JULYTWELVESUNDAY

Misha's eighth birthday was this past Sunday. All year, and I do mean ALL year, he has been talking about turning eight. He had looked at the calendar in November when we got it and has reported to anyone who will listen that he was seven and he would be eight on JulytwelveSunday. All one word, like that. :-)

After the Friday all-nighter in the ER, I was not so excited to be making a race car cake, which is what Misha had requested. But it was only his second birthday party ever and I wanted to keep it just as special as he was hoping. After looking around online and doing a little thinking of my own, I came up with a figure eight (appropriate) race track onto which I stuck actual metal toy cars. The decorating was minimal. The most effort went into two little checkered flags that took me all of eight minutes to color and tape onto cut pieces of drinking straws. I stuck some sugar letters onto the sides and made sure to put in plenty of food coloring (in an attempt to prove my theory that brightly colored frosting makes any cake awesome--at least in a kid's eyes).
He was thrilled when he woke up Sunday morning to see his cake on the table! Good! I thought he would be. He is not really very hard to please. He was even still excited on Monday when he had to add an extra job to his daily chores now that he was eight! Haha!

We opened presents and shared cake with a couple of friends at a local park after church that day. It was hot but we had lemonade. All was right with the world! Misha holding up the little Lone Ranger Bear that Hannah had gotten at the dollar store. She bought the little bear and cowboy costume separately and then added a mask and little gun belt afterward. Didn't she do a good job?

Annette gives us a scare...

Here is a picture of Annette yesterday afternoon feeling fine and dandy. That was how she was all day. For fun, she and Max switched beds so that she was "spending the night" with Misha and Max and Hannah camped out in the girls' room. Turns out that this plan would come in handy a few hours later...

Around eleven o'clock, Steve and I were sitting in the kitchen stringing beans and watching an internet 'tv' show when we heard some thumping around down the hall. Misha is known for sleep walking so we ignored it until we heard a louder thump and some crying. Steve went down the hall thinking Misha was just disoriented and couldn't find his bed but when he tried to open the door it was blocked and it was Annette's crying we heard.

Once Steve got into the room he found Annette behind the door lying on the floor. She had thrown up into her hair and was disoriented and wailing. Thinking she was sick and half-asleep he guided her out the door and to me so that I could wash her up. Trouble was, I couldn't get her to stand up while I ran bathwater. She kept listing to one side. So I called to Steve. I asked him to just hold her up while I started the bath. Still thinking she was just half-asleep. I turned on the water and went to pull of her shirt but when I did, her right arm just flopped down. I picked it up and dropped it. Floppy again. I asked her to squeeze my hand, nothing. She actually reached over with her other hand to comply. All this time she was wailing incoherently.

I got her over to the tub and said to Steve, "You better get dressed." While I washed her hair and cleaned her up there was no improvement. She mentioned that her head was hurting but not until I asked. Steve then showed up at the door dressed and with an outfit for Annie. Two shirts. Okay, so I ran down and got some pants for her and Daddy carried her out to the car. I could see the alarm in his eyes and he announced before driving away, "I'm taking her to Children's".

We were scared. No doubt about it. Our friend Bryan called (Steve had already called him) and said he would come over and sleep on the couch so I could go to the hospital. Like any good woman, I looked around and busied myself tidying up. Praying and answering phone calls all the time. It kept me busy for the 35 minutes or so till Bryan got there.

I drove to the hospital trying to keep to the speed limit but leaning forward in my seat. Steve told me later that he had gotten stopped going about 90 but that the officer let him go with a simple, "Calm down". I didn't have my glasses or my license ( they were in the car Steve was driving) so I didn't want to get pulled over!

Annette had thrown up again at the hospital. Apparently, in the waiting area which seemed to get her finally to a room. By this time the paralysis had pretty much faded and her movement had come back.

Once I got there, the Dr was in with them and I arrived in time to hear him say that he was thinking it sounded like a classic migraine. Skeptical but relieved not to hear Stroke or tumor, we waited while she had a cat scan and blood work and just rested.

