THANKSGIVING WEEKEND RECAP

on Wednesday morning before "school", the kids and I made carmel apples. I did the carmel part and then they got to choose what to roll their apple in...peanuts, sprinkles, choc. chips....they were YUMMY!

sometime during the weekend I decided to let them fingerpaint.
when Andrew asked me "mom -where are the brushes? how do we get the paint on the paper?" I realized that I had NEVER let them fingerpaint before. oh my!!! what a horrible mom!

needless to say -the girls really got into the whole painting thing

Thursday John and Andrew went to play in their annual Turkey Bowl football game and then we all had dinner at my sister's house. We didn't take any pics!! bummer.

On Saturday, a local farm had a free day. Turns out admission was free cuz not much was going on...but still a fun way to spend our morning out in the cool crisp air!

riding thru the hay maze

playing in one of the play yards

the petting zoo was open

It was feeding time for the 7wk old calf -they asked Becca if she wanted to feed him his bottle.....but she got shy and decided she'd just watch. :( I was bummed...I really thought she'd feed him!

I'd say these sheep need to be sheared! look at all that wool!

one of the kids favorite things was this giant slide! I think they did this thing for 30 minutes!

the corn maze

the peach orchard....during peach season, you can come pick your own peaches

all the leftover baby pumpkins

2 family photos -1 on a pile of hay and the one below on the little train that goes 'round the farm.

and 1 cute pic of Becca just cuz.

doesn't she look so "holly*wood"?!

BLOG PARTY GIVE-AWAY -TUTUS FOR OLGA!

My friend Sarah of http://www.arewethereyetla5.blogspot.com/ has been having a blog party all week to raise awareness for the precious kiddos at Reece's Rainbow.

Today's give-away is a tutu made by Olga's Family - http://www.bringingadeleehome.blogspot.com/

You can enter Sarah's give-away to win a tutu...AND you can go to Olga's site and order one for that special little girl in your life. :)

But you have to hurry to enter the give-away!!!

ATTACHMENT GAME

On Monday, Elizabeth and I returned to Attachment Counseling. We had taken a 4 month break due to scheduling difficulties between us and the counselor.

It was a GREAT session. We learned a couple new and fun games to play and I wanted to share 1 of them with you. Even if you don't think your adopted child has any attachment issues -play this with them. Play it with your bio kids! My 3 had THE BEST time playing this!!! Of course it's supposed to be between Elizabeth and I or Elizabeth and daddy...but for the sake of pics and video I used Andrew and Becca. :)

Use a cotton ball or a "puff" ball you can get at a craft store.

There are 2 versions of this game we call Air Hockey:

Version 1: get on opposite sides of a small table. Put puff ball in the middle and put arms up as "walls". Get down to table level and you each have to blow to make the puff move. Encourage eye contact the whole time.

Version 2: Same thing-opposite sides, puff ball in middle...but this time you each get a straw and try to blow the puff around with the straw.

I'm telling you -the kids giggled SO hard they could hardly blow!

Can I just say how glad I am that we have found not only a great therapist, but a great approach to Elizabeth's attachment?

There are 2 schools of thought out there ~1 centers around "holding time" and the other around play -called "theraplay".

I know some people have used holding time and have seen it work..the synopsis of this is to hold the child, usually against their will, and as the child (and/or you) becomes agitated, you can work thru calming down together. I tried this for a few months with Elizabeth and it just didn't work. I read the book over and over trying to figure out what I was doing wrong...and it just didn't work for us.

As soon as we started this "new school" of thought attachment therapy-thera-play, we saw huge strides in Elizabeth. I LOVE that the groundwork for this therapy is play, love and nurturing. All things you would of course do with the "old school" of thought but just without the forced holding.

I LOVE that we leave each therapy/counseling session with new games and tools to use with Elizabeth -and even for Andrew and Rebecca.

I know this is getting long...but can I also say how WELL Elizabeth did?! In the past, the therapy/counseling sessions have been emotionally draining on her and she will instantly fall asleep on our way home (regardless of the time of day) AND she will have a few really ROUGH days following therapy -just too intense for her.

Not only did Elizabeth NOT fall asleep on our way home, she has not had any rough days so far. Maybe a few rough moments here and there...but nothing like before. PRAISE THE LORD!!

We are seeing HUGE strides in her attachment....perfect timing since our dossier should be in Ethiopia by Christmas. :)

OUR LAST WEEK

Girls with the girls, boys with the boys

Last Friday we took the kids out on "dates".
Daddy and Andrew had a special morning and the girls and I had a special morning...since I had the camera, there are no pics of the boys' time -but I can tell you they had a FABULOUS time together. John took Andrew out to breakfast, then to do go-karts and air hockey, and then home to play the Wii.

The girls and I started our day out getting our hands and feet done, then out to a "girly" lunch, then to the local mall's pet store to look at the puppies and kittens (Becca is SUCH an animal lover!).

I think all 5 of us really enjoyed our time!!


