Instant Grits?

Here's a sweet pic of Esther Marie that I wanted to share with you. She is wearing this cute hat that Hannah (now 12) used to wear at about the same age. I bought it at a store called Cracker Barrel (common in the south). So why does it say "Instant Grits" on the hat? Well, grits are something southern people love to eat, so "GRITS" became an acronym for Girls Raised In The South. And my girls are totally southern.....accent and all!

Sorry it has been a week since I have posted. Last week was unreal as far as schedules and activities and we went to visit grandmother on Friday for the weekend. Now home, I hope to catch up and post more cute photos.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon.....leave us a comment and let us know what your plans are. (Probably no one will, but I keep trying to prompt people to interact with me more on this blog! smile)

A "New" Room for Esther Marie

This weekend, we cleaned up and rearranged MaryAlyce's room. She is our six year old. I am always amazed when I tackle the kids' rooms because I find the most bizarre objects stuffed into the most unlikely places! Try to figure out a kid's mind!

So why the major clean-up and re-do? Well, we were making room for Esther Marie in there. MaryAlyce and she are going to be sharing a bedroom. Thankfully, it is the largest of the three kids' rooms. Up until last night, Esther Marie has been in her little baby bed in our room. I just needed her close during the first few months she was home. She is sleeping through the night now, and it is a good time to transition her to her "new" room.

Last night (Sunday), was the first night Esther Marie slept in her "new" room, and it went exceptionally well. First, I let her play in the room for awhile and then told her it was "night night" time. The glider rocker we have had since Hannah was a baby hasn't been used much since MaryAlyce was little. Since Esther Marie will now let me cuddle her more, I tried rocking her to sleep. With soft nature sounds playing in the background, I rocked and sang and she fell fast asleep in my arms. It is interesting to note that she usually doesn't like being held in the laying down position, but she let me do that while I rocked her.....and it thrilled me! Today went just as well when I rocked her to sleep for her nap. (Keeping my fingers crossed...so far, so good.) When I just try laying her down in her bed, she gets anxious and cries. I know it must feel funny to her to be in a different room after over four months in our room. She has not spent much time in this new room up until now. Eventually, we will have bunk beds for the girls...but for now, we will make do with what we have.

Wednesday morning at 10:00, we have our first home study appointment since we brought Esther Marie home. The social worker will come out to our house and check things out. Before the year is up, we will have three home study visits (post-adoption). I believe two of the three visits are required by China and the other one by the agency. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Our children are out of school tomorrow for Veterans' Day. What are your plans?

Friday Was Parents' Night Out...Yippie!

Last night, Jasper and I had a date, although not a totally childless one. We took the children to a "parents' night out" at a local church from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The church hosts this once a month during the school year, and we have taken the kids there many times. We took all four children in October and Esther Marie went to the teacher in her classroom without looking back. This worried me because of the bonding I was trying to build with her. Jasper and I needed some alone time together really bad so we left her that night. Well, when we took Esther Marie inside the church last night, she seemed to be really excited...UNTIL...she realized that we were NOT staying with her. She started screaming at the top of her lungs. I got Hannah to go in the classroom with her and thought her presence would work it's magic, but no luck. When I stepped out of the room again, she screamed and cried even louder. Okay...at that point, I decided she would go on the date with us! She's a good kid and did really great, charming guests and staff members alike at the restaurant. I was wishing for total alone time with Jasper for a few hours, outside of the house, but knowing Esther Marie was showing true signs of permanent bonding made me totally happy! We'll see how next month goes.

Our whole family had a relaxed day at home today. We have a very busy week coming up and so we were getting the house straightened up and some laundry done, etc. Jasper is finishing up a project and worked on that for awhile. The older kids helped me with Esther Marie and some housework. I am feeling better now after being sick but the cough is still not gone. Guess that is going to take some time.

I posted a slide show of some photos from Esther Marie's last Kindermusik class, so take a look when you have some time. (see below)

Hope you are having a good weekend and staying well!

Esther Marie in Kindermusik Class

Esther Marie's Progress...31 Months Old

Esther Marie turns 31 months old today. I had her weigh this morning and she was 26.2 lbs. on our scale. Yesterday she was about 27. I know weight fluctuates but that seems like alot for a "little bit" like her. She has a great appetite and eats quite a variety of foods. The only thing I have real trouble getting her to eat is meat, like chicken and fish. I think she doesn't really like the texture. If I help her, she ends up eating some of it.