At four am when the Dr came in to give her a final look-see, she was happy and perky at his offer of a Popsicle and gave me a demure smile when he called her a Princess. She already knew it was true.

In the end, we were there till 4:45 am and didn't get home until 5:30. Annette sang "Joy to the World" on the way home and was feeling, "Perfect!," but apparently still sleepy since she conked out about 20 minutes from home. Goodbyes and thank yous to Bryan and we were into bed by 6:30 just as the sun was coming up.

The kids woke up as usual and, with Annette sound asleep, no one realized that we had been gone all night! In fact, the first one to notice was Hannah who said, "Mom, why is Annette wearing those pajamas?" And Annette was beaming, proud of all the attention and of the fact that she had a new nightgown, albeit a bit drafty.

And today, you'd never know that she'd had any kind of ordeal! She is chipper and cheerful and good as new. And me? I need another nap.

Yawn...

Shoebox Blog

I love to read the Shoebox Blog (Like the Hallmark line of greeting cards) each day with the rest of my lineup. Occasionally, I just laugh right out loud. I really enjoy the "off" sense of humor. And I got a kick out of this one today. :-) I also thought this one was pretty funny. But my mom wouldn't.

Pictures....

We braved the mosquitos to hang out in the backyard this evening. Even squeezed in a picture of the whole family! (Gotta scroll down for that. )
Enjoy!

....Pictures....

Pictures.

Max and Me

I'm not sure how long I will keep my blogs separate. But LovedAlready has always had a dual purpose. It was not only to keep all informed of our process but also to inspire and encourage others who might consider or perhaps already were traveling the same road as us. Now, a year-and-a-half after the boys have been home, there are very few things that are "adoption specific" to blog about. Mostly everything that we do and the ways the boys behave are so "normal"(to us anyway) that they hardly seem worth mentioning. Because of this, I post fairly infrequently which can end up spelling the end of a blog.

I will try and post links here when I have posted there. That way those of you who have given up on my sporatic postings will keep up-to-date. I will mostly only do that when I post. Steve posts things there on occasion and probably more frequently than I do so you'll have to keep checking if you are interested in catching everything. He posts mostly essays about adoption. His writings are thought provoking and display his heart and passion for the orphaned child as well as illuminating the paralells of orphan adoption to our adoption by God.

Today I posted a short story about Max.

fun at the creek

The water was clear, but freezing!
What a beautiful way to end a hot day!

We did have to get home before dark to catch this guy, who proves to be quite elusive!

A boyfriend for Indiana Jones.

We have some special friends from our church who take good care of us. :-) Ginger and Richard have graced a blog post or two in the past but this time it is to thank them for our new rooster! Isn't he handsome?! (I mean the rooster)
Indiana is not so happy about her arranged marriage to a short guy with a salt and pepper "hair do" I really don't think it's the feathers or the height so much as they have to establish pecking order. Indiana Jones, it turns out, is a bit of a militant feminist.

That's not following that she is doing. It is chasing.

See?


My two animal lovers. These two really are buddies. And, I am just noticing, remember when Max first came to America? He was the same size as Annette. I think he has taken the lead now only one short year and a half later!

Here is your new home...

Ah! He looks good in it, don't you think?!

And what about his name? So far we are calling him by Grandma Falk's suggestion,
"John Quincy Adams"

video

A blogging friend emailed this link to me. It is the story of an abortion survivor. In her own words she speaks of her experience and how her life has been permanently affected by abortion.

This is a two-part video and will require 15 minutes of your time. She is not "the only one" out there with this kind of story. There are many. There are also many who survive abortions briefly only to die of injuries sustained during the procedure in a few moments to a few days later.

I have so much I can say about this. I am going to keep it short here right now and hope that you will watch these two videos. And, in case you are the squeamish type, there is NO graphic imagery in these videos. Only the woman herself talking.

Father's Day.

All our little ones and their Daddy.

