Loving My Telephoto Lens

I have always loved to take 

pictures of my kids.

I started off with a couple

of point-and-shoot Nikons.

(Remember the old FILM cameras?)

Then I moved up to a Nikon N65 SLR.

Oh my!  It was the BEST!

(Yes, this one had FILM, as well.)

The biggest JOY I got from my SLR

was using the telephoto lens

during Spring Sports Seasons ...

and I liked the "new" 

Black & White Film,

as well.

Then ... a few years ago ...

I made the jump to a Nikon D70

(purchased used, through the

local newspaper's classified ads).

Not only did I have a better telephoto lens,

but I could also now put my pictures on

the computer.  A whole new world

of photography opened up to me.

Here are just a few pics taken at the

NW Conference Championships.

Not only am I on the other side of the field,

but I am at the other end of the track,

down near the finish line,

while Ben is at the starting line of the 200m.

I always like to take a few

pics of the Cheer Squad,

as they are a very important

part of The Team, too.

Though the sun was shining,

we still had to bundle up warmly.

We are still "patiently" waiting

for some warm spring weather.

This is a TEST of the ...


"Emergency Bloggers Response System".


Did I lose you all?


I haven't gotten a single comment on the last 3 posts.


My last comment was 2 1/2 days ago.


Did I scare you all off with my 
Spring Sports Updates?


Just wondering if this here blog is still working,
or if you all took a Spring Break from
The Big D. Family.

The Lessons of Older Child Adoption

Ann Marie at Joyfully Busy is one of my newer Bloggy Friends.  She wrote a GREAT post today on the Lessons she has learned  in the past 10 months since adopting an "older child".  She and her husband had adopted previously, but this was her first "older child" adoption.


She wrote  ... 


...  a list of things 
     she has LEARNED 


... a list of the JOYS 
    they have experienced 


... and a list of TIPS for those 
    considering, or in process with, 
    an older child adoption.


I hope you will pop over to Joyfully Busy to hear Ann Marie's perspective on older child adoption.  And, if you have adopted an older child, I'm sure she would love to hear your thoughts, tips, lessons learned, in her comments section.

Josiah ... A Hard Worker

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming for a Spring Sports Update. While the main focus of this blog is to be a ministry of encouragement, and a place to share our Daily Journey of Faith, it is also our Family Journal, and a place to share pics of the kids with all of our Big Kids who are living across the country and around the world. Sorry for the interruption.  You are more than welcome to read our Sports Updates, too.  Stay tuned for the next episode of Our Journey of Faith.

On or off the Baseball Field,

Josiah works hard.

While he does not have as much

natural athletic ability as some of

his older siblings, he doesn't let

that stop him.  He just goes out

and does his very best.

While he is the smallest on the team,

and goes up against some BIG boys,

he doesn't let that bother him.  He

goes out and gives it his all.

He focuses on the task at hand.

He watches and learns.

He waits ... ready for each play.

Josiah is REALLY enjoying playing baseball again,

after a 2 year break from the ball fields.

Mama is LOVING watching him play.

Hosanna Hits the Track

We interrupt our regular scheduled programming for a Spring Sports Update. While the main focus of this blog is to be a ministry of encouragement, and a place to share our Daily Journey of Faith, it is also our Family Journal, and a place to share pics of the kids with all of our Big Kids who are living across the country and around the world. Sorry for the interruption. You are more than welcome to enjoy our Sports Updates, too. Stay tuned for the next episode of Our Journey of Faith.

This afternoon, we had our first

Middle School Track Meet

of the season.  It was a cold and

RAINY afternoon.  Brrr .....

(snow is forecast for tomorrow,

a record in NW Washington).

Hosanna ran the 100m, the 200m,

and the 4x100m relay.

She placed 1st in her heat of the 100.

She placed 2nd in the 200.

Her relay team also placed 2nd.

Go, Hosanna, Go!!!

The Cheer Squad was bundled 

up warmly this afternoon.

Pretty cute cheerleaders, huh?

If you're trying to keep track,

we have 6 baseball games per week

and 2 or 3 track meets per week.

Yes.  

Our Cheer Squad keeps quite busy.

Science is FUN!

Our Trip to Children's H*spital on Monday went well.  

Elijah is scheduled to have his first of two surgeries

on Friday, June 3rd.  (We wanted to wait until after

all of our spring sports seasons were over.)

Being that our appt. was at 4:30, the nurse nonchalantly

asked Elijah, "Did you go to school today?" ... 

to which he responded, "No."

I explained that Elijah is homeschooled, and that we had,

 in fact, "done school" that day ... with a Field Trip to ...

