Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Tuesday, September 25, 2007



Notice the date on the camera is messed up another causualty of having so many helpers :) Wild Mike loves frosting but isn't quite sure what to do when busted by Mom!

Isn't this how everyone dresses??

About to take flight!



Wouldn't it be great to be a real pincess!! She sure dresses the part :) Having my own personal cheerleader sure helps out on long days!!


Friday, September 21, 2007

a little crazy even for us...

So I started this cool blog (hehe) then haven't posted for awhile. I am now receiving emails asking what is going on. How about an update?? Shall I say our fans are restless.... Just remember you asked for it. The last couple weeks have been very hectic, crazy, shall I say stressful even for us... So I decided to post an update so you all can get a glimpse of what we have been up to.

On a grander scale the past year has been a huge adjustment for us ALL. Lets just say pretty much everything we were told about our last adoption, the children we were adopting, and the journey was a BIG FAT LIE. Not siblings, not sweet innocent starving orphans, not 10 & 11, not wanting to work hard for a better life..... We have had the joy :( of talking with many government agencies, we had hoped to never meet in our lifetime... as they are looking into these fraudulent Liberian adoptions. So along with all of this we have been dealing with severe lying and dangerous behaviors from our newest additions.

About 2 weeks ago Q made some very serious life threatening decisions. She returned (yes returned) to the hospital in GB to get help for another week. This was followed by an enormous amount of phone calls: social workers, police, lawyers, uscis.....

In the midst we had 2 volleyball games, 2 football games, daily practice, I teach at church Wednesday nights, 2 babies with 104.4 fevers, a very sick Daddy, Q returning home, A, J, S, Wild Mike, & Princess struggling with her return and fear ( especially after seeing her last escapade). This was also all amidst the beginning of our school year, 3 orthodontia appointments ( yes we need 2 full sets of braces), news that not all our children's immunizations had not formed antibodies so he had to be tested to make sure he had not contracted one of diseases brought home from Liberia (one that we were told neither of our Liberian children had before adopting them, so somewhere on the airplane between the US and Liberia all this sickness grew in their bodies hmmm). He did not contract it (YEAH) so now he is getting his immunizations again. Note to parents just because a child gets the immunization does not mean they are immune...

We also found out one of the illnesses S brought home is now chronic we will go see a specialist at Children's Hospital with in 2 weeks to find out if or what treatments might help him or what options we have.... That is an overview there really were more bumps and bruises along the way.. Believe it or not we actually did get school accomplished to! And i still am blessed with the best husband in the world... We are a team!!!

Now we are trying to just move on and praying Q will actually start really trying so she can stay with us. We do believe in miracles here!! But it is not a good sign when a child really enjoys hurting others and thinks it is funny. Please just pray for us all... Mommy and Daddy are a little tired ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Just another day!

Ok, Everyone of you seem to think I am crazy so here is a glimpse into our day! So many times people ask 6 kids and you homeschool how do you get it all done. I don't remember every saying I do. I certainly don't, but there are a few things we got done today. The day started with a tired Mom sneaking in a shower before the natives awoke. I even got to smooch my sweetie goodbye :)

Well I tried to catch up on a few bills before all the craziness began and managed to get the receipts scattered about entered in Quicken and transfer amount ready. Then A woke up, she came right to the classroom to start school. J was awake reading Garfield in his room listening to tunes. Then Princess awoke and insisted Mommy comes to her and gets her dressed in pink clothing. S & Q then followed making sure to argue and cause a few fights along the way. So everyone got some cereal and vitamins. S & Q emptied the dishwasher. J fed the animals and brought the dogs up by the house. A helped with the little ones. Oh yeah Wild Mike hopped (literally) into the classroom.

