Maynard Mayhem

Floating on iCloud 9!

2011-12-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Sign of the times I guess...After the kids opening a leapPad, 2 DS's and an iPhone they were absorbed by technology. They were running around taking pictures and videoing each other!

Mommy was on the cloud too!!

Okay no more words for this post I have a mean game of angry bird to get back too!

A few favorite pics..

2011-12-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

Some pictures you take you just smile...here are a few of my favs from Christmas! Not wonderfully aimed, centered focused etc...but I loved the boys all looking up at the helicopter in their matching pjs!

My Mamaw....she will probably hate this pic becuase she is not smiling but I sometimes forget to get pics of the "adults" in our fam because i am so busy snapping the kids pics. I like the blur of the tree and the lighting on her was good (in my new house i am STRUGGLING with lighting! 11windows and 2 doors...so lots of light but weird angles and shadows??)

Just fun!

All five kiddos smiling and in stripes...what more could I want in a cutie pie pic?!

Just LOVE!

carson is not looking his finest but look how super cool the helicopter is?!?!!!

(see the light uhhh) but love this family shot. Maddie sewed these scarves for all the ladies in her life, so super cool pic!

Just like this...I have been trying to get a good glowing pics...and I like it!

So that was that...short and sweet!

Jingle the Bad Bad elf...

2011-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

Well as usual most times what we begin for our children ends up being more fun for us! Paul and I had a great time playing with Jingle! THe children loved him too and it is definitly a tradition that will continue!! Here are some more of his naughty naughty tricks! Eating Santas milk and cookies!

Opening daddys gift!

Drinking syrup, eating candy and icing (all the elf major food groups!)

Tp'd Carsons entire room including poor Carson himself!

More Jingle Escapades...

2011-12-18T20:29:00.000-08:00

Poor guy was interrogated by some Lego men (they do sorta run this place!) Our little dare devil was soarin' when we woke up!

Bad,bad Jingle....

Jingle (Our Elf on a Shelf)

2011-12-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

I know everyone has there own ideas for the holidays and I actually worry far to much what others think about our ideas for the holidays. I am nervous about letting the children wear "Santa" hats to the nursing home to sing or should I buy a Christmas tee with reindeer or stick with candy canes. As silly as it is for Christians to judge each other by the Christmas decorations in ones house or the sugar cookies they bake...it happens people!
So I say all that to say YES Santa leaves unwrapped gifts under our tree on Christmas and guess what ::gasp:: we have Jingle the elf on a shelf that reports back to him!
I am new to this tradition saw it on Pinterest and loved the idea!...so here were are 12 years into marriage and 5 kids later and we are starting a new tradition!! Do I threaten the children that Santa is watching them so they better be good...No its kinda creepy...we are good because we are to obey...do they really think this goofy elf makes his way to the North Pole every night...NO (not even Lincoln).
So why are we doing it? Because it is FUN! I have fun finding things for Jingle to do and the kids have a blast finding him each morning! The kiddos race around to be the first to spot him, as he gets caught in some crazy activities!!
So when its all said and done our kiddos KNOW why we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our SAVIOR! AND i hope they take with them many memories made with mommy, daddy and siblings as we have fun during the holidays.
Here are some of Jingles escapades!
Making Snow angels in the rice!

Playing in my jewelry.

On a date with Barbies friend...in Barbies car!

Aghhh Pauls dinosaur was hungry!

Moments to Remember

2011-12-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

As homeschoolers we do lots of "real schoolwork", pen to paper kinda stuff but when its all said and done I want to remember these kinda moments! It is a never ending 60hour a week kinda job to choose to homeschool and these type of moments are the best payment would could ask for!

Here is Maddie at 8 years old has taken up a passion for sewing! You can usally find her here by about 11am once her "book work" is complete. She set up at a craft show and sold items but best of all has been able to make homemade gifts for her family for Christmas! Carson curled up in bed with his reading. (he returned to the classroom and said "Whoa that was a great story!".

Maddie and Annie caccooned in the corner with their Latin, singing the Latin songs too!

Here is the view from behind the girls as they worked!

Carson is SO good about engaging the little ones throughout our morning. This was fun play with Lincolns counters!

This has become a morning routine. For Maddie and Annie to lead our morning/circle time. They are so empowered as leaders and they have much better singing voices than I do!!

The laundry room/mud room/office!

2011-08-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

I could look at pictures for hours online drooling over the endless designs and ways to organize the multitudes of STUFF that enters the door (church papers, scout papers.. )the STUFF that needs to leave through the door(ballbags, paperwork, church bags). Here is an in progress picture of the room. The color is Inch Worm (don't ya love that color name?!) We have 5 cubbies and in the bottom right corner you can see a very simple desk (I SO hope this helps all the paper clutter from entering the house!) Under the window is a bench with more storage and of course the pesky washer & dryer! More pics will follow...

The Girls Grape-alicous bathroom!

2011-08-23T20:19:00.001-07:00

The girls chose Grape Jelly for their bathroom color! It does kinda make your mouth water! Mommy chose the Ella chandeliers from Pottery Barn Kids. The vanity is white, the floor is white and the fixtures so the dark paint and lights kinda pop!

The girls room...

2011-08-23T19:43:00.001-07:00

My girls have very different personalities and I was wanting to stay away from a "themey" room. Also neither of my girls like pink, and Maddies last room was lavender so finding a color scheme was tricky too! So after hours of searching I decided that "shabby chic/whimsical/retro-ish" was our style! We chose a robins egg blue and it is PERFECT! The room is a basic rectangle with a little nook. I keep thinking of all the possibilities of the little nook...a reading nook, a Barbie nook, one day a make-up vanity nook!! For the main space I chose the Mia chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids and for the nook I chose a mini-chandelier from Restoration Hardware that must have been discontinued. They look beautiful!

Here are a few pictures that I have kept as inspiration for the girls room. I have convinced the girls to let me at least paint a dresser this beautiful pink! Maddie has taken up sewing too so we have a few projects that she wants to make for the room too, like a fabric pennant.

I will be sure to post pics of the after as soon as i can!

The New Schoolroom

2011-08-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

These first pics are just a few of the pictures I have been collecting in my "schoolroom inspiration file". Here is a great fun alternative to the traditonal bulletin board. Love the small panel of chalkboard paint. Love the stripes. Love the lights (I found some very similar from Restoration Hardware.) Love the idea of a couch for a great reading area in the schoolroom!

Love this fun whimsical way of displaying the ABC's!

I love these globes! I am collecting globes to do something similar (so I will take hand me down globes if you are clearing out!). I also love the desks!!

This is a TOO cute writing center for the kiddos...the cuteness speaks for itself !! Right?!

This room is in the color scheme that we are doing (that orange desk is the wall color!)

Love the jars of crayons, the orange piece, the table, love it all!

Here is my room a few months ago...

Below is the room currently. So we went with Creamsicle paint and I LOVE IT! The floor is laminate and is much cheaper version of the wood in the rest of the house (Love a way to save money!) The lights are from my favorite store Restoration Hardware! So here is the room currently! Now on to figure out how set the room up for our first day of school!

New Years Eve!

2011-01-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

Let me start with a disclosure! I CANNOT get more than 5 pics uploaded per post on blogspot?!? Sometimes I canot even get 5 loaded?!
So I am bummed because I had to narrow down the pics to....well...FIVE!!!

So on to New Years! We have been out of the "get invited" to a party loop for quite a bit now. Somehow once you have a handful(no pun intended) of children the invites sorta drop off! So the last couple of years we have just stayed home. Last year we mostly watched movies but that was kinda BORING! There is just no interaction with each other. So for a few years I have wanted to use this cutey patootie idea from my sweet friend Marcy, and it just never happened.
So this year I was determined to make memories with the kiddos...(okay there was a little prideful push by Maddie who exclaimed with dissapointment, "it's NOT a party of no one else is coming!!!!!") I was determined to please the littles and of course daddy with my little surprises!!

So each hour there is a cute little poem in a bag filled with anything related to that hour.
I drew a clock on each bag from 5pm to 12midnight! Each hour we opened a new bag and did the activity inside. Beware the night went SO fast! The kids have never watched a clock as much! And in between hours in the down time we danced it out to Wii Just Dance (yes i did hold the record for the night!!!)Oh and I also still hold the family record for Perfection!!just sayin!

5pm (filled with horns, hats, and leis) So we dressed up like crazy people and they blew their horns until I made a steadfast rule of NO horn blowing because it was bad luck!
"It's time to start the party
Count down to the new year
We'll open one bag each hour
Until 2011 is here!"

6pm (Inside the bag was Brownie mix and we made homemade icing for them. Paul and Carson do not like sweets so they wanted chips and cheese!!)
"I think it's time to have a treat
Beware its gonna be very sweet!
For my big boys I'm sure this won't please
But don't worry there's always chips and cheese!
7pm (Inside was the cube version of Pictureka. As a sidenote we LOVE Pictureka! We have 3 different versions and it is a game all of us can play together!!)
"We must be careful and not let this party get lame
I think it's time to play a game!
No more time in front of the tube
Its time to find the picture on the cube!"

8pm (this is where we ate all of the appetizers and snacks we bought for the party!)

"2010 will soon be gone.

In will come 2011

Let's eat some treats and have some fun

This is gonna be heaven!"

9pm (filled with Yahtzee game)

"The time has come to play a game

Can you guess which one?

Roll the dice, score a full house

Score the highest and you've won!"

(FYI Cam was the winner of all! Scoring 2 Yahtzees!!!)

10pm (we recently had our old movies put on DVD and we had never watched them. This was the best part of our night! The kids have not stopped talking about them and it was SO much better than watching a rental movie!!!)

"It's time to laugh a little, remember a little

And popcorn too!

Some old home movies

Will have to do!"

11pm (hot chocolate was in the bags, however we were all too full to eat anything else!)

"I know you are getting sleepy

Only 1 more hour 'til a new date!

So lets have some hot chocolate

While for 2011 we wait!"

12pm (I was actually going to let them all have a sip of Mt. Dew but they were so busy kissing, hugging and BLOWING horns that they never even asked about the drink!They did enjoy opening the door and blowing the horns for the neighbors! How cool is it that mamaw & papaw live across the street and they heard the racket and opened their door...which increased the horn blowing!! The neighborhood also had quite the firework display they kids watched from the front door. Oh and we only had 4 that lasted until midnight...Annie went to asleep about 10 minutes before!!)

"It's time to say good-bye to '10

watching the ball drop will be revin'!

A hug, a kiss and a sweet drink for the toast

Happy New Year, its 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Notice Maddie's face because of the people kissing in town square!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!!!!!!!!!!!

A few of my favorite things...

2010-12-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

While the best things in life are not things....
However the kids have found a few favorite things this holiday season.

