Happy Birthday, Grandma!

I just want to give a "shout out" to my mother who had a birthday today....Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

The kids had fun calling tonight to sing to her and Esther Marie joined in the fun with a smile on her face....just belting it out....well, she was singing something.....we are just not sure what exactly! Then the kids took turns talking...telling Grandmother all about their activities and school. Even Esther Marie got on the phone and paced around, jabbering away, pausing here and there to laugh. Grandmother has a lot of patience, that's for sure!

Here's the funny part about the birthday call......

I was washing the dishes after dinner and because I had wet hands, I asked Hannah to grab my cell phone and dial Grandmother so we could all sing to her. So she did and put the call on speaker phone. When she heard someone pick up, she started singing away....and we all joined in. It was a boisterous and somewhat off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" and when we finished, we heard this surprised and confused voice on the other end asking...."My Birthday???!!!" (oooops.....wrong Grandmother!!! Hannah had dialed her daddy's mother!!) We profusely apologized, assured her that she was not another year older, had a good laugh, promised to call back, and then quickly called the real birthday lady. So we had an embarrassing moment tonight that we could all laugh at ourselves about.

My mother, the REAL birthday lady, is having some major dental surgery tomorrow morning. If you think of her, I am sure she would appreciate your prayers, both during the surgery and for the next few days while she is recuperating. Her name is Betty...and thanks for praying!

I recently posted some new photos of the kids using a "Flickr Slideshow" (scroll down below) and wanted you to take a look when you get a chance. It's something new to my blog, using this slideshow feature, and I am trying to figure it all out. First click on the arrow in the middle of the photo. Then you can click on the word "Flickr" on the photo (upper left) and it will take you to Flickr to view the pics, OR you can click on the four little arrows on the far right bottom and it will open a full-screen mode of the photos. (I like this best.) If you click "information on" it will show you the captions/titles for the pics. Thanks for looking! Hopefully with this new feature, I can add pictures to the blog more often.

Help Recycle Items You No Longer Need and Perhaps Find Items For FREE That You Do Need...Here's How!

I met with a friend today who told me about these cool yahoo groups all across the country....called FREECYCLE.

"The Freecycle Network (TM) is a nonprofit organization and a movement of people interested in keeping usable items out of landfills. Freecycle also helps people find new homes for items that are "too good to throw away," but are gathering dust and taking up space in the attic or garage. Just post a message telling what it is you are giving away (or looking for), and interested members will reply. All items offered or requested through the group MUST be "free, legal, and appropriate for all ages."

You will need a yahoo mail account to join a group in your area. It is suggested that your email address be "non-identifying." To find a group in your area, just do a search for Freecycle with your town name and state....or another town close by to you.

Have fun RECYCLING!! And if you join a group in your area and have success, it would be fun to hear from you...so leave a comment on this post.

Esther Marie PULLS It All Together!

Esther Marie PULLS It All Together!, originally uploaded by Southern Irish Rose.

Good Luck Getting Them ALL To Smile At The Same Time (See Pics Below)

On Thursday after school, the kids and I went downtown to meet up with Jasper to take him my SLR camera so he could photograph a job site down at one of the universities. I would show you the project, but it's just a parking lot right now. While there, we took a little walk around part of the campus and I took some photos of the kids. Back in the spring, I took a photography class and I feel like I have forgotten most of what I learned about shooting manually. Without constant practice, you can get rusty easily! Anyway, camera in hand I tried..and tried..and tried. I took about a dozen group pics and got one that I considered to be "okay." Good luck getting four kids to smile and be still at the same time....and God bless professional children's photographers! I switched to individual shots and snapped some others of the kids together. This photography experience made me realize how badly I need to drag out my manual, my class notes, my teaching DVD and anything else I can find so I can get back into taking better photos. The one thing I definitely need though...more TIME to go out and practice, practice, practice!! Hmmm....maybe I'll get that when Emmie starts kindergarten in about ummmm......THREE years! (sigh)

Thank God for Early Intervention Programs! Emmie and Our Other Children Had a Good Week!