Here are a few pics from our girly day.

above -the girls showing off their fingernails, and below -their precious piggy toes

on Saturday, after Andrew's soccer game, we released our butterflies.
For Andrew's b-day, my mom gave him a gift certificate for caterpillars from InsectLore (all you moms -go check it out!). We had little caterpillars delivered about 3 weeks ago...each day they were visibly bigger and bigger...then a week later they made their way to the top of their jar and formed chrysalids -it was SO cool to watch.

About a week later, our 5 chrysalids turned out 5 beautiful butterflies!
We kept them for 2 days in the little habitat above...and then released them on Saturday.

As each one would fly out, the kids would yell out "good bye butterfly! we love you!"

and this was my little missy last night. I've posted her crazy sleep positions before -this girl wiggles around!

Yesterday was our 2nd "skip nap day" in a row so she was awfully tired.

I put the kids to bed and about 7 minutes after walking out of the room I heard a thump or thud -thinking the girls were up playing I hustled to the room to find Elizabeth like this.....just minutes afer I had put her down. I have no idea how she got there SO quickly.

~after snapping the pic I did turn her the "right" way in bed so she could be more comfortable!~

SCARLET THREADS GIVE-AWAY!

Isn't this the cutest apron?!

It's the "Phoebe Apron"...and you can win it!!!

There are several other aprons you can purchase as well.

Where might you ask?

Go check out Scarlet Threads ~ www.scarletthreads.org/index.html for the whole line-up. Scarlet Threads is "a compassionate boutique, specializing in unique aprons designed and produced by talented seamstresses in rural Asia."

If you want to enter the Give-Away-go to the blog post ~ http://blog.scarletthreads.org/2009/11/get-excited.html


**again, sorry for the long links to things...can't figure out why all of a sudden we can't copy/paste into blogger!**

HE HAS A FAMILY!! BUT FUNDRAISING IS STILL GOING ON.

this is Duncan..last week I blogged about him. My friend is his Christmas Warrior and took on the charge to try to raise a $1000 grant for his adoption ALONG WITH spreading the word that he desperately needs a family.

A family has stepped forward for him!! How fantastic is that?!

The fundraising is still going on along with a fantastic give-away.

Hop on over to http://www.arewethereyetla5.blogspot.com/ to see the rules and enter!!!

AFTERNOON AT THE DAIRY

there is a local dairy that has a "free" day every year...this year's free day was today. :)

it's really not much...a few games like toss a ball in a tractor tire, a hay maze, etc...but the kids LOVED it.

you can take a little hay ride and they take you around the dairy -point out where the milking house is, who is in what pen (the dry pen with cows 7-8.5 mo. pregnant, the "about to deliver" pen w/cows in the last 2 wks of pregnancy, etc), a basis synopsis of how the dairy operates, etc.

it was a great way to spend a 2 hours of our afternoon-and really educational for the kids

above and below are the cows in the milking area -above, I believe they've already been milked and are waiting to head back to their pen.

Below-cows being milked as we watched. :)

we spent ALOT of time at the "cows about to deliver" pen. :)

these were all mama cows that were to deliver in the next 2 weeks.
this dairy has 4-6 calves born a day right now.

we saw 4 brand new babies today and 1-2 cows in labor.

we were told this one was in labor. she got up not long after I took this shot so it's not like she was writhing in pain. :) but the kids did keep asking me "mama -is she dead?!"

can you see the little one just above the 2nd yellow bar?

this one HAD TO have been brand new. it's hair was still kinda fuzzy and it's legs were SOOOO wobbly.
poor baby just stood there trembling for the longest time. it was clearly afraid to move lest it just collapse -it was just precious!

I don't know if you can see it in the above pic -you may need to click on it to enlarge it -but you can still see the umbilical cord hanging down on the calf above

this calf is, I believe, the same one as a few pics above -the one we saw that was just trembling as it stood for the first time.....when we walked by this 2nd time, you could hear it moo-ing just a bit...then it walked a few steps, collapsed, and just laid on the ground resting....hard work for a newborn!

mamas licking their newborns

and just as we were leaving, my sister and her kids were coming in. the kids got a big kick out of seeing their cousins so we had to take a group shot.

CAN YOU HELP? even a little bit?! PLEASE! :)

Operation Giggle (http://www.operationgiggle.blogspot.com/) is doing a few things I'm REALLY excited about AND there is an urgency to this need.

Operation Giggle has partnered with our placing agency, YWAM, to provide Christmas for the widows and orphans in their current homes as well as for 25 street boys in Gimbie. You can read about these precious boys here : http://thatwemightbeadopted.blogspot.com/2009/09/street-kids-part-2.html

I DARE YOU TO READ ABOUT THEM!! their stories are heartbreaking.


**I can no longer copy/paste links into blogger! sorry for the long and messy links! have no idea what happened..and, since John is my computer guru and is out of town for the weekend, we'll have to live with it. :) **

anyway -12 of these boys still need to be sponsored for a 1 time gift of $25. If you can't afford $25, could you afford $5 or $10? any little bit you could help with would go towards giving these boys an actual Christmas....they will know they are loved and prayed for by people who don't even know them. Can you imagine what a gift that would be to children who have no-one to love on them???!!!!