Maddie tickled everyone modeling her UK cheerleading outfit. She put it on immediately and has also spent all day today in it! Thank you Doe & Georgie!
She also got a PSP, Razor scooter, Barbies and more.
Although Cam got lots of Toy Story toys...guitar, Legos, Train set and other things like a kitchen set, remote control boat and more. His favorite toy seems to be the little motorcyle in front..he has ran it out of batteries driving it continously!

Carson's favorite gift was probably his skateboard and ramps. (He also received an early gift last month of a guitar and amp....so he could practicve for his lessons).

Lincoln likes everything but this was the last gift and he was ridiculous! He rode around through the living room like royalty!

Annie's big gift was her American Girl Doll! This is Annie with Lanie!

We had two lovely days of family, food and fun! We tried to continue reminding the children of the true meaning of the holiday and that it was not about gifts but about the birth of our Savior. I am sad to say that it never seems to be the focus of the holidays for us. Which just saddens me. I am not sure as to what extent we should let the children be children and just enjoy the magic. Once you get 15+ people in a room it just all seems to fly out the window. I continue to pray for guidance on simplifying the holiday and pointing more to HIM and less on us.

All that being said we did have a few changes to our usual holiday celebrations. On Christmas Eve we woke up early and exchanged gifts at our house with the children. We then headed across the street to Pauls parents house. We enjoyed homemade chicken and beef tacos (a family favorite!) After opening gifts the snow began to fall and we loaded up and headed to my moms house. We had decided to spend Christmas Eve at her house because our new house is just too small for 5 childrens gifts! We drove through the beautiful falling snow and arrived in time to put the kiddos to bed. On Christmas morning we had a huge breakfast and then lunch and then gifts! Then we headed back home to visit with Pauls family again because his other sister had arrived!

Well it is all over now...the time to organize and find room for all of the new "stuff" that has arrived!

Thanksgiving Fun for Preschool!

2010-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

When homeschooling with preschoolers and toddlers I have found that you have to keep them BUSY!!! Other than an occasional PBS show the boys want to be in the schoolroom with us all day. This can prove to be trying...working with the older ones one on one while keeping the little guys entertained! I of course also want them to be more than entertained, I would love some learning as well!!
Our main curriculum with the younger children is all literature based. We read a story and do related activities. The main curriculum for this is Five in A Row, we also use www.homeschoolshare.com which is basically a FIAR for other books. This site is AWESOME! I use it weekly for something. As you know once you start reading...children start listening!!
In addition to the lit. studies we do I like to add in lots of hands on activites. Some of the activites are open-ended and more montessori-ish. I try to vary the activities to include fine motor skills, cutting skills, sensory work etc. We use lots of activities from our preschool in a bag. If you have not participated in a activity bag swap, they are great! I will try to post of that another day! Lastly I have discovered the coolest, greatest lady ever...and below you will see some of her super cute preschool printables. Although she seriously has SO much great content on her blog/website that you could spend an entire week there and still not read about it all!
Below you will see some pages from her Thanksgiving Pack!
She has a spot with some fun fall activites and Thanksgiving songs too!
I also use her calender system which is genius! Okay enough about her greatness go on over and check her out yourself!
So here is Lincoln making the letter P (for Pilgrim)out of play-doh! I printed these on cardstock and placed inside a plastic page protector. This is great for the boys as they lack the ability to actually write letters at this point. (BTW the girls cry and fit to do all of the boys activites so after they finish their K & 2nd grade work they "get" to do preschool activites!!) Please disregard all the junk (including Maddies "recyclable art" projects!) in the background! Here is Cam the man working with putting his Mayflower ships in order smallest to largest. Surprisingly enough he had to really work at this skill. I debated even printing this activity out because I assumed he could do it. He got the hang of it fairly quickly but Lincoln is still working really hard on this one! (BTW I printed these on cardstock and laminated them.)
Here Lincoln is tracing the lines from the Pilgrims to the Mayflower. Look at his face he was concentrating SO hard! This one like took him about 10+ minutes!! It was so cute! Due to the number of children we have using these I decided to print these on cardstock and laminate so they can be used over and over with a dry erase marker!
This one that Annie is using is a simple math/counting sheet. Obviously quite easy for Annie but she loved it nonetheless!

...another great note from Natalie!

2010-11-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is great...love it...can't say it better so just read hers!
http://5millionminus1.blogspot.com/

Counting the Cost

Here is the question. The real question of adoption. What will it cost you? Yes, it is a loaded question because "cost" in this sense is multi-faceted. Will it cost you money? Yes, whether you adopt from Shelby County, KY or Saigon. Will it cost you pride? Yes. Will your heart pay? For sure. Will it cost you friends, family, acquaintances? It may. Will it cost time? No doubt...... But more than the costs.....COUNT THE GAIN... How will you change, how will you change others, whether you adopt or support adoption, you gain....gain life. Take a look at the costs...our cost.

1) Financial: The main HANG UP. Adoption can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $35,000. Most people who desire to adopt do not have that kind of money laying around, regardless of your yearly gross income. Looking down the barrel at $25,000, as was our case, you start to doubt your financial ability to pay for an adoption, afford a child or another child, make payments on your other responsibilties while raising money, find ideas for fundraising.....but you may doubt God...not openly but in the subconscious place you may not even be able to utter aloud. I admit that I did. JT and I fortunately were able to openly discuss our doubt and had friends who prayed over our doubt.

Gain.....we did gain money...but God showed us His love and grace... As JT now says, "God shows up when ordains something." We fundraised and God provided. He moves in the heart of those around you to support you. So when doubt starts creeping in (and I still remind myself of this), you and I have to remember that if we consume ourselves with doubt, we can not see what is trying to happen before our eyes.

"He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

2) Your Heart: While deciding to adopt, your heart will toss and turn like a third trimester pregnant woman. You will debate, get excited, get discouraged, become on fire, saddened at the state of the world.....you will wonder why children have to suffer.... Your heart will definitely Feel the cost while counting the cost. But your heart will be changed, your world will be changed. It will cost you the heartache rought by hours of inner deliberation but will free you to live a life of liberation....You will now know what is beyond your small world.... With that said, the liberation of carries its own cost.... That is where I am now. I KNOW, so now what...what ELSE can I do now that I know AND have adopted. Thus, my heart is still counting the cost, but now I stand affirmed that it is worth it... see pictures below if you don't believe me.

"Don't say, "I didn't know it!" God can read your mind. He watches each of us and knows our thoughts. And God will pay us back for what we do." Proverbs 24:12 (Contemporary English Version)

3) Who: Who will support you, be your cheerleader, wipe your tears, hold your hand, plan your shower, help fundraise, financially help, plug you in.... PRAY for you? Who will cautiously stand back unsure of their stance waiting to see 'how it goes'? Who secretly condemn your decision without asking you questions, probing your heart and theirs? Who will openly attack your decision, your heart, your future child, your finances to the point of your tears, frustation and possbily crumbling of the relationship? I have been in each of the places...simply because our adoption.... Thankfully I can say the damaged relationships are now in perpetual repair, but it can be a difficult season.....the cost. But Oh the gain. We will never know the hearts that have been changed by our adoption, NOT BY US, but by God using us to adopt. We will never know on this side of heaven if someone straddling the fence decided to move forward
with adoption because of Tedi and our adoption... we will never know if a heart filled with anger and distaste for different races and cultures has been swayed, softened and re-structured. We won't know the gain of others now...we do not need to know but we must remember such gain when we are adding up our cost.

I have struggled with each of these topics deeply and that is the only reason I feel slightly capable to write about these things.

....wise words from Natalie!

2010-11-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

We have some friends who adopted a little boy this year. They had a quick whirl-wind adoption and it was all kinda set in motion when Paul met Natalie at a doctors office one morning in July! Her and her husband have a beautiful way with words and so I am going to quite frankly plagerize her blog for a moment (I'm gonna tell her!).

This first post is some heart-wrenching statistics on adoption.

From www.hfgf.org: (pretty consistent with other research)...includes USA foster care system
~Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans
~Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone)
~143,000,0002 Orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home
~Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…
~Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system
~Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT
~Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home
~In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.
60% of the girls are lured into prostitution. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals. Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls
are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans.

Orphan Sunday
(read cautiously)

Today. One day each year that SOME churches and SOME Christians acknowledge the plight of orphans...orphans here in America, usually by circumstances their parents create, rarely death and abroad, often by death, un-education, and lack of resources. Weekly we talk about building funds and AV equipment and our potluck calendar and argue over who is on what committee and what committee should pass what by-law.... But we talk annually, once each year, if we are lucky, about "the least of these."

The question that has been floating in my head, especially of late, is "How I am any different than Tedi?" He was born in Africa in a small village on the Sudan border to a mother with five older children who had lost her husband to a preventable disease. I was born in Somerset, KY to parents, then married, and went home to lead a middle class life. The only difference....we born in different places. I did not deserve more than him....He did not deserve less. But here we were, worlds apart.

When we talk about the "least of these", we must first realize we, indeed, are the least of these. Just as orphans need a family, we need a Savior. What if Jesus had not stepped in for us and saved our lives.... What if? Usually it is difficult to digest the thought of children dying, both physical and emotional deaths, so we turn away, file it in the back of our mental junk drawer.... OR we only talk about it once per year.

As I have written before, I am in a constant state of knowing I can and should do more. Last week in church we sang "Hosana" and one line from the bridge goes... "Break my heart for what breaks yours..." My heart is broken and yet I feel paralyzed by my own inadequacies and inability to do more. I am daily challenging myself to do more.... I NEED to and I MUST.

SOOOO..... What am I doing? What can you do? First, I am mothering a child who WAS adopted. He is now my child. I am standing in the gap for him, defending him, mothering him to love others. Can you adopt.....because chances are if you have found my blog and have read this far, you have something stirring inside of you, aching in your stomach, moving you to step forward..... I am speaking and writing about adoption every time I can. Beth Moore, Russell Moore, David Platt, I am not. But I can do my part. Can you defend the least of these.... I need to do more, that is why I can challenge you. I only hope the small things that I have done and am trying to do are making small changes and examples for those around me.

I am blessed that the church we attended today focused on orphan care. They intend to move forward and pursue orphan care, here and abroad, as an important facet of their ministry. And I intend to be involved in this ministry. Will you start a ministry at your church? Will you get involved?

I can not change the WORLD, but we have changed the world for ONE. More importantly, this ONE has changed our world and our world perspective..... Will you cause change and be changed?

Okay more to come....

Orphan Awareness

2010-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

I think we hear the word orphan and it doesn't truly register.
It is said so often and even times callously.
Even by those who have a heart for the orphan. We hear it daily, we talk about it daily and we read about it daily.
In the beginning of the adoption process it was quite honestly often about us here in America. What age child would be best for the biological children?
What gender of child did Paul and I feel more drawn to?
How would the sleeping arrangements work out best?
How would we do with the language barrier?
Would we love this child as much as the biological children?
What about extended family and friends?
What if the child had significant medical problems?
Could we afford to put two more children through college?

