Rainbows…

With all the storms we have had this spring, we have had some very beautiful rainbows. Last night was no different. I got some pictures… lets see if they come through okay…

 

Leah and her cousin Livia dancing in the rain…

Little boys playing in the puddles…

As the storms in life hit over and over, I am so thankful for rainbows in the midst… and I am thankful for learning to play in the rain…

It was kind of funny last night. Leah and Livia were out dancing in the rain. From the house we could not see if there was a rainbow, the woods blocks the view. In order to see if there was a rainbow we would have to go out toward the road and see it. There were a few of us on the porch, it was still raining lightly, but the storm had past. The girls yelled that they could see a rainbow! Without too much hesitation I ran out to see… my sister, Ben , and my dad hesitated a little more than I did, so I got out there first. When I turned to see the “rainbow” it was just beginning to form and you needed to use your imagination to see it! I yelled to them as they were running through the rain and puddles… ‘GO BACK, IT’S NOT WORTH IT!!” We all got a big laugh and very wet!

Later, they told us again that it was back! I hesitated a little more after that to go back into the rain to see! It was brighter that time though. And I took the pictures above.

This blog is kind of like those rainbows. The storms aren’t always what is being given the focus. The rainbows are. Most of the people who read this know about the storms. Maybe a few don’t. I don’t want to give a false impression of who we are… Our storms have been hard, large, and still raging… so thankful that God sends rainbows, teaches us to dance in the rain, and provides shelter from the storms... many times there is damage that needs to be cleaned up in the aftermath... like one storm we had not long after Rick* left us...

We lost 3 trees, 2 Huge ones, they went over the road and the removal took many hands to clean up... The trees looked great on the outside, but inside they were hollow and rotted out... much like our lives had been. The trees have long been cleaned up, but they are still gone. In their place where one was you would never have known a tree was there. Where another was you have to look close to see where there was a tree. But, where the third one was the grass just hasn't come in for us. There are still many bald patches of ground, weeds, and it looks very obvious that something happened there.

While storm was much simpler to clean up than the emotional one that hit about that same time... we are still cleaning up from that one, and may be for the rest of our lives... much like that literal storm though, some of us are doing better with it than others. Some of us it is obvious that something happened to us, while others you would probably have to dig beneath the surface aways to know that a traumatic experience occurred.

God HAS sent us so many rainbows in the midst... He HAS taught us to dance in the rain... He HAS been our shelter, protecting us from the storms... but it is still raining...

Psalm 121 (HCSB)

The LORD Our Protector

A song of ascents.

1 I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.

4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.

5 The LORD protects you;
the LORD is a shelter right by your side.

6 The sun will not strike you by day,
or the moon by night.

7 The LORD will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.

8 The LORD will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.

*Not his real name.

Father’s Day…

I have the best dad in the whole world… sorry… but it is true!  My dad has been the best all my life, but in these past 3 years, he’s stepped to the plate beyond anyone’s expectations!!  He not only is a great dad to me he is also a great grand-dad to my 6 kids… here are some pictures of them…

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY DAD!!!!  So glad my kids get to have you in their lives!!  You are a true gift from God to us!!!  Thanks for all you do!

VBS…VIRUS…SPF…ER

Curious???  This should be a long, interesting one…

Last night we finished 2 weeks of VBS (Vacation Bible School).  Yes, 2 weeks.  It’s long, but it is fun!  Always tiring and always good!  Six other teachers and I had 35 8th graders for their final year of VBS. 

Last weekend my computer started popping up, first these messages telling me that my computer was not protected from viruses.  Then telling me that it had run a scan and we had 398 viruses on our computer.  In order to remove these viruses I needed to pay $49.99. 

My computer normally warns me when my subscription for virus protection is about to expire.  I hadn't noticed any of them come up. 

This would not leave me alone.  Each time I used the computer I was reminded over and over by their pop ups that I was in danger of losing files, etc. 