This has been an active and busy week, but I guess with all my children, each week is going to be pretty much that way. Monday morning, we had Tammy from the early intervention program come out to the house for about an hour and a half. She worked with Esther Marie in all different areas from motor skills to language. We learned some new sign language to help lower frustration levels in the area of communication. Esther Marie picks up on those relatively quickly, which helps a lot. She is still not really understanding the concept of "names" since she points to herself and says "mommy" and points to Joshua and attempts to say "Hannah" and so on. Hopefully, this concept will kick in soon for her. She is using "more" and "please" and "thank you" signs and that's very sweet watching her use her "signing manners."

On Tuesday, Jasper went to Florida early, and Esther Marie and I had two more appointments with early intervention starting at 8:45.....a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. They came to the house. We went over many things and discussed how to help Esther Marie. We are going to make her a picture book of 20 items so she can point to things she wants and start to connect names with people. We will be working on sounds and some words. Puzzles help so we can do fine motor skills and work on language at the same time....put in, take out, good job, cow says moo, etc. Esther Marie needs some help with upper body strength so we hope to borrow or buy a "sit and spin" soon to help with that. She is unable to sit up on her own from a reclining position without rolling over first. This is probably due to all of the time she spent in a very small bed for the majority of the day and night. Whatever delays she has, we feel confident with all this help, she will be catching up soon! We are VERY glad for the early intervention program. Jasper took the older children to church on Wednesday night, and Esther Marie and I stayed home. This was to give her more time to get over the trauma from last Saturday night. Thursday morning, we went to music class and she was more relaxed and seemed to participate more. They have a little crab that Tammy brings out each week...she sprays the crab with water and then sprays the children's hands. They get tickled about this. Then they feed the crab. Emmie finally got close enough to watch and get sprayed, but she practically choked me holding on so tight when Tammy held the crab and was showing it around. Guess Esther Marie is not into "critters" very much! She is learning hand motions and movements and the whole experience is definitely adding to our bonding. We are having fun!

So what's happening with the rest of the kids? Hannah continued to have training sessions after school this week for the upcoming basketball team try-outs. One of her fingers got jammed on Tuesday and she ended up getting a splint put on it by the school nurse on Wednesday. It is getting better, but if you are reading this, you could pray for her finger to heal so she can try-out next week without it bothering her. She is pretty excited about the team and looking forward to the games. Joshua made several 100s on tests this week and that was exciting news.....a states test, spelling and math! We are proud of him for studying so hard. He had a field trip to the zoo on Thursday and enjoyed that outdoor fun. This weekend, he has to do two woodworking projects and practice to lead a flag ceremony at the next Cub Scout pack meeting. Sunday he has a den meeting and pizza dinner afterwards. Scouting is something he really enjoys. MaryAlyce went to the children's theater on a field trip this week and experienced the story of Rapunzel in "living color." She was jabbering away about it telling me the story. I wish I could have gone but they limit the chaperones on those trips to one parent per class because of space limitations. Another Daisy Girl Scout meeting will be next week and she is counting the days until Thursday.

Now it's Friday and another week has zipped by. Earlier today, I took Esther Marie to the doctor's office and had a nurse remove the stitches in the back of her head. It has been six days and that's when the doctor said we needed to have them out to avoid excessive scarring. She still has a pretty good-sized bump there and it is still tender. Once again, my heart broke because she didn't really understand and she cried and cried and cried. Don't you wish you could shield your children from things like this??? (sigh) Tonight, Jasper and I watched the debate from Oxford, MS, between McCain and Obama...go Mississippi! (laugh) I was born there so I can root for the state vs. getting into politics and rooting for who I am going to vote for. Okay, okay.....McCain....it's not a secret...I am definitely conservative and a Republican. Did you watch the debate and what did you think? I think both candidates did pretty well, but didn't have enough time to really get into issues like they need to. That's the downfall of this debate process! Well, that's our week....it zipped past and now it's almost October! I am glad the weather is getting cooler and I hope to see some fall colors soon. Hope you all had a good week too!

In Our Family, We Expect the Unexpected!!!

It's funny how you never know how each day will go, but I am beginning to think the "norm" for our family is to "expect the unexpected"......especially since little Esther Marie joined our family!

