly). There has been a lot of out of the house activity, sometimes just me on errands, and sometimes with some or all of the kids. Our family is used to being on the go, but it really throws off the new additions. Which in turn throws me off, and if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So, I'm not sure how to address this issue right now, but it does need to be done. We didn't really understand how much routine would mean to the new ones. We (insert I because my husband knew this all along) thought that we'd be able to just add them right into our routine (or lack of it) and keep going. Finding that to not be the case. Imagine that.
Every day is a learning opportunity to see what our new children can keep up with and when they need things slowed down. What they can handle and what is too much stimulation, break in routine, absence, etc. Tomorrow will be another test. We have a birthday party in the afternoon, then we split and some go home while others go to a corn maze. Then Saturday is Upwards basketball/cheerleading sign up and a football game. Slowing down will come sometime. Or we'll have to artificially make it come. Christmas. That will be a lovely time. :)
Another reason for rough waters lately is our lovely 2 yr old. The girl with the pink arms in the former post. That's nail polish by the way. She didn't like it when it came time to take it off. Lesson learned I think.
She's been getting into everything and being very clingy. We suspect that she's wanting to make sure that she's not forgotten about or replaced. We shower her with love everyday, and she continues to get into stuff. Not sure what else to do but pray and love on her. She adores her new siblings and is sweet and loving toward them. Thank God for that.
The biggest reason of all, I haven't been reading my Bible as much as I should. I know that I am in a "busy season" right now with many little ones, but what I need to refresh is in that Book and I should go there.
Note to self: Read Bible daily. Don't put it off. God loves you and wants to refresh you with His Word. Do it!
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Holly post...
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| Happy 5th Birthday Princess Holly! |
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| The Princess and her Court. |
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| Guess who started riding... |
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| ..without training wheels? |
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| "I did!" |
We love you Holly!! We are so glad that God put you in our family!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Dr appts, dentist appts, co op days, football, normal?
Mary says,
It has been SO busy around this house that I don't even know where to start. Okay, how about with the 30 million doctor appts we've had. Alright, you got me, that's an exaggeration. It's closer to like 28 million. Anyway, things are looking good. The last one was with a hand specialist, he will be doing the last surgery on Vitaly's hand in December. He has done many surgeries on people who have Aperts and we're confident that he will do a great job. We were also pleased to find out that the scars on Vitaly's pelvic area are not from abdominal surgery. Apparently the dr's in Ukraine used skin from that area for the surgeries on freeing his fingers. That was good news!!
Next for Alina is hearing testing and seeing a speech therapist to help with her chewing issue. She also has to get a test for her GI doctor to rule out any physical reason that she doesn't chew or swallow. Some really good news on her, she put a cookie to her mouth for two days this week. And she's letting us feed her a little (before spitting it back out) It's not that my cooking is that bad, really.
This is BIG news as she hasn't put any food in her mouth since shortly after we got home at the end of July. She has been drinking nutritional drinks (Pediasure, Boost) only since then. She also will grab a utensil that is on the table and a plate and make the motions to feed herself. We are sure that these are signs that she will eat again soon. And, she has gained three pounds since coming home! Praise God.
Let me see, what else was there......Oh yes, I finally called around a secured us a new dentist. Everyone has appts this month. Our last dentist saw us all on the same day, this office only wants two at a time. They want to spread the awesomeness out. JK Trudy did a great job. She was so quiet until the tech was done that she made them believe she was shy. HA! Next up was Phoebe and Trudy talked the ENTIRE time. Then they praised Phoebe for her incredibly straight teeth (genetically handed down from dad but I gave her the good hair). The dentist actually said that Phoebe's mouth looked like the after shot from an orthodontist. :)
Next was Ethan and Vitaly's turn. Not to be outdone by his sister, Vitaly did a great job too. They let him sit on my lap and did the whole cleaning. The dentist said his mouth looks good, but he does have some kind of opening in the back of his mouth and his tonsils are as big as walnuts. She said that it's amazing that he talks as much as he does, because he has to do an extra step with his tongue to close that whole. So we got a referral for an ENT. Another dr appt. Oh well, soon they will be over. Maybe. Hopefully. For a little while. Ethan did good too. He's a good big brother. He made Tolly comfortable and encouraged him. Adventures in dentistry continue this week with two more luck winners headed for their visit.