THEN.....we opened an email to this:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I think they underestimated!
This frail, sick, malnourished little package said it all!
It was not about us! It was not about college or bedroom quilts or what so and so thought about having an African in the family! It was not about who was oldest or who was going to be "twined". It was not about the cost of the adoption or which carseat to order....

It was about an ORPHAN, a little boy with no daddy. A little boy with a momma so sick and frail herself she could not even hold him. A little boy so hungry he would have died within days had the orphanage not taken him in immediately and fed him. A little boy with legs so weak he could not walk at 1 1/2 years old. A little boy so full of parasites that he was most likely in constant pain. A little boy so disconnected he would not even cry, only silent tears would roll down his little cheeks.
This was ORPHAN awareness.......
True awareness of what an orphan is and what is needed of us.
They need food....not designer clothing.
They need love....not a DisneyWorld vacation.
They need a home....not entrance to an ivy league school.

So you know the rest of our story. We took that sick frail little guy with no personality, no confidence, no charisma and with food and love and yes, even a Disney World vacation we gave that little ORPHAN all of those things and so much more! He lights up every room he enters, he has a twinkle in his eye and honestly always has a grin smeared across his face!
With God's love and mercy that ORPHAN in the above picture is now this:

So let's remember the orphan and let's remember what can be done with the grace of God when we "look after the orphans and widows" according to his scriptures.

The Temporary Schoolroom

2010-11-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a bit MIA lately mostly because I am having extreme difficulty uploading pictures. I am sure it is a "me" problem and not blogger...but if anyone has any advice please let me know! They get to the uploading stage and never any further.
Back to the subject. This has been our most trying year of homeschooling yet. And my schoolroom is a big source of the issue!
Reason #1-More kiddos! Carson in 4th, Maddie in 2nd, Annie in K, Cam in Pre-K, Linc in Preschool.
Reason #2-Less space. We are in temporary house while we build, so at the moment we are in a house nearly a third of the size of the old house. The laundry also goes in and out of this area. Did I mention more kids...in smaller area...you get the idea!
Reason #3-Random weirdness. In our schoolroom we have 1 outlet (we had to move in before it was even finished). So no pencil sharpener, no computer set up...right now the CD player wins the outlet battle but pretty sure it will lose over to the heater once it gets cold!
Reason#4 -Since the move I have been extremely disorganized (some due to the above, some due to me being ME!)

So today I planned to get my schoolroom re-organized from the mess that had accumulated from the beginning of the school year. I even stopped and bought Toy Story 3 for the kiddos to watch while I worked on it. Well of course they were already in bed asleep before I was able to start!
I must add that I have a true, true friend who challenged me to post the pics tonight. That type of dare really does motivate me! So here it is at 3:16am!!
Keep in mind this is a partially finished basement with concrete floors, and un-painted drywall! So excuse some of the ugliness!
Below are my shelfs from Target (white and the stackable blue and red ones).
Hanging are my Pottery Barn mobiles (ABC's & Solar System)
The table on the left is Carson's desk with workboxes under it.
To the right is Lincolns table with his "montessori-ish" activities in the colored trays.
The door to the right is my laundry room.
The clear Show-Off totes on the top of the while shelves are my fav. containers and they hold all of my preschool in a bag, mah in a bag, and reading in a bag activities! LOVE these!!
Here you can see the desks for the middle three children. Between their desks are their workboxes. You can see Annies measurement man behind her desk! To the middle you can see solar system canvas we made!

So there it is clean ready for tomorrow,now I better get to bed so I am ready too!!

Disney Day 1!

2010-09-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

We had a second vacation planned for this fall to Disney. Traveling with our family of 7 was my mom, aunt and g-ma. Daddy is sorta "Disney-ed out" so the plan was for him to join us in the parks a few days and then spend a few days relaxing! Our original plan was to leave out first thing Saturday morning and to spend a couple days at the beach before heading to Disney. Our plans got a bit sidetracked when daddy ended up in Texas for the week prior and Maddie had a last minute softball game on Saturday! So when we were half way to the beach we decided to just go straight to Disney! We called around and got a great rate on The Swan and Dolphin...so we were even on Disney property!! WHooHoo we had arrived!

The first thing we did was take a stroll down the Boardwalk. It is a hotel based on an old time boardwalk...complete with jugglers, magicians, arcade games and more! By mere chance we arrived just in time for the firework show!
This pic shows the children posing with the "balancing guy"!
I was able to get lots of great firework pics!

Annie with her "Hidden Mickey" that she formed !

The foyer of the Dolphin is gorgous!

an outside shot!

Preschool Trays

2010-09-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

This year we have a new element to our school day. With Camden sitting in on our Kindergarten lessons with Annie, it leaves Lincoln all alone. When I found this great blog and her idea of preschool trays...I knew we had to try it!
I found these colored trays/tubs/bins in the value bins at Target for $2.50.
So Lincoln has four trays to play with each school day. I quickly realized that I tell him when he can go to the next one. Otherwise he would zoom through them all in 10 minutes just to see what is next!

Here are three for this day (the fourth sits on his work table).
The blue tray has an activity from Preschool Activity bags that we made in a swap with other moms this summer. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing this book and organizing a swap. For instance I made 15 identical bags with 14 other women. After the swap I went home with 15 different bags! The kids love them! (even my 2nd grader!)

The red tray was simple yet most likely the favorite! A paint dauber and piece of paper!!!Whoohoo!

The green tray was another Preschool Activity bag...it was plastic straws cut up in little pieces with pipecleaners, string, lanyard etc for stringing!

The blue tray was a grid of stickers (laminated) and then there were cards with the matching sticker. Linc played this for over 45 minutes!

The fourth tray this day was simply a collection of Trio (Lego style blocks).

I try to keep two trays an open-ended activity with no wrong or right or end result.

I could go into more detail but seriously she explains it so well...and in so much detail just go over and peruse her site!! (You will NOt be sorry!)

The only problem with the trays is that the older kids all want a turn!!! So when they finish all of their work...they get a turn!!

A great ABC preschool project!

2010-08-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is the new project that I am doing for the three youngest....they have been wanting/needing more from our school day!

Our School Year Plans...(as of now)

2010-07-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

This year will be a challenge for many reasons. One, we have sold our home and will be moving to a smaller home while we build a house. The house is less than half the size of the house we live in now so we are putting over half of our things in storage. So I have been in the school room for days deciding what I will need and what can be stored until Spring.

This year I will also have FOUR I am teaching daily (although I am sure Linc will also choose to hang out with us and do his preschool/montessori-ish activities.) Carson will be in fourth grade so that brings a bit of "pressure" as well! Maddie will be a 2nd grader and Annie & Cam will be doing Kindergarten work. Cam is only four and is still lacking in many fine motor skills but for the most part I believe he can keep up with Annie.

Typically I have geared everything to Carson. I Planned his curriculum and added in whatever for Madelyn. This year that is changing a bit because Madelyn is different learner than Carson and he does well with anything. We have learned that she is a "creative" learner and does not do well with lots of "fill in the blank", workbooks etc. That is the great thing about homeschooling!! I can teach each child according them their specific needs!

For Madelyn (2nd) we switched to Moving Beyond the Page. It is a comprehensive literature-based curriculum that covers all subjects other than math. It is all hands on projects and most of the activites are open ended so she will use more thought, evaluation and comprehension than worrying about a right or wrong answer. I just know she is going to do well with it!! I can't wait to start!
A few of the projects I will bring down a notch for the Kindergarteners and give Carson extra work to research on his own.
For her math we will continue to use Math-U-See.
Foreign Language: Singschool Latin
We will also continue with a bit of phonics for her, since reading is her weakest area.

Annie & Cam: (K & pre-K)
Handwriting:Handwriting without Tears
Reading: How to Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Phonics:(still not 100% decided) Explode the Code or Bob Jones University
Foreign Language: Songschool Latin (mostly listening to the CD with maddie)
Math: MUS or Saxon (still deciding)
Extras: Dolch Sight Words, bible
We will also do 1 Theme Pocket a month and 2 FIAR titles each month to complete their other subjects.

Carson-(4th Grade)
Math-Math-u-See
Spelling-Sequential Spelling
Grammar/Writing/Some reading/vocab: Moving Beyond the Page literature units
Foreign Language: Latin for Children
Additonal Reading: readers from WinterPromise history program & possibly Bob Jones reading

We still have several weeks of our Winter Promise American Story 1 to complete and once we are moved we will pick up with Winter Promise Story 2.

Then all of the kids will do the following (depending on age): (we will also meet up weekly with another family and work on these subjects)
IEW-writing
50 State study
Barry Stebbing Art/Famous American artists
Apologia Flying Creatures

So the way I figure it this should get us through middle school!!!hehe

Oops forgot to add in what little Lincoln (and Annie & Cam) will be doing to keep busy. Most of the extra "keep'em busy" activities I have in mind are from this genius over and 1+1+1=1!

Camden's B-day Part 1

2010-07-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Horse Camp!

2010-07-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

The culmination of this month was the craziest week yet! So both girls attended a local horse camp from 9-2 each day and Carson volunteered at autism camp each day from 9-2!! (Yes I know I had to clone myself and be two places at once twice a day!) Then we had VBS each evening ( and I taught!)!! This week was exhausting!! Add in packing, sorting and clearing out and whew!! I need a vacation!!
On to the girls....Annie has taken a sudden interest in horses. So when we told each of the children they could pick a camp to participate this summer, Annie said "HORSE CAMP!". I have never left her alone anywhere so I really encouraged Madelyn to go with her...but Madelyn wanted to attend a swimming camp. After much research I found a horse camp that offered swimming the second part of the day!!!The best part ...it was 4 minutes from our house! The girls learned to groom the horses and of course how to ride them!
On Friday they girls had a"show" for the parents to see what they had learned. Madelyn actually was able to get her horse to trot! I was amazed that she had that much confidence in 5 days!

Annie was trained with a unique double saddle. They train the younger children with these so they can progress to a trot and learn balance, rhythm and control much sooner than if they were on the horse alone with a instructor walking alongside! She did however ride alone too! If you know Annie this is amazing because she is not my adventurous child...quite the opposite actually! On a horse she is very content little girl though!

The camp had a whole litter of kittens which the girls LOVED!! There was also a little baby goat that they bottle fed each day!

Ready for the first day!

Welcome Home Tedi!

2010-07-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

With the huge crowd...this is the best picture I got :( but nonetheless another precious little one is home from Ethiopia in the arms of his forever family!
This was extra special situation because Paul met Natalie by chance last year in a doctors office in Somerset, Ky. Soon the talk turned to adoption and after a few emails they were attending our agencies anniversary celebration. (I am thinking that was in November)....well 7 months later and they are parents for the first time of this precious little guy!!!
They designed the shirts she is wearing and I love it...
5 million minus 1.......and they did just that they took in one of the 5 million orphans sitting in Ethiopia waiting for a family.
If you want to read about their journey...check out their blog!