Saturday started out pretty well....nice weather, bagels and coffee (compliments of an early-rising dad), and kids who were in pretty good moods. I woke with a slight headache but nothing I couldn't get over. Everyone ate breakfast, got dressed and off to the library we headed...complete with diaper bags, cameras, etc. I always feel like a "bag lady" these days because we have so much stuff we haul around with us when we go out. Our library was having a fall "Oktoberfest" for the children and I thought it would be something fun to do together as a family. The kids enjoyed music, dancing, activities, food, and crafts. They also had a chance to use a computer for some drawing and they found some books to check out.

Afterwards, we headed to our local botanical garden to have some sandwiches we bought at a nearby place. It's so nice these days that the weather is in the 80s vs. the 90s...what a difference that makes! As we neared the end of our meal, it began to rain so we ditched the idea of walking around the gardens and the lake. Jasper headed home with Joshua and Esther Marie, and our two older girls and I ventured out to an "open house" at a holiday shop. It was fun to look around and sample some of the foods they had, but a little too early for me to take Christmas shopping very seriously. When we finished there, we ended up in a few more shops just looking around and having a good time. I did buy some new glassware because I absolutely couldn't stand the mis-matched, plastic cups on the table any more!

So where is the "unexpected" part of this day??? Well, the kids were laughing and dancing and playing in the den while Jasper and I began to make some dinner for the whole crew. Suddenly, we heard Hannah screaming and literally freaking out. She ran into the kitchen holding Esther Marie....screaming that Esther Marie was bleeding. Sure enough...blood was all over Hannah's hands and arms and the back of the baby's PJ top. She had fallen and knocked her head on a corner of something and was bleeding. Hannah was so upset, bawling her head off, and the baby was not crying at all. That was a bit surreal for sure. I had to double check to see which child was really the hurt and bleeding one! We made a call to the nurse and she arranged for us to go to the after-hours clinic vs. having to head downtown to the ER. That was SUCH a blessing! We arrived at the clinic around 8:15 and finished there around 10:30 p.m. They deadened the back of Esther Marie's head with some cold, gunky stuff....wrapped up her head in a bandage....and then waited for things to get numb. The sweet doctor sewed her up with just a few stitches. The most heartbreaking part was not being able to explain to Esther Marie what was going on. They wrapped her up in a sheet and bundled her up so she was totally immobile while they were working on her. She screamed and cried and it broke my heart! After it was all over though, she was blowing kisses and waving bye-bye. She is getting so used to being at the doctor or the hospital that she now sees the identification band and raises her little leg so we can put it around her ankle...without us even telling her to do so. Esther Marie is SO trusting, unafraid, and SO active, and therefore seems to be much more accident-prone than any of my other children have ever been....yikes!

We never got to eat dinner, so around 11:00 PM we finally stopped somewhere and everyone ate. MaryAlyce fell asleep at the table and Esther Marie ate and ate and ate! I hope she is not going to be a "stress eater" like her mommy! We got most of the kids tucked into bed around 12:30 and Esther Marie fell asleep around 1:30. We had a little scare where she threw up some but we think it was because of all the crying she had done earlier that evening. Nonetheless, we checked her every two hours to make sure everything was okay.

Since we were all "fried" because of our unexpected ordeal, we didn't make it to church today. The kids were disappointed, but we thought it was best to just stay home and take things easy. Esther Marie seems to be acting like her normal, cheerful little self...except she keeps touching the back of her hair that is crunchy from all the gunk they put in it last night. We are not allowed to wash her hair for at least 24 hours, so we will just wait until tomorrow. The stitches should dissolve in about a week, but if not, we will go and have the nurse pull them out to avoid worse scarring.

We just thank God that this unexpected event was not worse than it was and that His mighty hands were around her and protected her the way that He always has!

Tainted Baby Formula In China

Many of you know that since three of my children are adopted from China, sometimes I like to blog about what is going on there. Lately, you might have seen reports about tainted baby formula in China. Some manufacturers are putting melamine in the milk so that it will test correctly and the tests won't show that they have watered down the milk. Now....babies are dying, many children are sick, and parents in China are scared of losing their children! They are even traveling to Hong Kong in search of non-tainted formula!

Please pray this situation will be resolved very quickly and that the criminal people who are putting profits ahead of children's lives will be caught!

Click on the title of this post to watch a video about this issue.

Esther Marie's Hearing Is NORMAL!!!! (We had a great follow-up visit at the Cleft Clinic!)