Tom and I have had to do a lot of tag teaming lately. I'll start out somewhere and he will come and meet me so that I can get to the next thing or come and pick Ethan up for football practice. Speaking of football, The Saints are awesome. The last game was a varsity game against a public school in another state. The other team won by ONE point in OVERTIME. Ethan got to play several times eventhough he is on the JV team. He really loves playing and enjoys camaraderie of the team and coaches too.
We've been going to our co op once a week for about six weeks now. It's hard to believe that it has been that long. Vitaly and Alina are in the 3's class with me all three hours. They are doing well. Tolly likes to be around the other kids and really enjoys the art time. Alina likes music and dancing best I think. She seems like she wants to be involved more and we try, but to be honest, I'm still learning how to help her do things. It's hard to verbalize. The two lead teachers go to our church and are VERY kind to Alina and Vitaly. It warms this mom's heart to see someone else embrace their children. Thanks ladies!
Phoebe and Lee are gearing up for the musical drama that they will be in for co op in Dec. We are all excited to see it. Sophie and Holly love their classes and are happy to know when "co op day is tomorrow". Ethan enjoys spending time with his friends. Mom is exhausted when the morning is done. In a good way. :) Trudy happily goes to her class and can even pass me in the hall with a smile on her face and a waving hand for Vitaly and Alina.
Okay, I think that takes up the whole title. I know that if I did these more often I wouldn't have to write so much. But I don't, so I do.
It has been SO busy around this house that I don't even know where to start. Okay, how about with the 30 million doctor appts we've had. Alright, you got me, that's an exaggeration. It's closer to like 28 million. Anyway, things are looking good. The last one was with a hand specialist, he will be doing the last surgery on Vitaly's hand in December. He has done many surgeries on people who have Aperts and we're confident that he will do a great job. We were also pleased to find out that the scars on Vitaly's pelvic area are not from abdominal surgery. Apparently the dr's in Ukraine used skin from that area for the surgeries on freeing his fingers. That was good news!!
Next for Alina is hearing testing and seeing a speech therapist to help with her chewing issue. She also has to get a test for her GI doctor to rule out any physical reason that she doesn't chew or swallow. Some really good news on her, she put a cookie to her mouth for two days this week. And she's letting us feed her a little (before spitting it back out) It's not that my cooking is that bad, really.
This is BIG news as she hasn't put any food in her mouth since shortly after we got home at the end of July. She has been drinking nutritional drinks (Pediasure, Boost) only since then. She also will grab a utensil that is on the table and a plate and make the motions to feed herself. We are sure that these are signs that she will eat again soon. And, she has gained three pounds since coming home! Praise God.
Let me see, what else was there......Oh yes, I finally called around a secured us a new dentist. Everyone has appts this month. Our last dentist saw us all on the same day, this office only wants two at a time. They want to spread the awesomeness out. JK Trudy did a great job. She was so quiet until the tech was done that she made them believe she was shy. HA! Next up was Phoebe and Trudy talked the ENTIRE time. Then they praised Phoebe for her incredibly straight teeth (genetically handed down from dad but I gave her the good hair). The dentist actually said that Phoebe's mouth looked like the after shot from an orthodontist. :)
Next was Ethan and Vitaly's turn. Not to be outdone by his sister, Vitaly did a great job too. They let him sit on my lap and did the whole cleaning. The dentist said his mouth looks good, but he does have some kind of opening in the back of his mouth and his tonsils are as big as walnuts. She said that it's amazing that he talks as much as he does, because he has to do an extra step with his tongue to close that whole. So we got a referral for an ENT. Another dr appt. Oh well, soon they will be over. Maybe. Hopefully. For a little while. Ethan did good too. He's a good big brother. He made Tolly comfortable and encouraged him. Adventures in dentistry continue this week with two more luck winners headed for their visit.