The $$ for these boys needs to be received by this coming Friday, the 13th -so there is much urgency to get these boys sponsored.

please consider helping these precious boys out.

Operation Giggle is also partnering with New Day Foster Home in China! If you'd rather give to help get Christmas gifts to China, please consider donating to Operation Giggle's New Day drive. I believe there is a raffle going on for adorable gifts too. :)

and this is Duncan.

My dear friend Sarah is his Christmas Warrior thru Reece's Rainbow.
Sarah is trying to find a family for precious Duncan AND help to raise an adoption grant for him.

Please visit her site at: http://arewethereyetla5.blogspot.com/ to see the rules and specifications of her give-away to help find a family for Duncan AND to help raise an adoption grant for him.

Again, every little bit you could do -donate, tell others, whatever...is 1 step closer to Duncan finding a family instead of being put into a mental institution for the rest of his life.

IT'S ELIZABETH DAY!!

November 4, 2007 we walked into a business room in a hotel in Fujian, China.

With butterflies in my stomach and my heart in my throat, I walked off the elevator, turned the corner and saw my little girl standing with her traveling nanny/nurse at the couch.

The little girl God had placed in our hearts in November of 2005 when we began our process to China was now standing before us.

our first introduction

1st "family" photo

1 scared little girl whose world had just been rocked.


Fast forward 2 years and you have this.

1 happy little girl who is VERY proud to be from China, but who is also securely a part of our family and very happy to be here.

I never know if we should celebrate "Gotcha Day" -Nov. 4th, or Nov. 5th -the day we officially adopted her. This year it's today the 5th. :)

a couple pics of Ellie-bellie with her favorite friends in the whole-wide world. :)

This last year has been SO much better than the first. We are thriving as a family, not just surviving. I think alot of that is due to the fact we were able to identify Elizabeth's issues as attachment related and deal with them head-on.

We are making great strides with Elizabeth. Her episodes of insecurity are definitely fewer, shorter, and further in between than they used to be. Oh -for sure we still deal with stuff daily....but I finally feel like we're able to deal with them properly and thus help Elizabeth heal.


She has come a long way this year in just about everything.

She is best "buddies" with her brother and sister.

She doesn't just play with toys, but also play imaginative things.

She LOVES to draw, color and do crafty things.

Her English has exploded! She is speaking much better now. True, sometimes she is difficult to understand and she doesn't pronounce all her words correctly -but she is getting there.

She LOVES to be outside and we are finding is quite adept at sports related things..swimming and riding her bike are 2 things she has excelled at!

She LOVES to be held and snuggled. :)

Elizabeth -

sometimes the moments in China seems so far away ~ the moment I first saw you, the moment I held you and cried with you, the moment I noticed you asleep on my shoulder...and sometimes they seem like just yesterday.

sometimes I take a step back from our whole situation and am amazed at how scary those first few weeks with us must have been....but how brave you were to come to us and trust us.

sometimes I get frustrated that you still haven't come to the point of fully trusting us and our love for you...but then I am reminded of how much hurt and confusion and sadness you experienced before coming to us. it makes me so sad that even after 2 years, there is still a part of you that you keep at a distance from us.

Elizabeth, we love you.
We love ALL of you -your silly part, your sad part, your mad part, and your happy part. You can try to push us away, but we're not going anywhere! My hope and prayer is that sometime soon, you will be able to fully love us and let us fully love you.....that God will fully heal your heart.

I love you Ellie-bellie.

love -mommy

ANDREW'S 6TH B-DAY -BELATED POST

My baby boy turned 6 on October 14th.

I can't believe he's getting so old! :)

We had a little party for him at home with just us on the 14th, and then the following Sunday we had grandma & grandpa and auntie, tio, and the cousins over.

pics from his actual birthday

getting a kids' pitching machine from John's mom

blowing out his candles



pics from his "big" birthday party

he wanted a "bak*ugan" birthday so he received a few bak*ugans and then I put them on his cake.

the boys found one of Andrew's light sabers. :) Josiah loved it...see the expression on Jeremiah's face? I don't think he was too thrilled his brother had it!

my sister had done french braids in her little girls' hair so while she was here, she did Becca's and Elizabeth's hair the same way. It was TOO cute!

I know this is late, but didn't want Andrew and his birthday left out. :)

Andrew-bug,

I love you so much. You are such a sweet little boy.

I love how much you love your sisters...and how you are always playing with them....even if it's "mommy's and daddy" and not "boy" things.

I love how much you love learning.
You really are a smart little guy and I love seeing you "get" what you are being taught.

Most of all, I love seeing your understanding and love for God grow.

I pray that you will continue to fall in love with your Savior and that you will follow hard after Him ~that you will be a light.

I love you son.

love-

mommy