We had an awesome visit this morning at the cleft clinic, and we are praising God right now! The hearing loss that Esther Marie had was apparently due to the wax and terrible fluid in her ears, and now that all of it has been cleaned out, she is hearing within normal ranges. We are SO happy about this!! The tubes that were put in are clear and those are doing what they should be doing...keeping that bad ole fluid away. We saw the audiologist first thing and that set the mood for the rest of the visit. We were practically doing "the happy dance!"

Next we saw the speech therapist, Ms. Judy, and she explained some speech excercises we could work on with Esther Marie until they test and evaluate her in three months. We have another visit at the clinic on December 11th. Until then, we will work with the early intervention program to improve speech and other issues. Ms. Judy was very happy to learn that we were already hooked up with this program. We got Esther Marie to say "bye bye" to Ms. Judy and she thought it sounded VERY good.

Last, we met with Dr. G....Emmie's surgeon....and he took a look at the roof of her mouth and thought the repair and the healing looked great. She still has stitches visible in there, but by 5 or 6 weeks, they should come out. The stitching under the skin will dissolve and the visible stitching will fall out. He warned us not to be shocked if she handed us pieces of stitching! As far as her food goes, we will continue the softer diet for another couple of weeks just to be safe and then transition her to a "normal" diet.

So how did Esther Marie act and respond during all of this? She did surprisingly well! She didn't cry at all when we went into the hospital or when we were just waiting. When we went back to see the audiologist, she cried when he got too close and when he put things in her ears. Otherwise, she acted normal. She got to sit in mommy's lap while she listened to sounds and that helped. For Ms. Judy, she didn't seem to be upset because there were toys to play with and she wasn't having an actual examination. She played ball with Ms. Judy. For Dr. G, she did get upset and was clinging to mommy for dear life. She was crying while he looked into her mouth, but that actually helped him see in there better. Once that was over and she was sitting back over by dad, away from Dr. G, she perked up again and started to play. She had on her little green sunglasses and Dr. G just loved those. He took a picture of her in them while mommy held her. He had a laser light and teased her with it and they played some games and made faces, squinting their eyes at each other and sticking tongues out! It was pretty funny and soon she was smiling and laughing. We just LOVE Dr. G...he is very sweet and has a great bedside manner and he does great surgery work too!

Esther Marie got to leave the clinic at the hospital feeling good about her visit without crying as she left. She was waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to everyone. It was a GREAT visit and we had a good morning. Many thanks to all of you who were praying for us....for great hearing results and for the clinic visit!! Now we will focus on the intervention program and getting Emmie to say more words. She chatters away at times, so wonder what it will be like when all those little sounds are actually words??? We can't wait!!!

Anxiously Awaiting Solid Foods!

Poor Esther Marie is anxiously awaiting the green light that will allow her to eat solid foods again! It's been FOUR weeks and food that is mushy is getting less and less appealing. It also doesn't really do much to help her pack on some pounds. Someone suggested milk shakes to help with that, but those are not exactly a healthy choice. She still is hovering between 23 and 24 pounds.

Anyway, Thursday morning at 8:00 AM, Esther Marie will see her surgeon and the audiologist. We have been praying for a good report and hope you will join us in those prayers. Hope to have a post-visit report up here on the blog soon. Wow, another week has almost zipped by...have a great Thursday!

MaryAlyce and Words

Last night at dinner, I served some sparkling white grape juice and the kids thought they were so grown up because they were drinking it out of goblets. It was pretty cute. But MaryAlyce (my 6 year old) took a couple of sips and stopped drinking hers. A little later she looked up at me with this sad little face and asked if she had to finish drinking it. Of course I told her "no" and I asked her..."What's the matter...don't you like the flavor?" She replied...."no, I just don't like the way it tastes!" The rest of us had a good chuckle about that and MaryAlyce finished dinner drinking water. Aren't kids and words wonderful???

Does Pretend Play Help Heal Emotions?