2010-05-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Paul and I rarely get time alone to try new things. I have also become quite the chicken in my old age...actually I like to blame it all on the children (who wants to die doing something ridulous?)! Let me also state for the record,I have never really wanted to be dangled from a overgrown kite hundreds of feet above an ocean filled with man-eating sharks. Well I am not sure what happened but before I knew it we were signed up for all kinds of craziness! The trip to the parasailing boat was 10 times as much fun as the parasailing! We had to ride the big banana pulled by a jet ski and it was wet, wild and wacky!
I made Spencer (my cousin) and his girlfriend Kayla go first...to put off the getting in the air for as long as possible!! They were cute and loved it (young people?!?!?!) and saw lots of sea turtles!
Once it was our turn I liked it for about 8 or 9 seconds...then I looked at the little bitty teeny tiny rope that was holding us to the boat. It was about the diameter of a dime! So I began to get a bit queasy! Then I realized the only thing holding me into the "seat" were 2 metal clips...SERIOUSLY... who invented this activity!?!?
I asked Paul politely if I could throw up and he said no that he was down wind...so I struggled not to. I also realized quickly not to look behind me! I began to relax a bit and then it was time for our two water dips! I was SO nervous...I was afraid they wouldn't be able to get us up again! They did and we lived....but I am still not doing it again!

Below are Spencer and Kayla!

(Below is us on the banana....I seriously thought Spenc was gonna fall off (with out cameras).

Mothers Day/Arrive in America Day!

2010-05-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Okay so we have been rather confused as whether the boys Gotcha Day should be.Should it be the day we "got them" in Ethiopia or the day they got America, the day the 7 of us were together, the day we were a complete family, the day they "got" the extended family etc.
So this year I truthfully lost track of time or days I should say. So the day we "got them" passed full of craziness! So I planned on making Monday the Gotcha day...the day we arrived in America. Well I am a total goofball and mixed up my dates again...turns out the 9th was on Sunday NOT Monday...seriously how dumb...right?!?! So while we are at my aunts for Mothers Day...I realized it. So our Mothers Day dinner was also our Gotcha Day!

Our morning started very early. Madelyn is in the church choir and arrived at church at 8am. The choir led all three services for worship. Madelyn was so excited she had counted down the days for this (little drama queen loves the stage!). **front center row in a butterfly dress.

We left church and had planned to eat lunch with Pauls parents but after not figuring out a place we all agreed on we decided to do a raincheck. So I chose Famous Daves! I love all of their food...it is not Pauls favorite so i figured I needed to use the "mothers day card" . It worked and it was a lovely meal!

Next we went to Aunt Doe's to eat with my entire family. Spencer decided to bake brownies and I think he had more help than he could have imagined! After they all fought to lick the bowl he just put them on the ground! I told him you could tell the only thing he is used to caring for is a dog!

My mom opens her gift, a colorful necklace and earrings! (Notice her shirt...this is the shirt they wore at the airport when we arrived home!) She had realized it was the 9th and even gave the boys a gift....a fun Play-Doh set!

So momma has to have a pic with all of her kiddos..my poor uncle cannot see without his cheaters which should explain the pic!!hehe

Here we are with 4 generations! My grandma, mom, aunt, me and the girls!

Hmm sorry about the pic being sideways! (it takes too long on blogspot do re-do all of these!!)

Here is Paul and his mama and of course my camera lovin girl, Madelyn!

Here is a pic of the boys with mamaw and papaw on their 1 year anniversary of being "home"!

1 year ago today!

2010-05-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

One year ago today I boarded a plane in Rome bound for another foreign land....a land that was the birthplace and home of my two youngest sons.
One year ago today I saw Africa, for the first time in my life.
One year ago today I saw Ethiopia, the only home my sons had ever known.

One year ago today I saw the sign for KVI, my boys home for nine months of their little lives.

One year ago today I trembled as we entered the gate of the orphanage.

One year ago today I gave two little boys their first bath.

One year ago today I watched my little bitty boy drinking from a cup. A cup he shared with all the toddlers in the baby room.

One year ago today I was able to watch my little boy eat a meal.

One year ago today I watched a little boy who had lost so much sitting in his mamaw's lap.

One year ago today I watched our big boy sing and dance leading his orphanage friends.

One year ago today I was kissed by my 2nd son for the first time.

One year ago today I held two little boys that I had loved for 8 months but had only held in pictures.

One year ago today I stood on one continent with two children I had waited for, prayed for and imagined in my head for over a year.

One year ago today I watched my precious husband cry as he held our son for the first time.

One year ago today I saw the tenderness in the little boy that held on to his new daddy for dear life.

One year ago today I saw the maturity in a teeny tiny boy who asked "Is it my turn to go, my turn to go to America?"...really he knew what was happening?!?

One year ago today I was a mother of 5 and actually felt like it.

One year ago today I could verify that giving birth to a child and traveling down a gravel road and being handed a child is all the same.....love at FIRST sight.

One year ago today I examined every little piece of each boy...toenails, eyelashes, belly buttons and ears.....just like I did on my newborns.

One year ago today I realized that I waited for nine months from our referral until meeting my boys....funny that is how long I waited to meet the bio kids!!

One year ago today I could not imagine that today my Camden would be so smart, so healthy, so American, so MINE!

One year ago today I turned around and there was my new "baby".

One year ago I ached for your to dive into my arms.

One year ago today I held you as you trembled and cried silent tears.

One year ago today I thought I would hurt you, I wanted to squeeze you so tightly and you seemed so fragile.

One year ago today I saw you as scared, frightened, sad, worried and unsure. I would never imagine that in 365 days you would be bright, bubbly, brave, funny, sassy, charismatic and so, so much more!

One year ago today we arrived in Ethiopia to change the lives of two little boys. Two little boys who had lost everything. Two little boys with no family, no food, no shelter, no toys.....Well guess what? They changed our lives instead. They changed the lives of a middle class family who has family, who has food, who has a home and toys...too many toys!!! They have changed the lives of neighbors, friends, church members, family, strangers....

Their precious spirits just draw people in. Their outgoing personalities strike up conversations.

Their crazy hair makes people stop. Their little bodies but big smarts amaze.

They were "known when they were in their mothers womb"...God knew they would be Americans, God knew they would be Maynards, God knew they would change the world even if just as an adoption story.

One year ago today I became your mommy!

Workboxes

2010-04-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

We have been using workboxes nearly all of this school year, and they truly changed our school dynamics!! I am not sure how I schooled without them now! A woman named Sue Patrick invented the system and has book on it. She designed them for a child with ADD but I truly believe they are great for any child.
The basic idea is that each child has a number of drawers, file folders, boxes, bins, magazine holders...etc. (You can use what ever system you choose, however the principle behind it is a visual one...so if you have a visual learner or ADD child you may not want to use the file folders).
We chose to use the Sterilite clear drawers (set of 6) for Carson (3rd) and Madelyn (1st)...I also purchased an extra set and I use that for Cam & Ann (ages 4). I bought mine at Staples and they were about $29 each...pricey but worth it!
So each day (or on occasion, the night before!) I stock the drawers with 6 things (sometimes less) that each child can complete on their own or with a bit of help from mom.
This sounds too simplistic...but it works. The children know what is expected of them, they know the order they need to go in, they can see their work at a glance so they realize what is expected of them to finish for the day etc. With multiple children they can all get started and work side by side on different things without the dreaded "What do I do next?" or "I'm all done" (when they are NOT!)!!

So what goes in them?

Well for my 3rd grader it is usually any of his "workbook" work...so handwriting, copywork, reasoning, Wordly Wise, spelling (he brings that to me and I give him the test), Apologia review work or crosswords, math, pen pal letters (include envelope, stamp, paper) etc.
I like to throw in a card game with Maddie, a puzzle, 15 minutes of free time, build a lego structure etc. Just a little something to break up the day and add a little hands on activity.

For Madelyn (1st grade) I keep things a bit more spiced up, because she is a struggling learner and too many "workbooks" send her into a puddle of emotional breakdowns! So hers usually have 2 "fun" things each day...now by fun I mean an art project, drawing project, pen pal letter, fun journaling page, preschool activity bag, art dobbers, etc.
Her other boxes would be spelling, phonics, math, handwriting etc.

For Annie & Cam (4 year olds) I keep it all hands on fun with maybe one handwriting page or themed activity. So if we are studying farm animals they might have a farm animal printable book, farm lacing cards, construction paper with farm stickers, a mini play-doh with a cookie cutter...etc. They can do the boxes in any order. Any many times I do not even switch theirs out daily..maybe weekly.

Our drawers fit under each childs desk. Attached are numbers 1-6 that are laminated and velcroed on do each drawer...as the drawer is finished they remove the number and place it in a tray. This way at a glance they can see what is left to do!

A card game for an older child..

a preschool activity bag....

This is what I plan to implement next year. This will be laminated. The way this will work is that there will be picture discs for any number of these spots. #1 might be brush teeth, #2 might be make bed #3 might be get dressed then #4,5,6,7,8,9 will be the workboxes , #10 will be clean your jurisdiction, #11 etc...

I am adding this because the visual-ness of the workboxes work so well, so I figured adding in the daily chores would make sense.

An example of a preschoolers box...

What the box looks like after boxes 1 & 2 are completed.

Extra Tidbits!

-I switch up the order of the subjects each day.

-I split up things that require a lot of writing with math or puzzle etc

-It gives me an opportunity to print fun holiday activities

-It helps me use things that I normally will not build into a school day

Here are some of my FAVORITE workbox blogs/sites! Enjoy!

She uses the bin system!

Here is everything you need to know about workboxes!

Homeschoolshare has some great printable and activities!

She has some of my favorite resources out there! (poke around her site becuase she has lots of great preschool resources too!

That should keep you busy for awhile!!!

Easter Day!

2010-04-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter morning...great Easter service and then out to my moms for lunch! After lunch we fished, hunted eggs, rode on the four-wheeler and enjoyed time together as a family! Several times throughout the day we reminded ourselves that these two precious little brown boys were sitting in an orphange last year. It is so hard to believe that they have not always been here, with full tummies, baskets of candy and lots of hugs and kisses! I think of all the children home this year with their forever families....and all of those still sitting in orphanages waiting for a mommy and daddys love. Our lives have forever been changed by these boys! What a wonder day to remember our King and how we are also adopted and loved by a ever-loving father!

My Maddie and cousin Maddie!! Yeap, My step-sister and I were pregnant at the same time...and we both picked out the name Madelyn...and they were both surprises and were both GIRLS! We don't seem them often enough but they get along SOO well once they are together! On you mark, get set go!!! Find those Easter eggs....!!

The boys safe from the doggies in daddys arms!!

Our sweet family! (that is my moms pond on her property..isn't it beautiful)

The sweet grandchildren...

My sweet kiddos and my two nieces!

Ready for church..