Then, I was sitting at the computer doing some searching with my kids for some fun things that we could do this weekend.  I typed in “Indiana water parks” and PORN flashed on my screen multiple times, but only for a second each time!!!  I SCREAMED!!  Sent the kids away from the computer!!  Shut it down!!  And took it to the repair shop!!

For $40 they cleaned up my computer.  They informed me that it was a scam that is being run, telling people that they have all these fake viruses and need to pay all this money to have them removed.  The porn evidently was also a nice little virus.

So, that left me without a computer for the week!  It wasn’t all that bad of a thing to happen to me!!  With VBS and SUMMER in full force, we went swimming a couple of days and got our first (second if you count Spring Break) of the year!

Jadon… I LOVE these life jackets from Land's End.  They look like they are now in the overstocks!  I hope that they keep making these.  They zip in the back, and my little acrobats have not gotten out of them yet!!  YIPPEE!!  Much more relaxing to go to the lake and swim with these on them!

Kiahna following Leah.. now Kiahna won’t swim, because she scared, but IF she falls in she is safe in her wonderful life vest from Land’s End!

Lucas and Leah playing KING OF THE RAFT with Kim’s kids!

So, I guess we are to the part about the ER…

Friday afternoon, 2 pm, NAP TIME!!!  I can’t find Kiahna.  In not much time I locate her.  In the van.  Doors locked.  I go get the keys and unlock it.  Only to find her with the contents of my purse all over, she’s sitting in a puddle of pee, on my drivers seat, with the contents of my purse joining her… then I see that she has opened the bottle of Jadon’s  ADHD medication and there are pills laying around her.

Can you say PANIC???

I asked her if she took some.  She said, “yes”. 

How many to a 3 year old who has not yet grasped the concept of time is pointless!!

I called poison control (who’s number I actually put in my day planner after Jadon drank a bottle of children’s ibuprofen last winter!)  FYI:  You don’t have to take them to the ER for drinking a bottle of children’s Motrin, but you get a decidedly different reaction when you say your child may or may not have eaten an undetermined number of her brother’s Focalin!!

She seemed okay.  So, I drove her to the ER myself.  I took Lucas along, so he could drive if Kiahna began to seizure in the van, so he could help Kiahna if she began to seizure, so he could keep us company.  I was panicked!  I don’t know why I made him come along!!

When we got to the ER, Poison control had already filled them in on what she had taken and the steps to take.

She had to drink a 10 oz cup of charcoal, mixed with chocolate milk!!  The first sip from the cup that the nurse had it in (which was full to the top and Styrofoam) it went on her shirt.  As I wiped it off with my hand, she informed me not to do that, it wouldn’t come off!    Nice… An hour later, 6 wash clothes later, a teaspoon at a time from the “smaller cup” I asked the nurse for (which was a medicine cup)… she got it down…. and her shirt looked like this…

Because clothes are cheap, and I only have six children to clothe! BLAH!

Next came the news that Kiahna’s pediatrician had been called… cringe… and she wanted them to keep Kiahna over night for observation.

They needed to put in an IV… just in case…

They asked Lucas and I to leave the room, and we listened while they wrapped her in a blanket and inserted the IV into her right hand (NOT THE ONE SHE SUCKS!!) 

And after they gave her back to me… she screamed and fought and tried to get the IV out for the next hour!!!  Until she finally fell asleep.

It had been 3 hours… An hour of waiting, an hour of feeding her charcoal and an hour of wrestling her while listening to her scream!

She finally fell asleep!  PRAISE GOD!!!  And I began to try to process what needed to be done with the 4 other kids, the one I had with me, and the VBS program that I was supposed to be at in 1 1/2 hours.

Mom said she’d come stay at the hospital.  I hated for her to miss seeing the kids sing.  My sister called my aunt and she ended up coming to stay with her.  I was very concerned that Kiahna would wake up and be in the same mood (or worse because I wasn’t there!) as she was in when she went to sleep.