Me with my dad

Uncle John, Aunt Karen and Lisa and her children's visit:

We had a great time visiting with My Uncle John, Aunt Karen, and my cousin Lisa and her family of four small children! Lisa's husband was out of the country and so they took that time to visit Grandpa Anderson, and by default, us. :-)

We went to the Lenoir City park one evening for a picnic. We drove over in the rain but were fortunate to drive right out of it by the time we got to the park! The weather was beautiful and the park is on the lake so we had a nice breeze and lovely view to enjoy.

This picture is of Lisa and her youngest, James.

I threw this one in here too. This is George.
He is five and had fun at My parent's pool with us all one day.
I kept having trouble getting a good shot of this little cutie. My camera was picking up a bunch of flare and washing out the pictures of her! I tried to fix it because I just love that hair and you had to see it! Ivy and three-year-old Grace enjoyed playing together.

Here they are playing at the park.

Anther washed-out photo but it is funny, isn't it? George and James. (But not in that order.)

Little Abigail They all have that hair!

James again. He makes you smile. You just can't help it!

My Grandpa, Ivy and my dad.

Eating hot dogs, or, as Misha says it "Hot DAAWGS!"

Evan, trying to look muscular and his girlfriend Kelsey. Kelsey is listening to Annette who is asking if she is going to marry Evan and if they are going to have any babies and other very personal and awkward questions like that. :-)

Grandpa. He turned 90 this year. Isn't he handsome?!

Uncle John and Aunt Karen.

Like I said, we had a great time with them and it was especially nice to see Lisa and meet her children! It's been a long time since we have seen her and her family has grown quickly--and nicely, I might add. :-)

Snapper!

Misha found this 2 ft long snapping turtle in our side yard the other day. Isn't he handsome?! The mailman saw us looking at him as he went by and even had to get out and come and see. It was pretty cool. And the next day, Steve brought home a turtle that he found on the side of the road.

In fact, another wet-dweller incident was while Jenny and Will were visiting. The kids came in and said there were thousands of baby frogs in the driveway. We trooped out to see. And while "thousands" may have been an exageration, "hundreds and hundreds" would not have been. It was some kind of baby frog migration across the expanse of the driveway. Each little frog was no bigger than my pinkie finger nail.

It has been kind of wet here lately. Maybe wetter than I realized...

New Blog

Some friends of ours from church are in the early stages of adopting from Korea. They have started to blog their process. If you like to follow adoption stories, then this is the time to start watching theirs. They only have 2 posts so far!

I know they covet prayers as they are truly stepping out on faith in this new phase of their lives. Please take a moment to "drop by" and leave them an encouraging note.

Right now there is a little baby or small child (or both!) in South Korea who thinks that the life she is leading is all there is. Imagine her surprise when she finds out what a forever family is and how life will change for her because of love. Love that is already in action, seeking her out to give her the gift that she never knew she always needed.

Visit Dominic and Tiffany here:
www.morofamily.wordpress.com

I have also added them to my sidebar.

Jen and Will

Tuesday and Wednesday, we had a great time with Steve's sister and her husband, Will! They were able to come right to our house, kind of on the spur of the moment (if you can call the eleven hour drive, "spur of the moment").

We enjoyed a relaxed time of visiting and eating too many cookies. Jenny and Will normally live in Niger, Africa so we don't see them very often. We had a chance to catch up a bit, which was nice. Steve, Will, Jenny and Hannah and Max even went down to the lake to jump in a few times off of some cliffs there. Of course, swimming is always fun!

They are off now visiting more family and friends before their long flight back to the sweltering heat of Niger. (Remind me not to complain about the heat this summer!) And I am off to get kids to bed early tonight for a change!

What's up.

This week we will be going every day to Vacation Bible School. Actually, we've already started! Day one is gone. The kids are all glowing with excitement and anticipation of tomorrow. :-)

All six kids are tucked into bed. In a couple of hours, Steve's sister Jenny and her husband Will will arrive! Everyone is excited about that too. Jenny lives in Africa but is visiting us here for the day tomorrow!

And maybe we will get some swimming in at Mom's this week.

Not bad for a whole week's worth of plans, is it?