Our eggs including our fun tie-dyed eggs. We also made chocolate covered pretzels!!

Fun at Louisville Slugger

2010-04-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Paul grew up in Chicago, and is lucky enough to kept in touch with many of his childhood friends. One his friends married a really cool girl and if they lived closer I feel like it is safe to say we would be very close! Add to that, all of our kiddos get along great too! We get to Chicago about once or twice a year and they get down here about the same. They came down a few weeks ago for a long weekend.
We started off at Waffle House (evidently they do not have WH in Chicago, so that was a must for Pete!) then we headed to Louisville Slugger Museum. The kiddos all enjoyed the museum, the daddys hit some balls in the batting cages and we all went on the factory tour and received our little mini bats!

Next we headed to Waterfront park...whew that was so stressful to keep an eye on so many littles ones. So after awhile we decided Tumbleweed was calling our name! This was a pic of all of the kiddos on the hill prior to rolling down!

Not sure why this pic turned on me...but this is Maddie holding Mickey Mantles bat!

...some great words

2010-04-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our friends who are adopting from ET are simply incredible with words. Nearly everytime I read their blog I am blown away...last night was yet another time! (And this time it is even a quest blogger!)
Please check out JT & Natalies blog so you can think about what might have been.....

Adoption-Where to Begin!?

2010-03-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Over the last year Paul and I have been contacted nearly monthly by families with questions about adoption. I love sharing our story with anyone who asks and can only hope that I can help another family start their journey to adoption!

I am not much help in the area prior to your decision to adopt. My husband and I knew we wanted to adopt from the time we were dating. So once you have come to the decision then maybe I can help! So here are my ideas below and if you have adopted and want to add to this please add to the comments!

The first question for most families is WHERE do we adopt from?? I believe God will most assuredly lead you in the right direction for your family. Some of us can do very little research and immediately be drawn to the right adoption path for our families. Others are very unsure of which path to take and need to do a little detective work!

Options include:
1.) Domestic infant adoption-There are many agencies that specialize in infant adoptions. This is for a family who wants to adopt a newborn (most likely will bring the child home from the hospital). These adoptions can be opened or closed. This is up to the birthparents and adoptive parents. Normally this process includes preparing a "scrapbook" of your family and the birthparents "choose" the family they want to raise their child. The cost is near the highest end of adoptions, normally around $30,000. The cost varies depending if the birthmother has insurance to cover the birth etc. The cost will also be higher for a caucasian child and less expensive for bi-racial, hispanic, or African children. (no comments..I know it is ridiculous)

2.)Domestic infant adoption (variable 2) There are families who just spread the word that they want to adopt. Someone who knows someone who knows someone can then agree for you to adopt the baby. This can be less expensive because many times you are only looking at lawyer fees. I know of several successful adoptions like this. There are usually adoption lawyers that sometimes know of children that need homes as well. This just takes the adoption agency out of the equation..lower costs and usually wait time. I have heard of families spending less than $5,000!

3.)A waiting child in from the US- There are only about 123,00 waiting children in the US. (that seems like alot but remember there are 5 million in Ethiopia which is equivalent to the size of Alaska). A waiting child is legally free to be adopted and usually a ward of the state. You also have to know of these 123,00 many are sibling sets and/or special needs. Special needs....this can range from wearing glasses and having asthma to cerebral palsy. A friend of mine is finishing up this process. She searched from February until September. She searched every state in the US. She was looking for a caucasian boy between the age of 4 & 7. She met her son in October and he came home to live with her in December, the adoption will not be final in a court until 6 months after placement. This process works a bit differently for every child and every family. She found that in the US they are a bit more picky. For instance some children need to be an only child, some needed to be a middle child, some could not leave the state they were in because other birth siblings were still there etc. I just give you this information so you know WHY it is a bit more difficult to find a child here in the US that will work for your family.
The cost for these adoptions are usually under $2,000 tops. You can get a free homestudy done through your state. If you get a private homestudy the cost is about $1500.00 The other fee would just be a lawyer fee for court. These children will get insurance and college scholarships and some will qualify for monthly stipends depending on the severity of their disibility.

4.)Foster to adopt-If going this route you first become an approved foster home. You would foster child who are most likely going to be available for adoption. The process of how a child is deteremined adoptable, the ages of children, the length of the process before it is legal is all dependent on the state laws. The cost of these adoptions can be relatively free from what I understand. I know many success stories however the families will tell you there is heartache for every happy ending!

5.)International adoption-There are many countries that are open to the US for adoption now. If you know you want to go international but have no pull to a specific country it is easiest to start crossing some off the list. Bethany Christian Services has a great information page that shows the basic details for each country.
A few of the criteria that you can "cross" a country of the list for:
-age of adoptive parents (ex. Prior to the quake I believe you had to be 35 to adopt from Haiti)
-length of marriage
-if you are single
-specific health conditions (ex. with my history of cancer I cannot adopt from China)
-number of children already in your home
-length of travel (we could not adopt from Russia due to the required travel of nearly a month in country, because we had the other 3 small children)
-Do both parents need to travel
-Cost
The cost for intercountry adoption is from $16,000-$30,000 depending on the country and travel. The time varies in each country from 6 months total to 3+ years.

I know someone who has adopted from each of these options. If you want I can always connect you to these families who would be happy to share their experiences with you!

I was once told the adoption journey is like a roller coaster. You consider riding, you think about riding, you might ride, you might not, you talk about and then you get in line! You might consider leaving the line as it gets closer but then once you are on the ride there is no turning back. You wait, you cry, you smile, you laugh, you love, you scream.....and then when you get off you want to do it all again!

I also want to share my church website that has some great information.

How Great Thou Art...

2010-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a great art program, we love Barry Stebbing art. We are currently working through I Can Do All Things. We do other art projects all through the year, so we use it sporadically. This covers basic drawing techniques, color mixing etc. The best part is that the lesson is taught on a DVD! So after our school day is nearing the end I can pop in the DVD and the children will sit and draw for hours! This was the first time Annastyn aged 4, tried the program and she loved it! She did remarkably well for her age as well!

This lesson was teaching straight lines. This is Annie's work.

African Curriculum

2010-02-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

I have used this product but just came across it and it seems to have great reviews! Just wanted to share with you. If you have used it leave a comment and tell us about it!

I found it all individually priced out here at Lamppost Publishing.

And here in an all-inclusive kits or individually!

50 years!!

2010-02-15T23:49:00.000-08:00

Paul's parents will celebrate 50 years together this week! We threw a surprise party for them this weekend. It was not an easy task throwing a surprise party when 2 sisters are in other states and the party is here! We got it pulled together though and it was a hit!
Here is Billy Joe down on one knee asking her again to marry him...(I know how sweet!) although she did say NO!!!! lol
Here they are watching the video montages that were put together...some serious....some funny and the grand finale was "photoshopped" pictures of the two of them in Hawaiian bodies, hula dancing and in the conga line! This was all part of the "reveal" that we were sending them to Hawaii!!! They are very conservative so they were super surprised at the pics...it was hilarious!

Can you tell what Paul will look like when he is older?!

Here is the picture of all 4 children, 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren! (plus us in-laws!!)

Paul and I only have 40 years left for our big party!! I told Annie to take notes, because we wanted all of this one day!!

Bedroom art project!

2010-02-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

All three boys share a room. With the age difference I decided to do more of color scheme than a theme. The walls are still bare after all of these months! We waited for quite awhile because our house is for sale and I ahted to put holes in the walls. Now I am just sick of plain walls so we are ready to finish the room!
I love children's artwork used around the house so I bought each boy a canvas to paint. The little boys made theirs..and they are precious. Carson has not made his yet.
First here are pics of the boys in their cutie patootie pjs!
Camden mostly did his little fingerprints..it turned out really unique!

Lincoln was hesitant at first about having paint on his hands. But once he started I could not get him to stop!

The finished masterpieces!!

2010-02-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

a bit more Maynard slang!!

Hanitizer - Used by Annie (Hand sanitizer)

"Picture This" or "Picture Me"-Used by Camden Meaning:Take a picture!

2010-02-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be good to include a bit of the Maynard slang, just in case you ever wonder what is being said over here!

Snowmen-used by Cam & Linc meaning: snow
used in a sentence: Look mom I step on snowman, I pick up snowman, I throw snowman....lots of snowmans mom.

Lookwhat - used by Cam
A combination of "Guess What" and "Look"!
used in a sentence: Lookwhat mom, lookwhat I cleaned up my toys.

Amnesium -used by Carson & Maddie (Amnesia)

Epiopia - used by Annie (Ethiopia)

"I like to movie, movie....I like to movie, movie"-sung by Camden instead of " I like to move it, move it....I like to move it, move it."

"mabeuy" - used by Lincoln
Interpretation: "mama's boy"

shinte- used by Lincoln
He still uses the Ethiopian word for pee-pee!

ka-ka-used by Lincoln (and the other children occasionally)
yeap still uses the Ethiopian word for poo-poo too!

Big brown -used today by cam for the first time when he saw a tall black man...he said "look mom he is brown like me, he is big brown...I am little brown"

"make my hair little"-used by camden when he wants a haircut!

waa- used by Lincoln Interpretation-water

Fweet tea-Used by Camden Interpretation: Sweet Tea

Jonifer Brothers- Used by Annie Interpretation: Jonas brothers

Vawentibes Day - used by Annie...I am sure you can guess!!

that is all I can think of right now...more to come I am sure!

2010-02-03T20:14:00.001-08:00

Please don't think much of the video below! We are trying to get a video of the boys talking to their birthmother. We have been told she is very ill and would love to see video and or pictures of the boys before she passes. I am trying to figure out a new computer and an old camcorder...which is resulting in pretty much nothing! On the upside I guess you guys get to enjoy the video!!!

Bethany

2010-02-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

5 Million Minus 1 t-shirts!!!!

2010-01-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

This is the priceless t-shirt design of our precious friends JT & Natalie. They are raising funds to bring "One of the 5 million" orphans waiting for a home in Ethiopia! They will make awesome parents of the little guy they have been matched to. I can't say much about him yet, but let's just him and Cam are sure to be best buds!!
I have ordered myself a shirt and one for Cam & Linc....I am not sure when I see them wearing this shirt I will even be able to hold back the tears....seriously we only saved 2 out of 5 MILLION! Anyway great design...love,love,love it!

Fun products to take a look at!

2010-01-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

Check this blog to see some fun personalized name plaques with Bible verses....
AND % of the sales go to ministries in Uganda! Love, love, love these!

Next go over and check out these very cute t-shirts and necklaces that are a fundraiser for a family in Florida adopting a sweet little baby boy from Ethiopia.
I HAD to have this shirt because it has our adoption verse on it!! Great colors too!

Last but not least check out these precious handmade flag blankets from several countries. very unique!!

Winter Promise Fun!

