A Trip to the Ice Rink

We have been involved in a 

Parent Partnership Program 

this year, which is an

Enrichment School 

for Homeschool Students,

but is part of the local public school districts.

We go to school about 5 hours per week,

and our kids take science, cooking, music, etc...

Last week, we had an 

"Activities Week",

as a break between semesters.

On Tuesday, the younger kids participated

in a 3 hour Cooking Class on

How to Make Authentic Tamales.

And, on Wednesday, about 50 students and parents

from our school went to the Ice Rink in The City.

Our younger 4 kids have never Ice Skated before,

and Ben & Hosanna have only done it once or twice.

The school paid for 1 parent from each family

to skate, as well.  So, Papa decided to skate,

so that I could be the "Team Photographer".

Here are Papa & Ben, enjoying a visit 

as they cruise the rink.

Hosanna & Sarah are getting the hang of it.

Josiah was a quick learner, and confident enough

in himself that he offered to help a friend's little boy.

Josiah & Elijah are both wonderful helpers with little ones.

Here are Josiah & Sarah, coming around the rink again.

Josiah & Little Daniel.  Aren't they CUTE?

Rachel had a very difficult time learning to skate,

so Hosanna (on the right) and some friends 

are helping her, here.

Elijah is quite the little Natural Athlete,

so he was speeding around the rink within minutes.

They all had a GREAT time at the Ice Rink,

and are hoping to go again soon.

A Busy Birthday Week

Yes ... we have had a BUSY Birthday Week

at the Big D. House.

We actually have 5 birthdays in 6 days

in our immediate family.

Jeremiah ... turned 25 on the 20th.

Sadly, we haven't seen him in nearly a year.

But, several of us were able to chat with him

on his birthday, and wish him a Happy Day!

(Jeremiah is an officer in the Navy, currently 

in Flight School in Pensacola, FL.)

Elijah ... turned 10 on the 23rd.

Gregg & Kayla had the day off on Sunday,

so they came up and surprised him with

an early birthday party.

Papa, Mama, Gregg, Kayla, Josiah, & Elijah

went bowling, and then out to dinner at Red Robin.

Then, we came home to cake & ice cream with

Ben, Hosanna, Sarah, & Rachel.

Mama ... turned 50 on the 24th.  

Oh My!

I spent the morning at our "enrichment school",

where the younger kids had a 3 hour

class on making Authentic Tamales.

I took Hosanna to get a haircut in the afternoon.

Then, Papa gave me flowers and took me out to dinner

in Canada.  I had the BEST steak dinner I've ever had.

Cassie texted me first thing in the morning.

Lindsey SURPRISED me with a phone call from Liberia.  Wow!

Carissa phoned from Minnesota.

And, Jeremiah phoned from Florida.

Sarah & Rachel made me some CUTE birthday cards.

Grandpa spent $12 on Express Mail to get

my birthday card to me on time.  So sweet!

Carissa & Lindsey ... turned 23 on the 25th.

(which actually makes 4 birthdays in 3 days)

Carissa returned from Argentina last spring, 

after 3 years there with YWAM,

and is currently living in Minnesota.

Lindsey is ministering in Liberia, West Africa

for 7 weeks with YWAM.

The day after my birthday, Elijah asked,

"Mom, do you feel 50?"

"No.  Do you feel 10?"

"No."

I guess we are both wanting to stay young.

On Wednesday, we got to go Ice Skating

with our Homeschool Enrichment Program.

The kids had MUCH fun!

(pics coming soon)

On Thursday, I went with Ben to an 

appt. with his ear surgeon.

(time to schedule surgery)

Today, we are babysitting 3 kids (ages 3, 5, 7)

while our friends move.  Papa took the kids

to the beach, while I got ready to go on 

a little overnight trip.

Yes.  Mama is going to an Adoption Conference

in the Seattle Area.  I just found out about it

this week, and the registration was just $35.

Hoping & Praying for some information

that will bring a breakthrough in our

parenting of Rachel.

Also ... this week ... found out about a new

therapist (in our little farming town) that specializes 

in Attachment Issues.  We will be attending

a free workshop with her on Feb. 7th,

and are truly hoping that she is an

Answer To Our Prayers.

(more details coming soon)

Well ... time to head towards Seattle,

hoping to arrive before the traffic gets crazy.

Looking forward to 24 hours with

other adoptive parents who are

walking a similar journey.

And, looking forward to seeing my friend, Lisa,

who will be presenting a workshop or two.

Hoping you all had a GREAT week,

and that you will have a BLESSED weekend!

Those Were The Days ... A Very Pregnant Mama

January 25, 1989

Mama was ready to go to the hospital.

Yes.

Those are bright red maternity stretch pants.

This outfit was put on purely for the sake of

getting a better picture.  Mama did NOT

leave her house looking like this.  (smile)

In just 9 months ... 

Mama went from a 24" waist to a 48" waist.

While the doctors had been very concerned about a

premature birth, coming so soon after 3 other births,

"the twins" had no intention of joining the world

any earlier than they had to.

At 40 weeks, Mama finally made an appointment

to be induced (the 2nd of 5 inductions).

Papa & Mama wanted to be surprised,

so they hadn't allowed the doctors to tell them

whether Baby A and Baby B were boys or girls.

So, they had 3 sets of names picked out ...

2 girls

2 boys

1 girl & 1 boy

After a very short labor, and no pushing, Baby A

popped right out.  Carissa weighed in at 7 lb. 2 oz.

Then, after unsuccessfully trying to turn Baby B around,

the doctors pulled her out by her feet.

Lindsey weighed in at 8 lb. 3 oz.

Notice the pretty nightgown?

Mama still has it.  And, it's still pretty.

But, Papa bought Mama 2 sets of pjs for Christmas and said,

"It is time to throw away the old ones."