Her early intervention appointments are going very well and she is progressing with language and motor skills. She still is way behind where she needs to be, but overcoming the cleft palate issue (even after surgery) and the language is going to take some time. She will probably be around 4 to 4 1/2 before she catches up to where she needs to be.

Our goal (for now) has been to get her to learn new words and to say them as clearly as possible. She went through a two to three week period of refusing to say much, but now she is back on track and repeating most of what we ask her to. Clarity...that is another issue, and it should improve with age and therapy. At her speech therapy appointment on Monday, she showed off quite a bit. She did puzzles and repeated color names. Our "homework" assignment is to offer her choices and to try to get her to pick which item she wants and to say the word......juice or milk, cracker or cookie, etc. She doesn't understand choices yet, but this should help.

She still is daring and wants to try things she is not ready to do! She doesn't seem to get it that throwing herself off of furniture can hurt her. After a cracked collar bone and a split open head, we are watching her more closely now than ever. A neighbor yesterday said not to be surprised if she calls me one day when she is older and tells me she is getting ready to jump out of an airplane! (laugh) Makes me wonder what she will be when she grows up! All this movement is helping to strengthen her mid-section and her thighs. Both were weak from being in a baby bed for too many hours per day. We figured she probably never really crawled and that skill is weak so we encourage her to do that to strengthen muscles.

Esther Marie's bonding with the family is going great! She seems to be pretty attached to me and won't just let anyone pick her up any more. We went to that birthday party a couple of Saturdays ago and twins' mom wanted to pick her up and Emmie refused. That made ME happy! She now "frets" when I leave the room and she doesn't go with me. This may not sound like a good thing, but it is. She loves her daddy a whole bunch too and that bond is stronger. She is especially thrilled with our other three children and has gotten into the habit of hollering out their names, looking for them when they are away at school. When we drive up for pick-up from the elementary school, she squeals with delight when she sees Joshua and MaryAlyce coming toward the car. She copies EVERYTHING that they do, or tries to...and it is very sweet.

We are very pleased with her progress and look forward to sharing more with you as time passes. It is amazing the changes that can be seen in a child once they are receiving love, attention and nurturing. We are very blessed to have her as part of our family!

Music Class and the Thrift Store

Esther Marie and I have been going to a weekly Kindermusik class for several weeks now, and today is our last day for this session. We have been able to participate for FREE (there's that word again that I like) through the Early Intervention Program she qualified for. Another class starts in January and we will be ready to start back...it's been fun! Ms. Tammy is the teacher, and she is really great with names and welcoming all the children to class. The kids sing, dance, clap, rock, listen and play. I like how it is so interactive between the child and the parent. It's mostly moms but dads have shown up too. Although I will admit that one week Jasper thought he might have to go instead of me and he was groaning. I'm sure a room full of preschoolers and their moms is not the ideal hang-out for dad! If you have a preschool aged child, I recommend this program.

After music class, Emmie and I are headed to our new favorite thrift store. They give 100% of their profits to missions and we like that very much. We are taking our first load of donations since we are trying to do some "spring cleaning" of the house...just in the fall! I hope I can get more stuff out of here before the holiday decorating begins!

Thrift stores, yard sales or eBay...which do you use to get rid of your unwanted items? Drop us a comment and let us know.

A Historic Day After The Presidental Election

Since I was talking about getting out to vote yesterday, I thought I should make a blog entry the "day after" about the new President-Elect....Barack Obama. This is not the man we voted for, none-the-less, he will be in our prayers as he begins even now to make plans to lead this great country. I pray he will seek God as he leads our country over the next four years.

On another note, the stock market took a major dive....486 points. If electing Mr. Obama is such a great thing, what gives? I know it is a very complex issue and people are worried about the economy and their wallets, but this was pretty surprising to me. If he is the "savior" for the United States, I thought the market would soar way UP today.

Jasper tells me that gasoline in our area is $2.25/gallon and that makes me VERY happy! I hope it will stay low like that during the holiday travel season. Am I just whistling "Dixie" to wish that? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think the prices will do over the next couple of months.