2009-12-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

This year we are using a literature based program called WinterPromise, we are really enjoying all the rich books we are reading. The kids will beg me to read another chapter over and over, and I must admit that I enjoy the stories as much as the children!!
Along with the books there is a timeline that is done notebooking style, crafts (usually several each week to choose from) and various other hands-on projects. Above the children made little pouches decorated with their own designs.

Here is Madelyn's 3D map of Jamestown.

The kids made leather pouches similar to those the native Americans would have stored items in. Madelyn had to make hers a purse!

2009-12-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well I don't believe I will ever be able catch up on our advent progress!! The computer being gone for a week has just put me too much behind! So i think I will just have to update a much as I can!
If you are on my facebook you already have seen the pics of Madelyn. She played a munchkin in the hip-hop version of The Wizard of Oz......Oz the Musical! It was a hilarious musical, if it is coming to a city near you...go see it!! So with the show over and no more practices...we will have a bit more time to finish up our Christmas activities!!
One day with our advent activities we made Christmas cards for the family.

Another days craft was making tissue paper votive holders. Lincoln was even able to participate in this activity very easily, so I encourage you to try this one with even your littlest tykes!!

I bought these little glass containers at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents. They were with the candle making supplies. Cut up tissue paper squares and any other designs for instance if there are snowmen on your tissue paper cut them out for an actual design. Pour glue on a paper plate and add water. They paint the glass with glue, add tissue, cover with glue...repeat. Coat it really well when complete.

One Year Ago Today....

2009-12-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

was one of the saddest days of our lives. It was the first court date we had for the boys in Ethiopia. We received an email at about 8am saying we had not passed, and it had been rescheduled for Januaury. While we knew it was a possibility to not pass court the first time it was still so heartbreaking.
To know your boys need your arms to hold them, to know your boys need your hands to wipe their tears, to know your boys need your food to fill their tummies, to know your boys need a warm bed, to know your boys need a bath...their first bath, to know your boys are a continent away and there is NOTHING you can do about it.....and worse than that a single sheet of paper is what stands in the way of giving them all of those things. It is the saddest, emptiest, helpless, brokenest I have ever felt.

I write this a year later. Our boys are home. They have full bellies. They love their bath time! They have lots of arms to hold them and hands to wipe away tears. The waiting time now seems like a faint dream. It seems like these boys have been here since the day they were born.
I hope if you are in the process you will be encouraged that during the hardest times in this process you will grow closer to your spouse and most of all closer to your Lord!
They WILL come home and there even be days you dread making another meal and giving another bath.....and that is when the wait will seem like a distant memory!

Day 4

2009-12-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Today we totally skipped our advent activities today because it was a full,full day!
After our school work we headed to the United Ministries for a service project.
Carson helped out in the food pantry stocking shelves.
The littles went downstairs and sang Christmas carols to the residents in the adult day care. Then they made crafts with the residents and helped decorate the Christmas trees.

The older kids went to church for kids night in. They played games, ate pizza and made a ton of crafts!

Advent Day 3

2009-12-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

So sorry these are so late...we had a lovely computer crash last week!!

We attended our co-op Christmas party in the afternoon and the kiddos made a couple ornaments each and decorated and ate a cookie! Next we moved on to Christmas carols and games!
(pictures to come...)

At home for advent we made a blessings container (decorated oatmeal container). We each put in a slip of paper with how God has blessed our family. It was awesome to hear Carson say God blessed us by giving us Camden and Lincoln, Annie and Maddie said each other, Camden broke my heart when he said "My Bikea and my grandpa in Africa" (his Bikea is his birth mom).

Bible verses: Isaiah 42:1,5,6 Isaiah 60:1-3,19-22
Word to know: Light
Music, craft, family activity: Co-op Christmas party & blessings container

Ethiopian Ornaments....

2009-12-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

I LOVE finding items with Africa especially Ethiopia on them....I also LOVE,LOVE personalized items.....but do you know what I love even more than those two ?!?!?
Helping a family bring home two little ones from Ethiopia!!!
Check out these precious ornaments that friends of ours are handpainting to raise money for their adoption! You can check out their blog here.

Day 2

2009-12-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

Day 2:
Reflection: Jesus is the Light of the World: What does this mean to you? John 8:12
How can be we be lights?
Activity: Help mommy hang lights around the house.
Read Bible Verses: Isaiah 11:1-5, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Isaiah 53:1-6
Word to Know: Righteousness
Books-Several Christmas stories
Music-Choir practice for Christmas program

Countdown to Christmas Day 1

2009-12-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we began our advent activities. I pulled activities from several sources and the kids are really enjoying this part of our day. It is adding a good hour to our school day, but is so worth it! I pulled most of these ideas from Marcy, she is always a wealth of information so stop by her blog today! I am pairing parts of her list with a fun little book called Keeping CHRIST in Christmas for Kids by Donna and Nick Medendorp. Last but not least I ordered the Symbols of Christmas from Hands of a Child.

Day 1:
Activity: Making our advent countdown tree with green paint and kids hands! They always love paint on the hands! Each day we wil cover up each hand with an ornament, so by Christmas we will have a decorated tree!!
Reflection: Discussed "What is everlasting life?"
John 6:47 1Peter 2:24 John 3:16
Read Bible verses: Psalm 62 1-5, Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah 40:28-31, Hebrews 10:23
Word To Know: prophecy
Family Gift: Veggie Tales St.Nick

Carson puts the tree on day 1!

Lincoln was evidently quite bored with our activities!!

The "littles" watching the Veggie Tales St.Nick video. Funny thing is Carson originally said he was too old for this movie and has now watched it 3 times! The kids are so sad that St.Nicks parents died....they will not stop talking about it. It has really opened up good questions for the holidays. I asked Madelyn if she could tell me why the story of St. Nick and the giving of gifts are are all around the same time as Jesus' birthday. She answered with "Because when God sent his Son he sent us a gift, it was a perfect gift.We can't give perfect gifts, but we can still give the best gifts we can and that makes God happy!"

I loved her answer !

All She Wants For Christmas Is Her Two Front Teeth

2009-11-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

Madelyn's other front tooth was knocked out when she was only 2, (trying to trapeze on her canopy bed!). Four years later she has finally lost the other one! It was wiggling for days. Mommy absolutely cannot stand a loose tooth, I want to pull them or wiggle them or tie string on them. Carson is such a sissy he never lets me have much fun, I eventually put him in a headlock and yank them! Well Madelyn is such a trooper she let me try everything! She has pulled all of her other teeth herslef so I thought it was daddy's turn, so Madelyn let him and boom it was gone!
I logged onto Utube and showed her some videos of the "All I Want For Christmas...." and so then she sang it for Paul and I we were rolling...the line "sither Shusy thitting on a thisle"...LOVE IT!!

Week in Chicago!

2009-11-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

Daddy's friend Mike that he grew up with is in the military and is stationed in Japan. He was home for a visit so we headed up to Chicago to visit with him. Pauls sister still lives there so we also squeezed in a visit with the fam!! We spent one day with the friends (no pics ) having lots of fun eating and playing Pictionary (GIRLS RULE!!). We always have a blast with Pet and Mandy, Mike and Natalie and the 9 kiddos!! Too bad we are not closer to Chicago...or Japan!!
We spent one day in the city at the Shedd aquarium (now Camden wants a dolphin for Christmas!) and we spent lots of time eating all of daddy's favorite foods from the city!!

Camden's First Haircut!

2009-11-25T16:59:00.000-08:00

The hair! Paul and I said before the boys were even home that we would let their hair be longer or I guess the appropriate term would be a "fro"! We love it and we think it is precious. Lincoln has a good curl and is doing really well...Cam's on the other hand...not so much! His curls are different and it was more boxy than Linc's. Carson recently got a cut and Camden has been asking for a cut, so it was time!!
His first American haircut!!
I wonder what the process has been like in the orphanage because he did very well, but at the same time was a bit timid and nervous (not a normal trait of Camdens!!).
We had been told about an African barber shop in J-town, so we headed out! As I peeked in the door I got the weird look from all of the men waiting like "lady your in the wrong spot"! So I go in and snuggle my white self among all the black men waiting annd black barbers. Who I am sure were all just giggling inside!! When Camden's turn came he jumped up into the seat.
With his big knotted up afro getting bigger and bigger as the barber picked it out, I was sinking lower and lower into my seat! So then I figured I would cut some of the tension as I announce to the entire shop "I am pulling the mommy card and taking out my camera because this is his first haricut". At that point I started taking pictures and had small talk with a couple of the men...wheww tensions relieved!!
Back to Camden...he did great, sat as still as a mouse. When it was over he ran to me and held me for dear life, so I think he was more nervous than he was letting on! He loves his new cut and is showing everyone, telling them "I no cry when my hair cut little"!!
So withour further ado...pictures!

He looks older in these pictures, but in person he looks about 1 year younger!

Mommy/Annastyn/Camden Date Night

2009-10-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

With the cold weather that hit us we had to head to The Mall to my favorite store...Children's Place. It was mostly Annie that needed to try on the pants so I decided to make it a date night for us. Then my sweetie pie inssited that Camden join us...so we had a triple date!
We spent the first couple of hours in the store and then we headed to get "chicken and fries". The lady at the counter asked if they were both mine with a weird expression, I think she even surprised herself because she then ran over and handed each of the kids a stuffed cow!!
On the way out of the mall we stopped by a photo booth and the kids hammed it up for some precious pics! It was a great night of fun, laughter and comments like " You are the best big brother in the world!" and " we need to hold hands Camden and skip like this..." and "Annie is my family in America".....fun times I tell ya!!
I do want to point out that it is a great testament to the good that comes out of "twining" through adoption. They are becoming closer every day!

Here is pic of Annie and I before we left! photograph by Camden
Here is Camden and myself. Photograph by Annastyn

The kids dancing! Photograph by mommy

In their matching tee-s that I bought last January!! Linc has one that says "Little Brother"!!

The ever powerful hugs...part love, part meanies!!! hehe

2009-09-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys I have tried and tried to upload pics with no luck.
So when I have pics I might have words too!! hehe

vaccines...fun, fun, fun!!

2009-08-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

I guess it is that time again, to explore the world of vaccines! I stopped vaccines when Annie was about 1 year old. I just had a gut instinct about those 18 month shots and just stopped..cold turkey on all the kids. I have researched SO much about these shots. The hardest part of this information gathering process is that when you look at information the positions are extremely left or right and nearly nothing in the middle. I feel like I am in the middle or at least the 60/40 mark. I think some of the older vaccines that have been around for years are important to get and are worth the risk....I feel like some are just silly (why get a vaccine that can cause death rather than the Z-pack to treat the illness)...and then I think some are down right dangerous and too new to administer.
I also think that our children are "recommended" triple what we got as children, meanwhile cases of ADD, ADHD, allergies, asthma, SIDS, Shaken baby, learning disorders etc seem to have tripled...ironic huh! So you might find the occasional post on a vaccines....because now that the adoption is over...I may have to time to dwelve into this area again!
I do not want any haters please ..however if you have had experiences on either side please share. EX. Your child was helped from a vaccine or contracted the disease through the vaccine or did not get the vaccine and contracted the disease.
`thanks Bethany :)

Vaccines - Know the Hidden Dangers
by MT from The Bon Bon Gazette

As parents we bring our children into the world and obligate ourselves to protect them. Vaccinations: a necessity to keep your child healthy and to provide immunity against life-threatening illness. Or, so we are taught and are told to believe.