It didn’t end up that she was.  She was curious and calm when she woke up and and had fun figuring out how to run the bed, the TV, and how to call the nurse.

The program ended and I rushed out.  Mom and Dad took the other 4 kids home with them.  Mommy guilt began trying to rush in… battle, battle, battle…

Here she is in her bed… Queen Kiahna…

It was some punishment… after she woke up from her nap things were good… she had mommy all to herself… she got to be the center of attention… what is wrong with this picture??

The white thing is the IV… she didn’t ever need it… PRAISE GOD!… but she continued to try to get it out herself when she thought I wasn't looking.

It turned out that she is fine.  I am very thankful.  But, after I knew she was fine, then it all just became annoying!  We couldn't leave!  Not until the DR dismissed us!

I slept with her in the hospital bed.  She was wearing a monitor that came unhooked and beeped like an alarm clock each time she moved.  Picture me in the middle of the night every 15-30-60 minutes waking up, rehooking her cords, falling back asleep, only to be awakened again very soon... add the routine nurse visits... the fact that MORNING comes at the hospital BEFORE the night shift leaves... at 6:10 this morning Kiahna NEEDED to have her blood pressure taken, her temperature taken, be weighed, oh and she peed the bed so she also needed to have her bedding changed... GOOD MORNING!!

As other human beings in the outside world began to awaken... my two boys needed to get to the ball diamonds for team pictures... turned out I had Zach's uniform in my van in the hospital parking lot...  a whole bunch of frustration and stress later... and about 20 cell phone calls... the DR came and released us and we got home in time to get Zach his uniform and they all lived happily ever after... yeah... sure....

The Dr told me that there has been a study done on Ivy League grads and 2 year olds... which can open a child proof prescription bottle fastest.... oh, you know it is the 2 year olds!!

Of course I have now flushed all the Focalin.  We weren't even using it anymore, I guess I was just keeping it "just in case".  But, she can also open a child proof bottle of Ibuprofen... so what is a mom to do?  LOCK HER PURSE???  I KNOW I WILL LOCK MY VAN when it is in my garage!  PRAY FOR DIVINE PROTECTION OF HER CHILD!!!

So, that's my weekend.

Tomorrow I am hoping to take the kids to the Indianapolis Zoo...  Hoping it will be a nice distraction for us all... I know at least I will come back with more material to blog about!!  LOL!!!

Who needs television...

...when you have children????

Ever feel like you are stuck in some unending sitcom, you know one of those frustrating ones that make you want to leave the room!!

I had one of those afternoons.  The kind that finds your preschoolers into amazing messes that blow your mind at their creative tendencies... and also finds you dealing with teens who know it all and think that you were born yesterday!!

After a nutritious dinner of Pizza Hut Pizza!  I informed my two oldest boys that we would be cleaning the debris out of the yard.  To which my 16 year old promptly decided that he needed to go to a graduation party.  Sure, after the sticks are picked up.

The next 2 hours involved me micromanaging two teenage, strong, smart, capable boys into what was a stick, what was a twig, and what was a log...

teen:  "you said we only had to pick up the big sticks"

me:  "I said we had to pick up the sticks"

teen:  "you said logs"

me:  "I said all these sticks"

teen:  "is that it?"

me:  "no"

teen:  "can I go now?"

me: "your done when I'm done"

teen:  "your picking up all the sticks, not just the big ones"

me:  "yes, they dull the mower blade"

teen:  "this is taking so long"

me:  "if you had done it fast the first time, we'd be done now"

teen:  "whatever"

I fill two wagons with sticks... teens practice their throwing skills tossing them one at a time into the woods...

teen:  "are you done yet?"

me:  "if I was done I would be in the house with something cold to drink and not out here picking up sticks!  Be thankful you aren't cleaning up whole trees like so many others are today!"

teen:  heavy sigh

Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard... two preschoolers are playing on the road...