One last note on this post....I have a VERY tender-hearted, six-year-old daughter who cried and cried because Mr. Obama was elected. But why? Because he does not take a pro-life stand. In this house, that is important to us! It amazed me that she was so passionate about that and cared so much! Mr. McCain...you have one precious little girl in our family who is your supporter all the way...and campaigned to make sure her mom and dad were going to vote for you. It worked...we did! We are sorry you were not elected!

GOOD LUCK MS. TERRI AND THE SCIENCE CLUB WITH THE PANDA CONTEST!

WE LOVE PANDA BEARS!

The outpouring of love and generosity just doesn't seem to end and is always continuing to bless Esther Marie and our family! Tonight, I found an entry in the guestbook that I wanted to share with you:

Hello Esther Marie and family. Just wanted you to know that our Science Club has started selling Pandas for Esther Marie to help raise some money to help Mommy and Daddy pay some of those doctors bills. We're having a contest here at our school to see whose TA class can collect the most Pandas. Wish us luck. (Miss Terri from OSMS)

Well, Miss Terri and the Science Club, we do wish you GOOD LUCK WITH THE CONTEST, and we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts! Please keep in touch and let us know how things are going. Hopefully, you will get to meet sweet Esther Marie before too long when we visit her Uncle Patrick.

God Bless You All !!!

Our Kids Say The Funniest Things!

We get a lot of laughs around here because of things the kids say which are cute and/or funny. Sometimes we are almost rolling in the floor laughing. So I thought I would share something funny each of our three oldest children has said lately:

MaryAlyce.....

Joshua and MaryAlyce had their school photos made awhile back and when I got the proofs, I didn't like them that much, so I signed them up to get their pictures re-taken. Last Friday was the day, and we got up earlier than normal so I could help Joshua and MaryAlyce with their clothes and hair. Once satisfied and having given the normal motherly instructions not to get all messed up before they had their pictures taken, I shooed them out the door. MaryAlyce was hanging back hesitant to leave so I asked her what was the matter. She said...Mommy, if we are having our "make-up" photos done, don't we need to put on our "make up" before we leave?? I just had to hug the stuffing out of her before I explained to her quickly what "make-up" photos were!!

Joshua.....

We have been talking about political issues around here quite a bit and the dinner table seems to be our best forum for that. I love family meal time! Tonight the subject of "abortion" came up, and I was preparing to explain it to the kids. Joshua looked particularly puzzled, so I asked him if he knew what that was already. He said "yes" and proceeded to explain......"Well, no offense, Mom and Dad, and I don't think it will happen to you, but if you decide to split up, then you would be getting an "abortion." Ummm....wrong word, sweet Joshua.

Hannah.....

I made a doctor appointment for Hannah recently and told her about it. When her Dad arrived home from work, she decided to fill him in about the appointment. "Hey Dad....Mom will be taking me to the "taxidermist" soon because I am going to have that mole on my back taken off.

Are you smiling yet? I sure am! Thank God for the comical relief we have in our family!

Do you have a funny "word story" to share? Please leave us a comment.

Election Day "Freebies"...Get Them While You Can!

There are a few places in our area giving away "freebies" on Voting Day! Who? Chic-Fil-A (their regular fried sandwich), Krispy Kreme (one plain donut), Ben and Jerry's (a single cone) and Books-A-Million (a cup of coffee). There may be others in your area. After we voted today, it was lunch time so we headed for Chic-Fil-A. We had to ask for the sandwich, but once we did....it was FREE! (lettuce and tomato extra) I just LOVE free stuff with a family this large. Anyway, thought I would just mention it here and encourage you to get out and vote. The places giving away the free stuff are not allowed to discriminate between voters and non-voters, so head for the free stuff even if you don't vote. Our voting place (a church) was a breeze..there was no wait...but that was about 11:30 this morning. I hope all of you don't have too long to wait! Drop us a comment and let us know if you found more Election Day Freebies. Have fun!

Presidential Election Day...A Historic Event...and Esther Marie's First (although not quite old enough to vote)

Happy Election Day! I hope you are planning to get out and vote. Although I say "happy," I guess for some it will be happy and for some, not so happy...depending on the outcome. I am just HAPPY that the political ads and the political phone calls will STOP!

This is one more historic event that has been going on during the year that Esther Marie was adopted and became a U.S. Citizen, so she will have a lot to look back on when she gets older and is interested....wacky ups and downs in the stock market, soaring gasoline prices, recession to borderline depresion in the economy, and this Presidential election.