This morning, I was in the den with Esther Marie interacting and playing with her. I tried reading to her but she doesn't have much patience for that. It's one of the things we will be working on with the early intervention program...."sitting and attending"....even for short periods. We played with her baby doll, rocking, holding and kissing. We tickled and giggled together too. At some point, she toddled over and got the crayons out and then got a piece of paper. I like it when she shows me what she wants to do. After she had scribbled for awhile, she began pretending that the crayons were "shots." She took a hair band and indicated that she wanted me to put it on the top part of her arm. Then she took the crayon and poked it in the middle of her arm like she was sticking herself with it. This went on for awhile as she did it to herself and then to me. It made me cry watching her as I realized she is far from over the hospital ordeal, and it's still very much on her mind. I understand better why she is still so insecure and wanting to be held much of the time. Perhaps this pretend play will help her work through the trauma in her little head and help heal her emotions!

Gray Days, More Gray Hair...and A Busy Week! (Adoption Reunion Photos Too)

Another week has flown by...a busy one...and almost three months since we brought Esther Marie home. We've had more gray days lately (weather and otherwise)...which reminded me that I have more gray hair lately too! Whew! Now that school has started, I find it harder and harder to get on here to write. Of course, having four children now might have something to do with it. Esther Marie has been more clingy than ever this week, not just shadowing me but wanting to be held much of the time. Thus, bonding is happening but not much else in terms of housework. We don't go out much, but when we do, afterwards, she is more anxious and clingy. We saw this happen on both Saturday and Sunday especially.

I have mentioned before that Jasper is basically working two jobs and has been for quite awhile now. He is working as a consultant for a firm downtown, and he also is doing projects for his own practice. This past week, he was in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday and Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday....working downtown on Monday to prepare for the trips. I was really glad he got in and out of Texas on Tuesday before Hurricane Ike hit!! We stayed tuned to some live feeds online before, during and after the storm since we know a few people who live in Texas, including two of my brothers and their families. I guess I will have many interesting things to recount to Esther Marie about the year she was adopted. Gasoline prices and Wall Street have gone crazy too...but those are topics best saved for that new blog I want to write...if I ever get that one started. Esther Marie HATES it when I get on the computer, even for just a few minutes to check for email! She whines and cries and literally tries to pull me away from it, so I don't get on much while she is awake...unless others are home to distract her so I can.

Thinking about what else has been going on since the last time I wrote.....

• Hannah had a physical last Wednesday so she could be cleared to try out for the 7th grade basketball team. This is required in our state. She has training for two weeks (started today) and then try-outs during the third week. She REALLY wants to make the team.


• Mid-term report cards came home last Wednesday and all is looking well. Two of the kids have a few areas to work on. Math seems to be one of the big ones.


• Esther Marie went with me to her second music class last Thursday and she enjoyed it much more. She was still clingy, but she got down a couple of times and did a little dancing.


• Last Friday, someone from the Early Intervention Program came out to the house to go over Esther Marie's evaluations with us. She tested greater than 25% behind in several areas, so we will be have three different therapists helping her here at home each month...until her 3rd birthday in April. The lady who came wrote up a "plan" for what we wanted to see accomplished. Of course, language is the biggest issue for her right now...the lack of it.


• Jasper and I joined a gym on Friday night! We cannot stand looking at our flabby selves in the mirrors around here any more. It's close to the house and only $10/month for each of us...and the joining fee was only $1.00 that day! They "claim" they will "kick our butts" if that's what we need to get motivated to work out! (haha)


• Saturday, we went to our adoption agency family reunion. The theme was "Around the World in Three Hours." Each child was given a "passport" which was stamped at each station as they traveled around the world (a.k.a. the gym) playing various games and doing activities. This is a once a year event, so it's fun to visit with everyone who comes and check out how the kids have grown. Our children love to be around other adopted children too.


• Joshua attended his second boy scout meeting on Sunday afternoon and he looked SO sharp in his uniform! He had an "inspection" to see that he was wearing it correctly with all the pins and patches in the right places.


• Tonight, I attended "Literacy Night" for MaryAlyce's class at her school. I just love her teacher and think she is right on target about how to teach the children how to be great readers and writers. She really wants to foster a true love of reading. I'm SO happy MaryAlyce is in her class!