me:  "get off the road"

preschooler:  "we aren't on the road, we're by the road"

me: "GET AWAY FROM THE ROAD"

me:  "stop squeezing the cat"

teen:  "you want me to show you what it feels like to be squeezed like that?"

preschooler:  "I have to go potty"

me:  "go"

preschooler:  "help me"  (then runs ahead of me, into the bathroom, and locks the door behind her)

Preschooler proceeds to empty 1/2 the toothpaste into the sink...

me:  "why did you do this?"

preschooler:  "cause"

Finally the sticks are satisfactory... I have my cool drink... I go to rescue yet one more kitten from the clutches of a preschooler who is stomping her feet in defiance at my suggestion that she NOT touch them anymore today!!

Only to return to find preschooler #2 drinking my cool drink, and inform me that he doesn't want any more, because there is a bug in it... thanks...

Return to the house to find preschooler #1... time for baths and bed!  YEAH!!!  Open bathroom door to find, no one in the room, water running full blast, Elmo floating in the sink, sink drain closed, the rest of the toothpaste floating with Elmo in the sink...

me:  "GET IN THE TUB!"

Two preschoolers in the tub... why is the water pressure so low?  Washer is running, dishwasher is running... still, this is really low... I leave the bathroom to find that the outside spicket is running full force flooding the back yard... shut it off...

Return to the bathroom... smell the shampoo from the hallway... find two preschoolers dumping out shampoo and body wash, making bubbles in their tub.

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT...

Needing to find away for 3 and 4 year olds to make money so pay for their own shampoo and tooth paste!!

Proceed to wash said preschoolers...

Proceed to read to said preschoolers...

Proceed to put said preschoolers into bed with an exhausted kiss and hug...

Day done...

Go to the basement only to find teen who couldn't wait to leave, back home again!  LOL!!  And other teen HOGGING MY COMPUTER!!!  Doesn't he know how busy my week has been and how much I need to be on there!  No, he needs to talk on MSN to 10 friends at once! 

Since being on here... must have heard teen say... "are you done yet" 5 times??

Didn't get any pictures of today's disasters!  Too bad!!  I am pretty sure that there were even more that I can't even remember right now... you know,... some things you just block out to cope!!

Here are a few shots from the past...

Adoption thoughts...

I have a cousin who is in China adopting their 2nd daughter.  Check out their blog, Journey to Lyra.  It is very exciting!

It is so exciting to adopt.  There is an adrenalin rush that comes from seeing your child for the first time.  From knowing that this child will be yours, finally.  Or that you will be the one that God uses to "save" a child from circumstances less than ideal.

There is a joy that comes from doing what you believe God's word expresses so clearly...

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

There is peace in doing what you believe God has called you to do.  There is strength in following out HIS plans for your life.  There is incredible GRACE that comes from being in HIS will.

And there is pain...

Because after you bring this child home, the real calling begins.  And it is hard.  It must rank right up there with the hardest things I have ever done.

Bringing children into our home and loving them as my own has not been hard for me.  I love children.  I love my bio-children and my adopted children.  I wanted to love them the same.  It really isn't realistic to love anyone in our lives the same.  But, I have been given unconditional love for each of my children.  Of that I am amazed.

Before you adopt, as you adopt, so many things are unrealistic.  So many things are fantasy in our minds.  So many things don't work out the way that we thought they would.  Maybe your adoption story has.  Mine has not.

Yesterday, I was angry, disappointed, confused, and devastated by #1 my 3 and 4 year old's behavior in a preschool setting, and #2 the reaction of the caretakers of the group.  This is what brings me to writing today.  This is what causes me to be processing all these emotions, bear with me. 

There is a distinct "mama bear" that comes out in us parents when we see injustice done to our children.  (real or imagined, not really sure which this particular circumstance was yet).  I find that injustice towards my adopted children causes an even WORSE reaction in me. 

In my FANTASY world, I believed I was giving these children a life that they wouldn't have to have the pain and trials of their lives as they would have been otherwise.  I haven't been able to give my children that fantasy world.