The Seattle Science Center

Josiah & Elijah learned about pulleys.

We had an unexpected and surprise treat when

Big Brother Gregg was able to drive up to

Seattle and join us for a couple of hours.

(He lives an hour south of Seattle,

while we live 2 hours north.)
The younger boys always LOVE
any time they have with their Big Brothers!!!

Josiah was fascinated by the

Bicycle Gyro.

The boys also enjoyed ...

... a demonstration on Combustion.

... an Imax film on a 

1916 Adventure to Antarctica.

... an exhibit all about the Solar System,

which they have been studying at home.

After a few hours at the Science Center,

we stopped by a bookstore for a few minutes

before heading to the hospital.  Each of

the boys picked out a book:  Josiah chose

a really cool book on World War II, while

Elijah chose a book about Ancient Romans

(something they have also been studying at home).

I LOVE it that my children are drawn to

educational books, and have no interest in

the latest "popular" fiction stories.

After our time at the hospital, I let Elijah pick

out what kind of restaurant he wanted to go

to for dinner.  He chose Mexican.  And, the

Lord blessed us with a nice little unexpected treat.

When we walked in the door I saw a sign that said,

"Children eat FREE on Mondays."  Yippee!

So, Mama ordered a nice meal, and both of the

boys meals were free.  Couldn't get any better than that.

We arrived home at 9:15, a full 12 hours after

leaving.  We were TIRED, but we had a very

fun and productive day.

Please pray for Elijah, as he is quite nervous

about his surgery.  He can't quite fathom the

fact that "they are going to cut open my leg".

What Makes A Mother?

I found this beautiful tribute to mothers who have lost a child before birth ... those who have had to hand their children straight into the arms of Jesus.  

I want to acknowledge that conceiving a baby is, obviously, not the only way to becoming a mother.  Adoptive mothers are just as much mothers, as biological mothers.  However, I like the perspective that even if your child is born straight up to heaven, that you are still a mother.


This was beautifully done.  I hope you will watch it, and pass it along to other mothers who have experienced the pain of miscarriage.

A Trip to Children's Hospital

I am off to Seattle today, 
for a trip to Children's H*spital.


It's been nearly 6 years since we 
"moved in" to Children's for 3 weeks ...


...  when the nurses were surprised that Elijah
     had lived long enough to survive the 
     airlift helicopter ride to Seattle
     in the middle of the night.


...  when our older children were driven the 
     100 miles to Seattle, by our pastor, 
     because their little brother was not 
     expected to live through the night.


...  when Jim and the kids moved in to the
     R*nald McDonald House, while I stayed
     at the hospital every night.


...  when Elijah was in a coma for a week.


...  when we prayed that the doctors would
     not have to amputate his arms or legs
     (as they were ice cold from lack of circulation).


...  when we prayed that our youngest child
     would not have severe brain damage.


...  when the doctors stood in AWE
     as the LORD worked His MIRACLE for Elijah.




Elijah nearly died from bacterial meningitis,
when he was just 3 years old.


While the Lord miraculously healed his little body,
the Lord did allow his body to remain covered
with what we call his "testimony scars".


Elijah's little 3 year old body was covered with
100+ 3rd degree burns.  The bacteria burned
his body from the inside out.


His little body was covered with deep black holes.


We brought him home after 3 weeks,
but continued to do wound care for several months.


Now ... we must go back to the hospital.


We must visit a Plastic Surgeon to have one
of his scars evaluated.  He has a large
triangular scar on his shin, which is just a thin
layer of skin right on the bone.  There is no
protective fatty tissue to be found.


Elijah is actually excited to go "see" the hospital.
He doesn't remember much, but knows all of 
the stories of God's Healing Power.


So, Elijah is looking forward to seeing where he
was when the Lord saved his life.




And ... since we are driving the 100 miles
each way to Seattle, Mama thought we should add
a bit of FUN to our day.


Josiah is going to make the drive with us,
and Mama is going to take the boys to the
Seattle Science C*enter for the afternoon,
before our early evening appt. at the hospital.


Then, Elijah will get to choose a restaurant
for dinner.  It is NOT often that the children
get a dinner at a restaurant ... especially
just 2 kids and Mama.  We are all looking
forward to it.




Now, Elijah may not have many memories of
his time at the hospital ... but Mama surely does.
While I know that many memories may come
flooding back, I am going to focus on the most
AMAZING memory of all .... the fact that
the LORD saved my dear child's life ...
when medical science didn't give us any hope.

Are You Ever Misunderstood?

Do you ever get a blog comment that leaves you
scratching your head?

A comment that puts things in "quotes" as if quoting you,
but you never said the things she is claiming you said?