The week after that? Back to school for the boys. They can't afford to take the whole summer off. Poor things. ;-) And let's not forget their summer school teacher! Poor her too....

Now, off to finish getting ready for Jenny and Will!

Our Backyard Stinks!

Our backyard stinks. Not that it's a bad backyard. It is a very nice backyard. It has a swing set, a little hill, a small woodsy area. It also has a dead skunk. So, It stinks.

The skunk has actually been tossed across the street into the woods where the main road drains but the smell is still there in the backyard.

So, why did we have a skunk in the backyard? Well, for the last three nights Steve has been out hunting raccoon. He took a few freezer burnt fish sticks and put them out there in the dark and sat and waited for a raccoon with a taste for chicken--or at least one with a hankering for some crappy fish. He didn't sit alone. He had Hussein with him. That is the name of his shotgun.

He didn't wait long before someone came up to take the bait. Actually, it was someones. Bad grammar, I know. Both a skunk and a raccoon were vying for a place under the chicken coop a little ways from the bait but but only inches below a pretty white chicken friend of ours who slept oblivious to the commotion about to occur. I am sure that just as usual Indiana Jones was roosting all snugly in there, softly clucking with every exhale. I imagine that there was a sudden, startled, "BAAWWK" when the scuffle under the coop began. Raccoon vs. Skunk. Who will win?

The scuffle wandered far enough away from the coop for Silent Steve to take aim. Bang! Bang! One down, one running into the woods.

Like I said, my backyard stinks, so you can guess which one made it back to the woods.

Raccoon still at large.

Hello, Goodbye.

(Annette and "Bustard", as she called him. See his "hairy" feet?
He is a Silky variety and they have their toes covered in long feathers! )

While we were in Florida, our good friend Ginger chicken-sat for us. She determined that Indiana Jones is definitely a hen after all. Phew. I was glad to find that out! Now we wouldn't have to worry about noisy roosters....

So, Steve took Misha who had a potted plant to give to Miss Ginger to thank her for Chicken-sitting his chicken. I think a couple of other kids tagged along too. And what did they come home with? A baby rooster!! Ha ha!

I was surprised but thought it was funny that Steve had brought home a rooster and figured this was a sort of sign that he was no longer seriously thinking of moving us into a subdivision! (yay!)
The black silky rooster's name was already Buzzard but I quickly started calling him The Black like in the books The Black Stallion. (Vitali, who calls Indiana, "Indian Jones", called the two chickens, "those two Indians". Annette called him Bustard. No reason, she just said it wrong.) "The Black" put up with lots of hugs and handling. Not a single attempt to scratch or peck. Perfect for us.

The bad news is that on his second night with us, I went to lock up the coop and it was already dark. The Black had not been with us long enough to know to head to the coop. Indiana Jones was already sound asleep in there but finding a black chicken on a particularly black night was sure to be impossible so I decided to lock in Indiana and hope for the best. Max, in the morning, opened the front door to go for the Sunday newspaper and found the results of my chicken-ignorance. I wish it had occurred to me that he would head to high ground! The front porch has a light after all. The black was spread all over our front porch, individual feathers tossing about in the breeze among splatters of blood. Steve and I were out there like a couple of CSIs looking for evidence. We found some faint coon prints and passed a death sentence on that coon right there!

Then, the sad part, telling the girls. Annette was devastated. Hannah sat, thinking mental daggers at all raccoon-kind. In fact, no one in this house likes raccoons anymore. Annette had alligator tears all day off and on. Max said he had had to give her a hug in Sunday School (he is such a sweetie) and I was comforting her in church.

We came home that afternoon and Steve and the boys went off to bury the scant remains. I could hear Vitali skipping after them saying, "We will dig and put dirt on him and he will be alive again!" I guess he thought it was like planting seeds. :-)

Annette has not shed another tear after the initial deluge. In fact, she was just here reading over my shoulder and laughed at something and skipped away.

So, now we need a new rooster... There is something I never expected to be saying. Ever.

And, as for the Subdivision thing--we have spent some time looking at acreage lately. Maybe we will get a cow or two...