So sad.

Yes.

Mama was carrying 15 lb. 5 oz. of baby.

While we were excited to welcome the girls to our 

family, we were a bit apprehensive of how, exactly, 

we were going to survive ...

Daily Life with 5 kids under 5 years old.

(Gregg was 4, Cassie was 3, and Jeremiah turned 2 

just 5 days before the girls were born.)

But ... 

the Lord had a plan.

We not only survived, 

but we truly LOVED

the years where our house 

was FULL of the Little Ones.

Those were the days ...

Happy 23rd Birthday

Carissa & Lindsey!

Accidents Happen ...

...  More Often with Children with R.A.D.

This is the doorway from our kitchen to our hallway.

That is a smoke alarm above the doorway.

Little Miss was in the kitchen with 3 brothers when she said,

"I bet I can jump up and touch the fire extinguisher."

(Not quite a fire extinguisher, but they knew what she meant.)

Little Miss didn't think things through.

Little Miss didn't have the ability to jump so high.

Little Miss didn't process what could happen

if she didn't jump straight up ... nor where she could land.

Little Miss backed up into the dining room 

to get a running start.

Little Miss' knees hit the wall here.

Little Miss' face hit the wall straight on.

She didn't even think to put her arms out.

Probably good, though, because her hands 

might have made 2 holes, as well.

Little Miss has made no apology.

Little Miss has shown no remorse.

Papa & Mama are so sad for Little Miss ...

...  sad that she doesn't know how to think things through.

...  sad that she can't understand cause & effect.

...  sad that she refuses to say, "I'm sorry."

...  sad that she doesn't understand why we can't allow 

her to do everything her brothers do, because it is 

Just. Not. Safe.

In 27 years of parenting ... 

with 11 other children ...

1 big brother (home from Iraq)

punched a hole in the wall once ...

1 younger brother kicked a hole

in a closet door once ...

Oh yes ... 

I just remembered ...

many years ago 1 sister pushed another sister

into a wall, which resulted in a hole.

But ... 

that's it ... 

with a dozen children ...

we just don't "do" holes in the wall.

So sad.

So hard.

Oh ...

in case you are wondering ...

it's not "just the wall" that makes me sad ...

it's the whole lack of cause & effect understanding ...

it's the lack or remorse ...

it's the whole big picture with Little Miss.

And ...

just in case you're wondering ...

it's not just holes in the walls that our R.A.D.

children have brought ...

oh. my. no.

In 27 years of parenting ...

with 11 other children ...

I think 1 big brother got a concussion once,

while playing high school football.

Then, there is Little Miss.

She has had 3 concussions in 4 years.

Oh.  

Yes.

Then there were the broken windows.

In 27 years of parenting ...

with 11 other children ...

we've only had 1 broken window.

Then ...

after we brought the children home from Ghana ...

we had 2 broken windows in 2 years ...

and the rearview mirror ripped off of a car the 3rd year.

Yes.

It is the 

WHOLE BIG UGLY PICTURE

that makes me sad.

And ...

most of all ...

sad for my precious daughter who

just. plain. doesn't. know. how. 

to THINK much of the time.

Just a Few Short Video Clips

When my camera battery died while the kids were sledding, I pulled out my iPhone and remembered that I have a video camera on it.  (Yea ... I've hardly ever used it.  I mainly just use my phone as a phone, or to hop on the internet.)  So, I enjoyed taking these very short video clips.

Pictures + Scissors + Tape = Scrapbookin' Fun

We've been having so much fun in the snow this week,

that I nearly forgot to tell you about my

Scrapbooking Weekend.

Last week, on Thursday, I got a phone call

from a friend, letting me know that there

had been a couple of cancellations for her

Scrapbooking Weekend Retreat, and asking if 

I could come to Oregon for the weekend.

Oh. My. Yes.

I spent Thursday evening organizing and packing

all of my supplies, and then headed out on Friday

morning ... arriving 7 hours later at the

Christian Renewal Center.

There were 21 ladies at the retreat,

mostly from the Portland area.

After a delicious dinner ... I got to work.

Here are a few of the pages I completed ...

We continued to work on pages all day on Saturday.

After brunch on Sunday, the winner of the

"Most Pages Award" was announced ...

and I won, with 32 pages completed.

(Which surprised me, considering that many of the 

women arrived 4 or 5 hours before me on Friday.)

By 1:00 on Sunday, most of the women were packing

up and heading home.  However ... I got to stay an extra day.

Woo Hoo!

More pages.

More chat time.

My dear friend, Julie, is the wife of the director of C.R.C.

We've been friends for 20+ years.

So, when everyone else headed home on Sunday,

Julie and I decided to hide out in the lodge for 

another day of precious "Friend Time".

And ... 

I completed a total of 63 Pages for the weekend.

Wow!

That is definitely a record for me.

I finished a FULL 12x12 album.

I scrapbooked a FULL year of our lives.

And ... I enjoyed some much needed fellowship.

Here is the lodge I stayed in for the weekend ...

...  and the snowy camp road on the way down the hill

... and the beautiful snowy country road leaving camp.

I drove on snowy roads for the first 30 minutes after 

leaving camp.  Then, I drove through intermittent snow

flurries throughout the day; but the roads stayed clear.

Until ... I got 30 minutes from home and discovered

a full blown winter storm had been brewing for

a couple of days.  I was so thankful for the clear roads

on the long drive home.  By the next day, over 250 miles

of those same roads were covered in snow.  Whew!

After arriving home, I was so excited to finish the

last piece of organizing our new School Room:

My Scrapbooking Counter

I am hoping to get a lot more scrapbooking done this year,

now that I have a designated area to keep my things

organized and ready.  

Bring on the Pictures!

I am READY to conquer a few more scrapbooks!