What was once old, is now new again

Ok, I admit I watched Mr. Rogers every day growing up, and I loved him.  Surfer Dude watched him in his early years, before the show went off air.  We loved Mr. Rogers.  We miss Mr. Rogers.  They just don't have quality TV like this anymore.  This totally rocks!   I think Mr. Rogers would like it.  We need more Mr. Rogers, less SpongeBob.

heartache overwhelming

DOB: 2007

Diagnosis: irritated intestines, gastritis, epilepsy

Gemma was raised by her birth mother until she was 2 years old. At that time, she was placed in an orphanage where she received very little medical intervention or care for her development. She’s now almost 5 years old and weighs just 18 pounds. She is delayed in all aspects of her development and spends a majority of her time laying in a crib. Due to problems with her intestines, she often gets bloated after eating and possibly experiences reflux as well.

Reality sucks sometimes.  It is fact that this child was raised by her birth mother for 2 years before coming to the orphanage.  I don't know what that reality was like for her.  But, truth is, reality at the orphanage is that she is not, and never has, received the attention and medical intervention and just plain old every day care that she needs. 5 years old, 18 pounds.  Why is this ok?  When are we going to step up to the plate and say this is NOT okay?  When are we going to step out of our comfort zone and do something?  This child has 2 months for a family to step up.  Otherwise her file gets sent back, and she remains in a crib.  There are so many, just like her.  I am overwhelmed by the sheer greatness of heartache I have for these children.  www.reecesrainbow.org

Game Ball

It was a bittersweet day.  We had our last T-ball game.  We had a great team this year.  Our coaches were fantastical, and the team parents were a lot of fun to hang around with.  We really enjoyed the games.  The kids had a blast!  They are stoked for next year.  Every game a new player got a game ball.  The coaches were so good at picking out something special each child did that particular game as the "reason" they got that particular game ball.  By the end of the season every kid had gotten the coveted "GAME BALL".  Last game of the season, do you know what our coaches did?  They gave every kid on the team a "GAME BALL".  What a great group of guys.  My kids were so excited.

 As tiring as spending a day at the fields could be, we really enjoyed this baseball season.  I became quite good at making picnics for us to partake in, so we were not spending a fortune at the snack bar.  We had a bag of toys and a blanket for the babe to keep her occupied, as well as bug spray,sunscreen, and cases upon cases of gatorade and juice bags.  We won some, we lost some, we tied lots (t-ball and coach pitch don't keep score).  We ate dust, sat through rain, had our fair share of hotdogs, and spit sunflower seeds.  We cheered, we didn't boo, we clapped, we laughed, we bit our nails with suspense, we volunteered, we coached (even when we weren't supposed to).  It was a good time.  I am grateful for our little league.  Not all little leagues are like ours; I know; we've been in them.  But, we finally found a good one.  And I am so grateful.  It is filled with wonderful coaches, great kids, awesome parents, and wholesome ideas, and the snack bar serves a mean burger - hot off the grill.  Thank you Upper Providence Little League, for another year of fond memories.

Schools out...for the summer!

Well well well.  Another year done.  How we consistently make it through year after year of home schooling baffles me at times.  As my older kids get older and push away looking for that independence, schooling becomes harder and harder.  I want, no, I NEED to give them more independence with their schooling.  Yet, those initials...ADHD, ODD...well, they are naysayers.  They make "independence" a very.hard.word.  It reminds me of the Rudolph cartoon I watched as a kid (and I admit still watch, but now only because my kids want to - sure).  Rudolph and Hermie the dentist, off on their adventure, trying to be "independent".  They get themselves into a lot of trouble, and end up back at Santa's, all working harmoniously together.  My house is not harmonious however.  Homeschooling can and does affect the relationships I have with my children.  And it is not always positive.  I struggle every summer with what I should do in the fall...homeschool/not homeschool.  In the end homeschooling always wins, at least it has for the past 8 years.  Next year I will have an 8th grader, a 5th grader, a 1st grader, a kindergardener and a preschooler, and the babe continues with her 7 hours/week of therapy, that's school enough for a 2 year old.  I feel like we are hanging out here on the island of misfit toys, not yet back at Santa's working and singing and being all joyous and elf-like.  I'm the train with square wheels.  But that train eventually found his way to Santa's sack and made it to a little boy's house on Christmas Eve.  And I am determined to give my children what they need.  Whether that be by private, public, or home schooling method is yet to be seen for the coming year.  But gosh darn it we did it again!  We got through another year.  And my kids are smarter than when they started, and they are happy, and I am still alive, albeit greyer.  Independence is important, but family is what matters most.  We are not an A+ homeschool.  My kids will never be in a spelling B.  We will not graduate from high school at the age of 16.  But hopefully, my children will look back on this with fond memories.  As for now the dog days of summer are calling my name, along with a few hundred loads of laundry.