But, could these same vaccines cause our children to be sick, or even die?
Sadly, yes.

I write this from the standpoint of a mother. A mother of a child who has been hurt by the shots that I trusted him to receive at the hand of a respected pediatrician. I was a first time mother who listened to my doctor and didn't ask questions. My son received a total of 8 shots over 2 visits shortly after his first birthday. After returning home from his well-visit where he received a cocktail of shots including the then Thimerosal containing MMR (this was in 2001) he wailed in his Pack 'n Play crib and began to bang his head repeatedly on the top rail. He had never done this before and it scared me. When I lifted him out of the crib he was hot and feverish - the crying did not stop. He had trouble breathing and we took him to the ER where they gave him breathing treatments and told us he had "reactive airway disease" or Asthma. He proceeded on a path of always being sick. He stopped babbling and did not develop speech the way that a child his age should. What happened to the words he already had? We had his hearing tested and it came back fine. My child who had been otherwise healthy, hitting milestones as a baby should - slipped away. He later was diagnosed with PDD-NOS.

My son has Autism. I believe it was triggered by all the shots he received. Too many shots, packed with toxins were too much for his fragile immune system to handle.

Our story is not all that unique. More than hundreds... thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of parents of children with Autism will recount similar histories. The rate of Autism is 1 in 150 children or 1 in 94 boys. In my state (New Jersey) it is 1 in 60 boys and 1 in 94 children. New Jersey also mandates more vaccines than any other state.

But, haven't the studies shown that the MMR is not linked to Autism? Hasn't Thimerosal been removed from vaccines? Depending on who you ask, the answer is Yes or No, or even Maybe. Trace Amounts = Yes.

Sadly, mercury is not the only neurotoxin or "problem" with vaccines.

They may have removed thimerosal (they claim) from vaccines but other neurotoxins (i.e. aluminum) remain [and thimerosal in some still]. The number of vaccines for children has also increased, drastically. In the past when kids got 10 shots, not they get more than 30! With that we have also seen a rise in other auto-immune and neurological related disorders. More children with autism, asthma, severe food allergies, irritable bowel, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, "failure to thrive",.. the list goes on. More infant deaths than ever from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and SBS (shaken baby syndrome).

Related to Vaccines? I say, Yes.

Before you do any vaccinating, do your homework.

Educate yourself on the risks and hidden dangers

Become familiar with the vaccination law in your state. Start with the NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center). Find state by state regulations here. Heed their Vaccination Tips.

Read the inserts that your doctor provides about the shots your child will be receiving.

Do not vaccinate a sick child. Ever. Their immune system is already compromised.

Avoid giving Tylenol before your child gets a shot to help alleviate anticipated side effects. It will hamper their effect to naturally de-tox from the shot.

Research the ingredients in each shot. You will find toxins - Formaldehyde, Aluminum, Antifreeze, Aborted Human Fetal Tissue, Methanol, MSG, Latex and more. An eye-opening list of vaccine ingredients

Watch the movie, Vaccine Nation.

Read the books: The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library), What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations

Use the "University of Google" and read, read, read.
Where to start:
Vaccine Awakening
Vaccine Nation Documentary
National Vaccine Information Center
Vaccines Exposed
Vaccination News
Vaccine Safety
Immunization Action Coalition
Vaccine Ingredients
VAERS - Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
Vaccines and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

What I am saying is this:

Vaccines are not without risks. Kids are getting sick, hurt, and even dying. My personal stance is not anti-vaccination. I believe in vaccination choice. The right for parents to decide whether to vaccinate or not, all/none/or some.

Educate before you Vaccinate.

This is America, there should be no forced vaccination here.

To learn more about the author and vaccines visit The Bon Bon Gazette

I have to thank Mary Tara for taking the time to put this together for my blog, and here's a little more of her story....

So, for all of us who may not know, tell us a little about what autism is exactly.
Autism is a neuro-developmental disability that affects 1 in 150 children. It is a spectrum disorder meaning the symptoms and characteristics present themselves in a variety of ways ranging from mild to more severe. Diagnoses on the Autism spectrum include: Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder- NOS (not otherwise specified), Aspergers Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder. Characteristics of someone with autism often include: difficulty in communicating, poor eye contact, self-stimulating (ex. flapping or spinning), sensory processing issues. However, it is important to know that Autism is not a "one size fits all" disorder - it is exactly the opposite from that. Two children with the same diagnosis may behave and function completely opposite from each other.

So when was it that you realized that the problems your son was experiencing were a result of the vaccine?
My son was developing typically until he received shots after his 1st year well visit. He got very ill after receiving the shots and then proceeded to miss milestones (he even lost the language he did have). I asked my doctor if his illness was related to his shots, of course they told me no. By 2 years old when he was clearly not hitting the milestones he should have we had him in Early Intervention services receiving therapy. I tried to believe what the doctors told me - that it wasn't related to shots, but the more and more I talked to other parents and did research for myself I could see that my gut was correct.

Tell us what was going through your head when you realized this.
Anger, Guilt, Blame. I was mad that my son wasn't getting the childhood that I envisioned and would likely not have the future we would have hoped for him. I blamed the doctor, the shots, and myself. I was packed with guilt for letting them poison my son and hurt his brain.
I felt it was my fault. It made me depressed but at the same time I knew that I needed to snap out of it, get over it, and get to helping my son. I couldn't and wouldn't sit around and have a pity party for myself because that would get my son nowhere.

So what did you do from there?
I don't even really remember those months after the diagnosis. It truly is a blur. I think like most mothers when their child gets diagnosed - I proceeded fast forward in every direction to make sure that my son had every therapy service in place for school and home. We had a lot of doctor's appointments and therapy sessions. My door was a revolving door of therapists coming to help Alex and I remember thinking during that time about how I'd completely lost any sense of privacy for myself but that privacy was no longer my priority. My priority is/was my child.

So, from your research, what have you concluded is a possible reason for some kids' negative reactions to the vaccines and not for others? I subscribe to the belief that genetics pre-loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger. I believe my son's immune system was not great and he got too many shots that were loaded up with too many toxins for his brain and body to handle. In the Hannah Poling case, they were able to show that her Autism developed after receiving shots which "aggravated a pre-existing mitochondrial condition".

And what lifestlye changes has your family made to help your son's autism? The biggest thing we have done is to put my son onto a special gluten and casein free diet - essentially no wheat and no dairy. You may have heard about it from Jenny McCarthy, but parents with autistic children have been 'onto' this diet for years. It doesn't work for all kids with autism, and there is a alot of debate in the community about it. It also takes a lot of commitment and can be costly - not every can do it but I am a firm believer in giving it a try. I struggled with doing the diet in the past too but when my son was 6, we were able to put him fully onto the diet. Everyone noticed a change in him immediately - relatives, teachers, neighbors. I don't need any convincing now about the gfcf diet, it has made a huge difference in my son's life. Looking at cleaning up his diet and what that did - it made me pursue a greener approach for the entire family. I try to get organic foods as much as possible and use household products that are non-toxic. I'm very mindful about what goes into my kids bodies.

Do you have hope that your son will ever be cured? I have hope that my son will live a happy, healthy, rewarding life. I do not believe that he will be "cured", there isn't a "cookie-cutter" cure for Autism, though I do know many people who have been able to reverse Autism though DAN! protocol (biomedical practices).

Hello Kittie Mama shares the joys and struggles of her life at The Bon Bon Gazette.

It is about that time......

2009-08-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

So this year we are trying a new curriculum....we have always used a literature approach to learning. I love this method of learning, the children actually digging into stories to learn about topics. The past two years we used Five in a Row and used www.homeschoolshare.com for lit units using classic childrens books. While I have loved using these, there is alot of work that goes into organizing the year, finding the book, printing the goodies for the lessons etc.
Knowing this year was going to be a bit different with 5 kiddos in the classroom and the fact that Carson is getting older and needs a bit more "beef"....I decided to find a lit based curriculum that is laid out day by day for me!

I have decided on Winter Promise and the themed unit we have chosen is Amercian Story 1. This will cover our geography, history, social studies, Bible and reading. We have chosen our own grammar, spelling, math and science to add to it.

I am very excited to try this method of opening a binder and doing todays blocked off activities. The other great thing is that it is a 4 day a week curriculum so that leaves meour extra day for co-op!! So I will let you guys know how it goes later this fall!

Our other curriculum choices for 09/10 are:
Carson(3rd)
Grammar-First Language Lessons
Math-Math-U-See
Handwriting- Handwriting without Tears
Art- How Great Thou Art
Science-Apologia Astronomy
(Co-op classes will be Apologia Astronomy, karate, Sign Language, Little House)

Madelyn (1st)-
Grammar-First Language Lessons
Math - MAth-U-See
HAndwriting - Handwriting without Tears
Art-How Great Thou Art
Science - Apologia Astronomy
Phonics - Explode the Code
Reading - 100 Lessons
Spelling - Dolch SIght Words
(Co-op classes karate, sign language, Animals in Their Worlds, PE)

Annie 4 years old
MISC. - ABC units
Rod & Staff K program
Handwriting without Tears

Camden-
Handwriting without Tears
ABC Units

Product Review!

2009-07-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

I am excited to share with everyone a great new family owned business. The Clark family has developed a great site where they share inspiration, ideas, organizational tips and more! You can access it here! One of the first products they are offering are file folder games. My family was able to try these products and we LOVE them!

Okay, lets start with why before these products I steered away from file folder games. I had been introduced the the "old school" black and white reproducibles. So the process went a bit like this...make copies....color pages....cut laminate....cut again....well that process gets VERY lengthy around the coloring stage!! So until the Integritas file folder games we only had 3 of the others that were ever completed!!! My other problem was that ALL of the games in that book were for children of one particular age. We know that in homeschooling or even as parents working with children after school that we need multiple age/level games.

So why do I LOVE these file folder games???
1.)Very cute designs...all of the artwork is hand drawn by the creator...a past art teacher!
2.)Interesting ideas...some are board game style, some are matching, etc...each.
3.)They are already colored for you!!! And it gets better! They are colored in a light watercolor effect so when you print them it doesn't feel like you are emptying your print cartridge!!
4.) If you have a concept that your child needs help with or simply enjoys ...you can request a special designed folder made just for your needs!!! For instance a friends son needed help with multiplication and loves football....and he now has a Touchdown Multiplication file folder game!