Jasper is working at home most of this week on a deadline for one of his own projects. Yippie..he is not going out of town! Esther Marie will see her surgeon on Thursday for her follow-up appointment and her hearing will be tested. I feel anxious about how that is going to turn out. And of course, Hannah is dribbling, dribbling, and shooting her way through this week each afternoon. It may take me longer between posts, but I'll keep you updated about things when I can. Life is certainly more interesting...and challenging...with four children now! Hope you all have a fantastic week!

Late Night Chattering

I can tell I am getting "older" (although they say 50 is the new 40) because I am starting to prefer the 40s and 50s music on my online XM radio stations. Here we are late at night, in the kitchen, having our romantic "his and her" computer time...listening to Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsie, Count Basie, etc. (hmmm..should I be admitting this???) Wow, Jasper and I lead such a romantic and exciting life these days! (laugh) Esther Marie is in the floor playing with much of my plastic ware that she pulled out of the drawer last night. (mental note: install more safety latches) She is having such fun that I wouldn't want to stop her anyway....stacking and unstacking. It's waaay past her bedtime but she had a long, late nap and she is wired. A small flashlight was a microphone to her a few minutes ago and she was just singing her little heart out, holding that "mic" like a little professional.

We had a good time at our church home group last night, but it was SO crowded! Someone said there must be 50 people there, including about 25 children! Our hosts must have nerves of steel because I know I couldn't handle that here at home. It takes a VERY special family to host home group at their house...thank you to them!! It was fun to see everyone in a relaxed social setting...we had a cookout and played games. My children love the chance to run and play with so many other kids. Hannah and Joshua played football outside and MaryAlyce was barely in the house before she had stripped off her clothes and dressed as a princess. Esther Marie stayed tucked in our arms most of the night and finally toward the end, she got down and played in the living room with some of the kids...as things became less hectic. We love going to home group, but it is hard on Sunday night because the kids get in bed later than normal and they have a hard time getting up on Monday morning. We'll have to see how that goes this year with so much going on.

Joshua and Hannah will be doing their usual scouts and have both had their start-up meetings. MaryAlyce begged to join girl scouts also so we went to the meeting at the school last Thursday night...she will be a Daisy. A couple of the mothers are going to be the leaders together and it will be a small group...kindergarten and first grade. I am thankful not to be leading this year because I don't think I could give it enough time to be able to do a very good job, but I'll be very involved with both girls and their scouting activities. Hannah is trying out for basketball this year and that is coming up soon. She decided not to be in band again, and I am going to miss that. I guess that happens at this age...changing interests. MaryAlyce keeps saying she wants to take piano and Joshua is interested in drums, so I'll be checking into that soon.

Well, I better get this little squirmy worm in bed now...Ms. Busy Body! She is using the lids of the plastic containers right now as "shoes" and is scooting around the kitchen in them. So cute! She continually makes me laugh and smile and I just want to "squeeze the stuffing out of her" sometimes! (hehe)

Sweet dreams to all and thanks to those for leaving me a comment recently! Love to hear back from you all!

You Know You Are An Adoptive Mother (or Perhaps You Should Be!) IF:

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has ever made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that "if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child, there would be no orphans in the world" is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real" parents.

7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!)

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken a airplane ride halfway around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You shudder when people say "your child is so lucky that you adopted them", knowing full well you are the blessed one to have them in your life.

13. You know what the word "dossier" means and you can actually pronounce it!

14. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

(Found this on another adoptive mother's blog site...she got it from someone else's site...wanted to share it with you...author unknown.)

Esther Marie is 29 Months Old Today!!

Today, Esther Marie is 29 months old! It is hard to believe we have had her for almost three months. I keep washing sippy cups, wiping bibs, cleaning the high chair and changing diapers almost automatically and then suddenly it will dawn on me....you have a toddler! When you don't carry a child in the womb for 9 months getting used to the idea of another child joining your family, you kinda have to play catch up after the child joins your family. I keep staring at her, my heart pounding, thinking...I have a "baby"! She's not actually a "baby" of course, but she does seem younger because of her lack of language. Esther Marie is an intelligent, meddling little thing and she gets more bold each day about what she chooses to meddle in!! (laugh)

It's been awhile since I have really written much..over a week. Seems like forever! I have been in a strange mood...chalk it up to post-adoption and post-surgery stress. I just needed to check out from some of my normal activities and chill out a bit. Jasper has been very supportive and I really appreciate him!! Now I am feeling better and feel guilty about not keeping up with the blog.