The kids are off to school now and we have our coffee brewing and our voter guide out. Jasper got back late last night from a Florida day trip, so the 7:00 AM voting time was not so appealing. Hopefully after many people are at work, the lines they are anticipating will be shorter and we won't have that long to wait. I am thankful we are in the south and the weather will be warm today. My dad is working the polls in the state where he lives, so it will be interesting to get the scoop from him later about the crowds there.

Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin.......which one will be the new team? I guess by tomorrow morning, we will all know for sure....unless....there are more "hanging chads" this year! (haha)

Get out and vote....your vote does count! Have a blessed day!

From China to Chic-Fil-A....Best Friends Meet Again

Here's a sweet photo of Esther Marie, Emerson, and Amy in the Chic-Fil-A play area. We met for lunch and then the girls (and the moms) had fun playing and getting to know each other. This was Esther Marie's first time to crawl through the tunnels and come down the big slide. I was trying to get more photos uploaded at one time, but the uploader keeps crashing, so I will switch to Flickr and get a slide show going for you soon. We are looking forward to our next play date!

Friendly & Helpful / Honest & Fair......These Daisys Work Hard to Earn Petals 1 & 2!

What does it mean to be a good helper? MaryAlyce, Mary Virginia and Juliet talked about this and listened to a story told by me about "brownie helpers." They learned that they should be good helpers at home without being asked all the time by their moms and dads. They are showing off their "helping hands" pictures which they made.

MaryAlyce, MaryVirginia, and Juliet worked on a craft to earn one of their Daisy petals. They traced their hands, wrote their names on them, and then shared their helping hands with each other. They also got little papers they cut out that say .... A Daisy Girl Scout Helper Was Here. The girls signed their names on each slip and when they do a good deed for someone (without being asked!), they can leave one of the little paper to let someone know they helped.

I was leading the meeting this night and decided to teach the girls how to share "fairly" in a concrete way. Treats....what a motivator! MaryAlyce and I picked up a few fun items from the dollar store and filled a little basket. The girls had to figure out how to divide up all of the items in a fair way...and include the three girls who were unable to be at the meeting on this night. They created take-home, goody bags filled with erasers, candy, cookie cutters, headbands and pennies. They did a good job dividing things up!!

Happy November!

Well, once again life has bowled over me with all the activities that have been going on, and I have let more than a week pass me by since I posted last. Actually, I have been sick this week and that has made things more difficult. I feel like I have washed my hands a million times and they are very dry at this point. I am trying to keep the kids from catching whatever I have....so far, so good. So what is it? Not sure...cold, bad cough, something. I just wish it would go away! Of course, life continues...even when mommy is sick and the show must go on.

My lunch a week ago Friday with little Miss Emerson and her mommy was postponed until this past Monday. They had gotten a last minute appointment for early intervention evaluation and that was a very important appointment to keep. Kids born with cleft lip and palate definitely need some speech therapy very soon after their first palate surgery. Esther Marie has been in a program for several weeks now and I am very happy to learn that Emerson is now plugged in to a program as well. It was great fun meeting them and the girls seemed happy to see each other. We are not sure if they recognized each other from the orphanage though. We met at Chic-Fil-A and the girls enjoyed playing in the indoor play space. Ummm...the mommies enjoyed it too. Esther Marie dragged Emerson's mother through the climbing structure first and then I ended up going in too! Let me just say, at this point, that those little spaces were NOT meant for someone who is 5'8" tall! Whew!!!!!!!!! When I was coming down the slide with Emmie, I was basically laying down on my back so I wouldn't get stuck. That was my first and last time in there! We had a good time laughing, talking and getting to know each other and I hope we get together again soon.

Last weekend was a busy one with MaryAlyce attending an indoor swimming party for twin girls that go to her school. It was the most fun swim party we have ever been to. Joshua and Jasper went to Camp Haunted with the Boy Scouts and had a blast. It was cold but they toughed it out and made it home without any frostbite. This weekend, we were supposed to be visiting grandmother (out of town), but because I am sick, we had to cancel the trip. Needless to say, the kids were not very happy about that. They love traveling and visiting grandmother. We will have to plan that trip again soon. It will be Esther Marie's first time to meet her paternal grandmother.

Well, between washer loads of sheets and towels, I wanted to sit and write a bit. More soon and hope you all are well this fall season. Happy November 1st!