We then started school at 8:30. Everyone got started and was getting Math done, and I was sure this will be a productive day. I even had kept the ringer off so we could really concentrate. I already have a message flashing... I ignored it to keep this good thing going. A yells Mom," Kiowa is gone! " " Oh no honey she is out there J brought her up." "No she's not!" as she hands me her collar with the tags on! So it appears Kiowa needs a smaller harness. I said “J watch Wild Mike, Q stay in your desk and work, A get dressed.” S was in his room doing school so I walked around outside and I could hear a chicken squawking and knew Kiowa was near. I found her behind the barn eating a live chicken. Ewww! I was just about to grab her and here comes J (trying to help) with Blitzen (our other dog, I don't know maybe to sniff her out) as soon as Kiowa saw them, she took off.

I decided to chase her in the truck, after getting Q and buckling the little ones, while chewing J’s butt (no not literally). I chase her down the road to the neighbors while we watch her almost get hit by a semi in front of us. Princess was screaming, "I love my Kiowa, I don't want her to die!" Kiowa stopped at the neighbors to fight with their dog (just like my kids can't pass by a good fight), so we grabbed her. She has never snapped at us but there is something scary about grabbing a fighting dog by the fur on her neck kind of makes you feel like you just might wet your pants. Pulling her by the fur on her neck J in mob style forced her in the truck, which now needs to be vacuumed. Anyways she is in need of a smaller harness this one she obviously can get out of. So we got her back where she belongs and emailed Dad to please pick up a smaller harness for her. Well now we needed to finish Math, Literature, and Language arts. I also need to get lunch going. Princess wanted to play on her computer, I got A going on the computer she worked until lunch. J found anything to do except school.

During lunch Princess and Wild Mike decided a little music was in order, they drug out all the metal bowls and spoons to start banging. After about 5 minutes A had enough so she convinced them Roo (from Winnie the Pooh) uses wooden spoons they work much better. They agreed with one problem-Wild Mike is a BOY and it is physically impossible for him to hold a wooden spoon (in his mind big stick of wood) and not hit someone. It is like J trying to do home work in a room with the television on; some galactic force causes such a strong force field you physically can not control it. So maybe 10 seconds later Princess is screaming and Wild Mike is walking himself to time out.

After lunch, clean up and more school. I have to send and receive faxes from the orthodontist so no online school (uses the same phone line from our speedy quick Dial-up connection). I have a few teacher conferences to set up and a car pool to arrange. Still teaching! So now I am trying to get A to get ready for Volleyball in the mean time. Wild Mike breaks the child locks in the kitchen to dump out a gallon of oil (yes the whole gallon, along with his red juice). I walk in the kitchen J is crying “my glasses are ruined.” Wild Mike is rolling around like a greasy little pig. Toys are all over!!! This is when I wish those Calgon commercials were real or I really had bonbons stashed somewhere. Ok Wild Mike, time out. J, Mom can get the oil off. Done! Princess and Wild Mike bathe. Kitchen floor washed. Rugs in laundry I started earlier today. Ok A are you ready! Oh you decided to make gatorade and there is red powder all over the table and your hands hmmm. Let’s go, I know Wild Mike will fall asleep on the drive to drop A off at practice :) So we are on our way as I look down to realize I am still covered in oil. And it is not even 3:00 yet. I still have supper to make, laundry to finish, toys to clean, apples to pick, a truck to vacuum, a boy to go to football, ...... You get the picture..

So lessons learned today:
1: Dogs like chicken too. Enough to sneak out of a harness and chase it down
2: Even a dog can't pass up a good fight why should I expect kids to
3: Even with a refrigerator full of food, some children can see there is nothing to eat
4: There is no child lock made that Wild Mike can't break
5: Somehow school gets done
6: There is no lesson like life
7: No matter how many clothes they have, some kids never have anything to wear
8: Carpools are awesome! I now drive 5 times instead of 15 :)
9: Canola oil gives your hardwood floor a nice shine
10: Homemade Gatorade shows the plaque on your kids teeth easy to see who didn't brush
11: Pickles stick to the ceiling a few seconds before falling
12: I need some chocolate!