We were just SO happy to get back home after that traumatic emergency room visit and second hospital stay. We enjoyed a nice, quiet Labor Day weekend at home as a family, and I was glad for the time and VERY happy that we didn't travel! It was too soon after the surgery anyway, but packing for six people totally wipes me out and makes trips these days less enjoyable. I do love to travel but (whew!), I'll be SO glad when everyone can pack for themselves! Anyway, the thought of another hurricane in LA and MS put us on edge and we were in frequent contact with family, but everything ended up turning out okay for those we know and love that were at risk...thank God! Mom and Dad lost their phone service for days and when it was finally restored, mother exuberantly announced that the AT&T repairman was her favorite person of the day! Now here comes Ike roaring in, so we will see what happens with that one.

Tuesday, Jasper and I got to take cupcakes during lunch time to Joshua's class to have a belated birthday celebration for him at the school. Esther Marie went with us and we were anxious to see how she would react. She cried when she saw the school nurse in her white lab coat and went running the other way! She is skittish right now when we go places. I am sure she wonders who is going to hurt her this time! (sigh) We are slowly trying to build back up her trust and security. Joshua was happy to see us at school and the kids in his class sang "happy birthday" to him and gobbled up the cupcakes we brought. I know he enjoyed the special attention.

Wednesday and Thursday of this past week, Jasper did day trips to both Florida and Texas. I am sure he feels like he is in some type of time warp when he does that. Those of you who travel can relate, I'm sure. I took the kids to the "Back to School Bubble Bash" at church that night and they had a lot of fun. MaryAlyce moved up to Children's Church now (grades 1-6) and Hannah moved into the youth group....yikes! Hard to believe! Esther Marie stayed with me and we visited with a friend during the "bash." She stuck close! Thursday, we had the little early intervention music class to go to, and Esther Marie was VERY clingy and afraid. When we pulled up and I opened her door, she clung to the car seat straps and cried, not even wanting to get out of the car! I reassured her and we went inside. There were about a dozen kids with their mothers or dads there, and we sang songs and did movements to music. Esther Marie stayed in my lap and arms the whole time, but toward the end she relaxed a little. I think this week, it will be easier for her. Someone asked if I got video, and obviously the answer to that would be "no" since I couldn't get her to unstick herself from me! I didn't even get a picture, but there will be other weeks.

Esther Marie and I stayed home from church today because we have church home group tonight, and we want to take her to that. Jasper and I thought it would be too much for her if we tried to do both today. Hannah helped cook this morning at church for a youth fundraiser lunch, and she was SO excited about that as she left the house, apron in hand! This afternoon, we have girl scouts for two hours and then home group...a cookout and game night. I gotta get to the store for some food! Yikes! Life is constantly busy, that's for sure...even when we just stay home.

There is a follow-up visit with the surgeon, Dr. G, on the 18th, and I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say about how the roof of Esther Marie's mouth is healing. Her finger looks good and her ears are clear now. I pray the tubes work and when she is evaluated by the audiologist that the hearing loss she had will be cleared up and everything will be normal. She is eating great now, still pureed foods, and drinking much better. Dehydration is gone! Esther Marie has lost weight and is just over 23 lbs, but I am hoping once we start solid foods again in another couple of weeks, that she will start gaining.

Well, it's nice to be back...blogging with you! I hope I haven't lost all my readers! Drop me a "comment" and let me know you are still around. I hope you have a blessed Sunday!

Sarah

Good Morning! A Little News and More To Come

Good Morning! I hope everyone is doing well. I haven't written in a few days but will be doing so later this afternoon to let you all know how things are. Hopefully, I will also post a few pics if Esther Marie lets me. She is clingy right now! As I type this, she is laying in the floor fussing because I am not holding her....so this will be very short for now!!

We haven't been out much since the surgery and the follow-up emergency hospital visit. The two times we have been, Esther Marie has not responded very well when we have gotten home. I can really tell her feelings of security are not what they were pre-surgery. That makes me sad but I am trusting God that He will restore that security to her soon.

We have a little music class this morning as part of the early intervention program. I hope that goes well because Esther Marie LOVES music! I'll let you know.

More soon! Sarah