"Behold, children are a gift from the Lord," -Psalm 127:3

Start with one

Look at this face!  How kissable are those cheeks?  I can't stand it.  This is "Stella".  She lives in a country on the other side of the world.  "Stella " just turned 4.  Same age as my trouble#3.  An absolute wonderful age.  Full of life, fun, and learning.  "Stella" will soon be transferred to an institution. There is no one to kiss those cheeks at night. No one to brush that hair, and adorn it with pretty barrettes and bows.  An institution is not a place for anyone, let alone a 4 year old.  I get so overwhelmed by the absolute hugeness of the orphan problem.  I look at all those faces staring back at me and think, "what can I do Lord?  I'm just a suburban stay at home mom.  I'm no one special."  But then in the stillness and absolute quiet of my prayers I hear "1".  "Look at 1".  In Mark 1:29-30 we read about Jesus healing a leper.  It doesn't tell us Jesus healed them all.  Jesus healed ONE.  So, I'm focusing on 1.  This month my family is focusing on "Stella".  A 4 year old little girl who desperately needs someone to love her.  She needs a mommy to hug and kiss her, and a daddy to make her his princess.  We will be saving our excess change and donating it to her adoption fund.  We will be praying for her daily, that she would be healthy and well cared for, and that her family would find her.  That those cheeks, those beautiful, fantastical, loveable, squeezable cheeks would be kissed, more sooner than later.  "In the same way your Father in Heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish" -Matthew 18:14

   June is also HIV awareness month.  Check out www.projecthopeful.org.  What an awesome organization.  I can't say enough about the Twietmeyer family.  I want to be like them when I grow up.  Please support this organization.  Learn it and then pay it forward.  Truth is contagious.

Take Me Out To The Ball Fields

This spring has been crazy hectic busy around here.  We have 4 kids on 3 little league teams. Trouble x2 and x3 are on t-ball this year.  What a hoot.  Troublex3 just stands around and smiles.  Always smiling.  He even got the game ball one game for being the happiest player (and trying to switch hit).  Trouble x2 thinks she is ready for the major softball league, and gymnastics, and the swim team, and the equestrian team, and the Russian ballet trop, and college.  She did really enjoy herself, focused so intently on looking like she knew what she was doing. We had AWESOME t-ball coaches!  I am hoping they continue to coach through the years, and at the different levels.  It was a good team, lots of fun. Trouble x1 was in coach pitch.  Not my favorite, but I go and show my support.  Cheering and yelling from the sidelines.  They can be some slow moving games.  They know enough to not be as cute as t-ball but not enough to make it very exciting.  Still, by the end of the year we had kids actually making catches in the infield, throwing kids out and hitting without the tee.  Trouble x1 has no problems slugging the ball.  Very first game he gets up and hits a double.  And being Ethiopian, he is fast (not that all Ethiopians are fast, troublex3 is certainly not, but x1 is wicked fast!).  Catching, well, we needed some help.  At one point the ball hit him and gave him a bloody nose, another game it knocked a tooth loose (baby tooth thankfully.  Tooth Fairy was on high alert for the next 24 hours).  He is determined however.  He goes outside and practices every day.  With only 2 games left he has gotten much better.  Next year he'll move on to machine pitch.   And the excitement will build all over.  Hot dogs from the snack bar, playground friends, games under the lights, entire days spent at the fields, picnics, and dusty clothes.  Hopefully we won't have white pants.  White pants and little league just. don't. mix.

Life lived normal

So we had a friend from church come stay with us for a few days.  "Mr. T. " falls on the autistic scale, has Asperger's, and possible RAD.  After I had said yes to having him stay I started hearing all the horror stories of things he had done at other houses.  I panicked, "What had I agreed to?".  I had anxiety for days.  Having my car rear ended didn't help any.  So, he shows up.  He runs constantly, set off the alarm at our YMCA because he ran through a door that was off limits (he's extremely impulsive), knocked all the cereal boxes off of the shelf at Target, refused to put his seatbelt on until I pulled over, and stopped, and refused to drive anywhere, he sat on Trouble #1's head, blamed EVERYTHING on my kids, put our cat in the dryer (twice), and then proceeded to teach said cat how to jump on the trampoline, he banged his head on the floor for self soothing so hard it literally shook our house.  And this was just the first day.  But you know what?  We had a great time!  The first night he stated he didn't hug, kiss or any of that (but I could say prayers...if I wanted).  By the end he was letting me carry him around, come up behind him and hug him, and kiss him goodnight along with our prayers.  Did he drive us nuts?  Yes, occasionally he did.  Don't all kids on occasion?  Bottom line...he's just a little boy who needs to be loved.  He needs patience, forgiveness, love unconditional.  That's how I am with my Heavenly Father.  Boy, am I obstinate at times!  Yet, Jesus loves me.  He's patient, He forgives me, and He loves me unconditionally.  Even when I run away not listening through the door with the big red sign that says DO NOT ENTER.  I can see the angels now, all having anxiety attacks because I've set off yet another alarm due to my impulsiveness and stubbornness.  Yet God gently guides me back, calms those heavenly hosts whose wings are all aflutter, and points me in the correct direction.   Mr. T., you are welcome back to my house anytime.  You are a joy.