Tom and I have had to do a lot of tag teaming lately. I'll start out somewhere and he will come and meet me so that I can get to the next thing or come and pick Ethan up for football practice. Speaking of football, The Saints are awesome. The last game was a varsity game against a public school in another state. The other team won by ONE point in OVERTIME. Ethan got to play several times eventhough he is on the JV team. He really loves playing and enjoys camaraderie of the team and coaches too.
We've been going to our co op once a week for about six weeks now. It's hard to believe that it has been that long. Vitaly and Alina are in the 3's class with me all three hours. They are doing well. Tolly likes to be around the other kids and really enjoys the art time. Alina likes music and dancing best I think. She seems like she wants to be involved more and we try, but to be honest, I'm still learning how to help her do things. It's hard to verbalize. The two lead teachers go to our church and are VERY kind to Alina and Vitaly. It warms this mom's heart to see someone else embrace their children. Thanks ladies!
Phoebe and Lee are gearing up for the musical drama that they will be in for co op in Dec. We are all excited to see it. Sophie and Holly love their classes and are happy to know when "co op day is tomorrow". Ethan enjoys spending time with his friends. Mom is exhausted when the morning is done. In a good way. :) Trudy happily goes to her class and can even pass me in the hall with a smile on her face and a waving hand for Vitaly and Alina.
Okay, I think that takes up the whole title. I know that if I did these more often I wouldn't have to write so much. But I don't, so I do.
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| Handsome guys! |
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| Little one who shall remain nameless. (Nail Polish) |
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| Notice the same little girl as above, only with long sleeves. :) |
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| There are the gifted straight teeth mentioned earlier. |
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| Sophie always has a BIG smile for everyone. |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Some more Pix from last month
Tom Says,
The kids are a riot but they are also very loud. I don't know who decided that giving someone under the age of 18 a musical instrument was a good idea; (well, it seemed like a good idea, at the time, at any rate, nevermind.) One day they decided that all the book baskets weren't for holding books but for holding children...
Thanks again for all your love and prayers. Tolly has his first dentist appointment tomorrow, should be interesting, we'll let you know how it goes.
The kids are a riot but they are also very loud. I don't know who decided that giving someone under the age of 18 a musical instrument was a good idea; (well, it seemed like a good idea, at the time, at any rate, nevermind.) One day they decided that all the book baskets weren't for holding books but for holding children...
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| Having a good time with beans & bowls |
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| Billy Idol Hair!!! |
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| Fun for all ages |
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| Baskets aren't for books, they're for playing catch (in, not with) |
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| Play that funky music... |
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| Is it school or playtime? It's both! |
Thanks again for all your love and prayers. Tolly has his first dentist appointment tomorrow, should be interesting, we'll let you know how it goes.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Aug - Sep Updates
Tom Says:
Despite the hospital visits and everything else happening in August and September it wasn't all bad. Mommom and Poppop came for a visit (which was really helpful, they are wonderful and helped us keep an eye on the kids, did some driving to football, and definitely helped keep us from being overwhelmed with housework.) So, let the good times roll...
Despite the hospital visits and everything else happening in August and September it wasn't all bad. Mommom and Poppop came for a visit (which was really helpful, they are wonderful and helped us keep an eye on the kids, did some driving to football, and definitely helped keep us from being overwhelmed with housework.) So, let the good times roll...
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| Say Hello to Poppop, Mommom, and Linus |
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| Let's Ride! |
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| Ready to Roll! |
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| Time to Trade |
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| Mom enjoying time with the kids. |
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| Watching big bro at the game. |
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| Big Bro is the one in red???? |
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| Go #31 |
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| Cheer Leader in Training |
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| Kids Running... |
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| Isn't she adorable! |
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| Hi Five, good game |
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| Poppop's B-Day Pizza Party (his choice) |
 | Don't get between a girl and her cake  | |||||||||
| My Boys!!! | |
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