A comment that kind of throws you for a loop?

A comment that you wonder "is this the first time she's been
on my blog?", but it's not the first time she's commented, so
you know she's been around for awhile?

A comment that makes you wonder if this woman
is just having a bad day?

A comment that makes you wonder why she even
reads your blog, if she seems to dislike you so much.

Yep.

I just got one of those comments ...
on my last post.

Enough wondering for now ...
I have much better things to do today
than to worry about my blog comments.

FAS or RAD or ODD or All 3 ???

Many of the adoptive moms that I know talk about the effects of R.A.D. (Reactive Attachment Disorder) on their children.  Fewer talk about F.A.S. (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) or ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder).  However, as I have been reading several blogs that discuss the effects of FAS on their children, I am left to wonder ...

...  maybe my Little Miss has FAS,

and/or ODD, in addition to her RAD.

I don't know anything about the pregnancy of Little Miss' mother.  But, I do know that there were alcohol problems in her original family.

Would it help me to know if her behaviors are caused by RAD or by FAS or by ODD?  I don't know that it would make a difference.  All 3 bring on very challenging behaviors.  All 3 tend to bring life-long challenges (unless, by the grace of God, a miraculous healing occurs).  All 3 mean that I must parent Little Miss much differently than I parent my other children.  All 3 bring me to my knees, as I seek the Lord's wisdom.

I would love to hear your experiences with either FAS or RAD or ODD, or all 3.


Has your child been professionally diagnosed?


Is it important to have a professional diagnosis?


What are your biggest challenges?


Where have you found the most help?


What are your best parenting tips to face these challenges?




If you are unfamiliar with FAS, here is a partial list of behavioral issues that may present themselves.  There are also physical, facial abnormalities that are sometimes present.  However, I am expecting that those may differ a little by race, as my beautiful African daughter has distinct facial features due to her race.  (Thus, a caucasion child with FAS may present abnormalities a bit differently than an African child with Fas. Just my thoughts .....)

A child with FASD, may also be given other diagnoses, such as:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
• Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)
• Anxiety Disorder
• Mental Retardation

Other behaviors often associated with FASD include:

• Hyperactive
• Passive or “lazy”
• Impulsive
• Stubborn
• Fearless
• Irritable, mood swings
• Difficulty sleeping
• Difficulty adapting to change
• Easily over stimulated
• Difficulties in school and truancy
• Teasing or bullying
• Sexual promiscuity, inappropriate sexual behavior

If you are unfamiliar with ODD, here is a list of behavioral tendencies:



In children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), there is an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that seriously interferes with the youngster’s day to day functioning.  Symptoms of ODD may include:

• Frequent temper tantrums
• Excessive arguing with adults
• Often questioning rules
• Active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
• Deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
• Blaming others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
• Often being touchy or easily annoyed by others
• Frequent anger and resentment
• Mean and hateful talking when upset
• Spiteful attitude and revenge seeking

Any or all of these disorders can be very challenging to work with.  How can we support each other as we parent children with these significant challenges?

Every Mama Needs "Mama Time"

Last weekend, I was in need of some time,

for Takin' A Deep Breath.

So, I found myself a great deal on a

really nice hotel, just 8 miles from

Ben's Track Meet.

What does Mama need to rest & relax?

A Big Comfy Bed

My Bible

My Journal

A Few Good Books

Some Good Music

My Trusty & Cute

(because it is important to have a cute computer)

Purple & Black Mac Book

A Sweet Treat

This was a special gift I got from Cassie

back in December.  And, I have only

pulled it our for special occasions

(mainly because it has 400 calories per square).

Oh my!  So Yummy!  Thanks Cassie!

While I was certainly BLESSED to 

have some time away last weekend,

it was not as restful and relaxing

as I had hoped/planned for.

We are still walking through a very difficult

situation with one of our Big Kids,

so I spent a bit of time on the phone

with concerned siblings,

and time on the computer with emails.

It's one thing to be a Mama that says,

"Some times my kids will make poor

decisions, and I am not going to get

caught up in all of their everyday drama."

(I've definitely been there, done that.)

It's another thing to be a Mama that

is deeply concerned about the decisions

her daughter is making ... in a far away

country ... with concerns that

"we.  may.  never.  see.  her.  again."

Yes, this is BIG and it is HARD.

It's another thing to be a Mama that

wants to BE THERE for the rest of 

the family, as they are deeply hurt

by the choices this sister is making.

So, while there were times that I turned

off my cell phone last weekend;

and there were times that I did not

respond to each and every email;

it was still a weekend filled with

care and concern for my adult children.

Not as restful & relaxing as I had hoped,

but definitely still a BLESSING.