I couldn't save them from the pain of this life here on earth.  I couldn't keep the man who had vowed to love me, them, and all of us, till death, and as his own, from walking out on each of us.  I haven't been able to keep him from hurting any of us.  I haven't been capable of giving these children the life I thought I was going to give them.

That hurts. 

It hurts when other people don't have the vision for children that you do.  It hurts to be judged by others.  It hurts to have injustice come upon you repeatedly.  It hurts to live in this world.

I wouldn't change making the decision to adopt for anything.  My two youngest children, challenging though they are, are my reason for getting out of bed and pressing forward each day.  (by choice or not)  When the pain of abandonment was crushing me like a sieve, they were there.  They needed me.  They loved me like I needed to be loved.

I am sad that not everyone in our lives sees them as the blessing that I do.  I am sad that their lives are so hard.  I am sad that things are not the way I thought that they would be.  I am sad that I can do nothing to change any of the circumstances we are living in.

As I try to process yesterday's in justice, let me say this.  I am thankful for so much.  I am thankful that this doesn't happen to us daily!  I am thankful that I have VERY supportive parents who go the extra mile and then some to help us.  I am thankful for friends who listen and let me cry without judging me.  I am thankful for God's peace, love, and forgiveness... not only that HE gives to me, but that HE gives me to give to others who just don't seem to get it.

I can give all of my children the chance to see God in the midst of horrible circumstances.  My reactions have not been very Godly all the time.  But, as I have worked through the pain of life, I pray that they have witnessed a woman who loves God regardless of what life throws and her.  And a GOD who loves HIS people regardless of what they do and how they react.

1,000 cliche's and Bible verses can come to mind about God's faithfulness in the midst of this world.  But, until you experience it, they are only words.  I guess I have more to be thankful for than I can even comprehend. 

I was sure by now, God you would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day, But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining...

As the thunder rolls, I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, “I’m with you”.  And as You mercy falls, I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away

I’ll praise You in this storm, and I will life my hands. For You are who You are No matter where I am.  Every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand
You never left my side.  And though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm...

***Praise You in this Storm, by Casting Crowns

Kiahna... US domestic adoption, 2004... 10 days old...

Jadon... domestic US adoption 2003... 1 day old...

Pray for all the adoptive families you know... praying for you Robin and Harry as you are in China... enjoy the excitement!

Playing the Hairku game!

It was brought to my attention that some mommy bloggers out there have began Haiku Friday.  One of the ladies that I met on Yahoo's Adoption Hair and Skin Care Yahoo Group, suggested doing our own version and calling it Hairku Friday.  I am going to stick my little toe into this world and take this challenge!  So I have written my first Hair Haiku ever, and my first Haiku since high school!

Some of the other blogs that are doing this can be seen by linking to this site.  Is There Any Mommy Out There, she is the one who started the Hairku Idea.  And these are the sites that began it all... Playgroups are no place for children or A Mommy Story.  Going to either of these sites will give you all you need to know to join us!

So, now that all that is said, if you have been reading this for awhile and think I have finally lost it!  That's okay!!  You are probably right!  The last thing I have time for today is this, but here we go!!

Hair, Hair Everywhere

Now I'm writing hair Haiku's

What next will I do?

And Now, (stop laughing) What I do much better than poetry!  Kiahna's Hair!

okay, this is not letting me add more pictures right now!  I will try to add more later!  If you are new to my blog go ahead and scroll through the old posts if you want to know more about Kiahna's Hair!  If you are not new, you are probably sick of hearing about it!

Have a great, HOT, summer day!

Summer... Summer... Summer... Summer

SUMMER'S HERE... TIME OF OUR LIVES!  ANTICIPATION!!

SCHOOL'S OUT, SCREAM AND SHOUT!!!!

I know I've been humming this familiar High School Musical 2 song today! 

Wish I was a little more excited!  So long, peace and quiet!!  And I just got Jadon to start napping again for me since he went off the meds!  OH WELL!!

Last day of school, the elementary has a talent show!  They are all winners, this is not a competition!  Here is Leah and her friend Darien's performance!  YODELING once again!!

Picture of Leah and Darien up close!

 

Thanks for all the compliments for Leah's singing!  She is very talented.  Looking forward to seeing how GOD will use this in the future, and praying for humility for us all!!

Today is my Grandma Ringger's 99th Birthday!!

Yesterday we had a party for her at the park...

Doesn't she look great!!  She's a sweetie!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!  (not like you read my blog!!  LOL!!)

Here are some random shots I thought you would enjoy from our lives...  Saturday, Lucas called me outside.  I couldn't find him... this is where he was...

Here it is from farther back...  no ladder... don't know how he got down... PLEASE PROTECT MY CHILDREN LORD JESUS!!!

Last night I found James sleeping on the floor like this...

Yes, he was really sleeping... puts new meaning to the phrase, eats, sleeps, and drinks football doesn't it!!

And then there is Zach... the one who keeps eluding my camera.  I think I took 30 pictures of him last night with his face covered!  Here is what I salvaged!

He's way too cool to get his picture taken like that!!  How embarrassing MOM!!  LOL!!

Zach's already out on the mower this afternoon.  Being the mean mom that I am, putting him right to work! 

Looking for odd jobs to keep Zach busy this summer!  Thankfully James has a full time job!  Hoping Zach can pick up some of the things that James use to do now. 

 

And not to leave anyone out...  Jadon and Kiahna at the park last night...

Leah's Night Onstage at the Gospel Barn

Leah got to sing for quite a large audience tonight at the Gospel Barn! 

She did very well!  I am trying to figure out how to get it on here so you can watch...

You will see Arley introducing her.

Sorry about the wiggles... I guess I was sitting in someone's chair and he came and asked me to move while I was videoing!  OH WELL!! 

BTW!  I DID HER HAIR!  She said she liked it even better than the professional job!  I learned from watching her do it though, and from taking it apart!  Hard to put up short hair, now I learned the trick!  She was beautiful once again!

Before and After

Kiahna's 3 week old yarn extensions, BEFORE touch ups...

AFTER:  I took out and replaced all of the extensions along the part and along the scalp line, front and back...

Yes, she normally is sucking those two fingers... and dragging her blankie...

She fell asleep during the re-do process this time...

Graduating from the 5th Grade...

Last night Leah graduated from the 5th grade! It is really cool how big of a fuss the teachers make over them! Because our school is a K-12 school, the graduation for the seniors is set up already for this weekend and the 5th grade gets to use their stage, chairs, and feel very grown up and important!

Leah has been talking about this and very excited for a long time! We bought a new dress, earrings, necklace, shoes... and we got her first UPDO done for this occasion! IMAGINE her dismay at realizing (after the do was done) that she had to put this AWFUL GREY HAT over her beautiful (I just paid to that that done) hair!

She was still beautiful with the ugly gray hat, and we even got it looking nice still this morning so she could wear her beautiful do to school today!

One more day of school after today.

Here are some pictures of last night's event...

Going to the salon for the UPDO...

Jenna Imel, at Unlimited Image, working on Leah's hair...

Finished, dressed, and ready to go...

Okay, pause... anyone thinking what I am... I can do this...

(Which I spent 8 HOURS touching up this week) and yet I have to pay someone to do Leah's hair? Yes, I have issues... HEY!?! Maybe there is a YOUTUBE video for doing updo's I could watch and learn to do Leah's hair too! NO DOUBT there is!

Anyway... walking in... with the pretty gray hat on...

Receiving her "diploma".

Leah and her cousin Cody, at the "party" afterwards with refreshments!

With some of her girlfriends...

And with her teacher, Mrs. Goulet... Thank you, Mrs. Goulet for another wonderful school year! And Thank GOD for wonderful, prayerful teachers in the public schools!

CONTRATULATIONS, LEAH!!!!