We decided to spend an afternoon at the park and I pulled over one child at a time to do the file folder game for his/her level. This was a great idea by the way because the other children were more than busy playing so we got one on one time!

Here is Lincoln (2 years) just playing with the Seasons Change file folder....he is not there quite yet!

Annie is the one who tried out the Seasons Change game for "real". She loved it! You dress up the fox in the clothing for each season...so she enjoyed putting on his raincoat and hat and putting an umbrella in his hand..picture paperdolls that teach!!

If you sign up for the email newsletter you can receive a file folder game for FREE!!

Oh and did I mention that the games are very reasonable and can be delivered directly to your email or you can purchase the entire collection for one one low price all on a CD!!?

Stay tuned for the reviews of the other games coming soon!

FYI:I did laminate our folders and the pieces at our local teacher resource center so they are more durable.

10 months ago....

2009-07-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

..... Susan (our adoption agent) emailed these pictures to us! I cannot even remember my feelings that day! I will say it is now weird to look at pictures of the boys "there"....because it feels like they have always been "here". I promise you if are considering adoption or are on the adoption road but still a bit unsure of how the feelings will work out..that God has that taken care of! I truly believe he puts a feeling in your heart for "your" child...just the same as when you give birth and look into their eyes and know they are yours.

I do specifically remember looking at Yishake in this picture and thinking he looks like Paul...short, big forehead and curly hair!!!LOL I also remember that sneaky little grin on his face and thinking "Oh yeah he is a Maynard!!".

Wow..only 10 months ago!

Holiday World

2009-07-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Little Lincoln was afraid of most everything in the "world"...no pun intended!!hehe
He made it on the antique cars and the little canoe ride and that was about it! He was even afraid of cotton candy!! But I guess you can tell by this picture below that he does like ice cream! He had it under his neck, in his hair...ugh !! (I chuckle thinking what Kate of Jon & Kate would have done hehe!!) He had it so long that the cone was a elastic-ish substance! He kept shoving it in and gagging, until I explained to him we could throw it away and he smiled really big! Carson acting silly!

Wildly enough the boys were not afraid of good ole' Santa...they bear hugged him. Looks like if we visit Disney again we have 2 moe character hogs!!

Carson and Madelyn plan our route through the park!

I am so old because taking these pics makes me nauseous and can you believe little ol' Maddee is just hanging out with her hands in the air!?!

Oops just noticed the half dressed woman in the background...but I love this pic of Maddee in mid jump!

The School Room

2009-07-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

If you can only imagine...the school room is usually not very presentable from August through May!!! So here is a quick shot of a neat and tidy school room! Below is the cluttered but organized closet! Here is our little reading area. This area is usually used by Annie when she is done with her school work but wants to stay with us in the room.

These are my lovely shelves from Target! The top little cubbies have all of my FIAR books in groups, BFIAR, FIAR vol 1, vol2 etc...it makes them very easy to locate!

The black wall is chalkboard paint..I love it! We school together at the table but the little desk is great for sending one of the children off for independent work. I love my solar system mobile from Pottery Barn...it will be great for our Apologia Astronomy we are studying this year! I also have a small childrens table that has the mini tv on it for Math-U-See for the older two.

Want to see more schoolrooms?? Visit the Sweetman Schoolhouse or the C-family Classroom or how about the Britt Classroom!?! So let's see your rooms!!!

Link's new 'do!!

2009-07-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Fun at Kentucky Horse Park

2009-07-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

This summer a few HS families are spending our summer learning about Ky. history. So far we have learned about Daniel Boone and traveled to Squire Boone caverns. Yesterday we went to Lexington to the Ky. Horse Park. The children enjoyed watching the horse shows, petting horses, touring the museum, and playing on the playground!

2009-06-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the second try...

2009-06-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is my first shot at Picasa....don't laugh!!

Cutest Ethiopian dolls ever!!

2009-06-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

If you remember from earlier posts I made the bio kids these dolls last year. I started the boys dolls but never finished them ..part due to the fact that I am not that great with a sewing machine and in part because I was kinda nervous about making the dolls before things were final with the boys.A friend of mine Shelly who got the idea from my blog has made a mini-business making these dolls (although hers are extra extra sweet and unique!) you check out her super cute variations here and maybe order some for your little ones!
Shelly was nice enough to spend time on her girls weekend to finish my dolls for me rather than scrapbook!! How sweet was that!!! I am so forgetful, so busy and have had so many issues getting pictures uploaded that I am just now getting a chance to say THANK YOU!!!!!
The boys LOVE them! When Teaque pulled them out of her car to show me a sneak peak Lincoln ran to them and grabbed them hugged them!!
Here is the line up of all 5!

Lincoln gave his lots of kisses....

....and hugs!

Camden loves his doll!

He loves sleeping with it!

THANK YOU SHELLY!!!

2009-06-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Paul's first Father's Day as a daddy of FIVE!!!...that just means more hugs and kisses!!

The girls have always jumped on uncle Georgie and used him as a human jungle gym....well the boys catch on quickly!!

Look at this handsome face!!

Awwwhhh ain't he sweet!!

Sights of Ethiopia

2009-06-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

I will say that Ethiopia had the most diverse extremes of any place I have visited. There are million dollar homes beside tin shantys....beautiful skyscrapers with goats walking in front of them....6 lane highways made of dirt and no traffic lights....photography studios and barber shops are plentiful in small tin structures....coca-cola in a bottle can be found nearly everyblock or two in a small "storefront" window....every block is different, oh so different I could not take my eyes off of the road, I enjoyed seeing all of the the land,structures and of course the people! The people are all happy and peaceful. Grown men holding hands, children singing and skipping (sometimes with siblings strapped to their back!), men playing foos-ball on broken tables on the side of the road, muslim, orthodox, rich and poor and living side by side....peacefully.
When we asked about the crime rate our driver said there is none...that the rich and poor live happily together! What a concept! Below are just a few of many pictures that show the diversity of the city.

Love at First Site!

2009-06-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

I have not yet gone back and blogged much about our time in Ethiopia...partly because of how busy we have been since we have come home and partly because it is such an emotional issue that it wears me out thinking about it all.
We arrived in Addis on Sunday morning..we were quite obviously so anxious to get our hands on the boys but Eyob and the older children were at church so we had to WAIT...!!! If you know me you know that I love surprises...I open my Christmas gifts last...never find out the sex of my babies...and never like a spoiler on a gift...etc. So when we learned we had a few hours to kill before meeting the boys, I embraced a few more hours of the suspense! We dined at a great little restaurant named The Amsterdam...GREAT food...coke in a bottle, delicious spring rolls, yummy pizza, the best cream of chicken soup Paul had ever eaten...I could go on and on but you get the idea!!
With our bellies full..we head to the orphanage. When we arrive they tell us the boys are napping and lead us in to a group of older boys. I spot a few familiar faces (Nati & Nahom) and immediately burst into tears! It was so surreal to see children in person that I had only seen in pictures! I was so busy talking to the boys and loving on them that I was so shocked when I turned and walked out the door into a small hall type/porch-ish area...and here comes Eyob with the boys!!! Below is the first glimpse of the boys and I meeting!
Camden (Yishake) was given to Paul and he immediately hung tightly on his neck and laid his head on Paul's chest. He seemed at peace. We find out that he had been asking "when could he go?" for days and he looked at Eyob and asked while in Pauls arms "can I go now..." when Eyob said yes, he replied with "go to America "!

Little Lincoln/Baby/Yohannes was so pityful. He felt so much smaller than I expected, he was light and almost hollow! I wanted to squeeze him and squeeze him but was so afraid I would hurt him! He was so scared , shaking and crying silently..no sound only tears streaming down his little cheeks. I would say he acted nervous for about an hour before he started warming up to us. Shortly after that he would not even go back to Eyob...which made everyone laugh! Eyob said he was slow to warm up but once he did he was yours for good...and that still holds true!

things that apparently scare the "b-jibbies" out of little Ethiopians!

2009-06-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

Poor little Lincoln is afraid of...are you ready???
Metal Tongs (like grab the hot dog tongs)
Dinosaurs
I do not mean a bit nervous around these items I mean ridiculously terrified!! When Paul would come in off the deck with the tongs Lincoln would scream, run, shake, completely bear hug the nearest person NOT HOLDING tongs!!! It was hilarious but at the smae time so sad that I was unsure if pictures were in good taste!

As for the dinos unfortunately all of the other kids have a bit of fun with this one...a simple shake of the dino and it sends him shrieking in terror!! Today he was in the far corner of the couch for an extremely long time and then I realized there were some dinos on the floor and he would not get off the couch!

And then there is Camden...he was horrified beyond belief..eyes not blinking, mouth hanging open scared.....while I gentley assisted Madelyns loose tooth out at the dinner table!! (Did I mention she was hysterical and then there was lots and lots of blood?)
Paul said he was surveying the house for a way out when we fall asleep! And that he was going to ask if there is a phone number to Africa because these white people are crazy!!!

***Edited to add in a few more SCARY things in my boys world!
Lincoln is also afraid of dinosaur puzzles, the vacuum - he will not be in the same room as an unplugged vacuum!, the hand mixer making up some yummy cookie dough, tickles...and I am sure this list will be added to frequently!!

Water Park Fun!

2009-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

The boys were NOT interested in the water features at the park...okay they were scared to death of the water features at the park! Lincoln dipped his toes in and that was about it! Camden pouted when we walked that direction! Little Lincoln has his big sissy wrapped around his finger! So she totes him around everywhere! Thanks for the pictures Gina! No more sunscreen mommy!!!!!

Strawberry Pickin'

2009-05-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

This week was the prime week for strawberry pickin' so we loaded up and headed out to Huber Farm in Indiana. This was our first time pickin' and we loved it! Madelyn really got into choosing the best red ones. Carson and his buddy had fun finding "jackpot" berries, Annie had fun getting Grannys attention...and the boys well they had fun EATING!! Poor little Lincoln thought he had hit the food lottery, everywhere he looked there was an edible yum-yum!! He would have as many in each hand as he could and one in his mouth at all times!

See a few more kiddos would make my stairstep pics so much more fun! (thanks Trenton and Caleb for making Mrs. Bethany happy!)

My precious babes!

Hmm so what has Camden been up to????

2009-05-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

This little boy is just a pleasure! Every day he blossoms more and more! I here from others he gets cuter every day...which does tend to happen once a personality emerges!! And boy does he have a personality!! He is extremely smart and picks up on things so quickly! He does love to entertain too!
He was afraid of the water (sprinkles etc) originally but now loves them! He had a blast with the water hose..and it was ice cold water!

Playing in the park at field day with his new truck!

There's the truck again! And he loves bikes...cars....anything with wheels!

So what is Camdens favorite thing to do?? Play OUTSIDE!!! (witchynuta)

My daughter went missing...

2009-05-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I am in the master bath srubbing everything down this weekend when Paul comes in completely frazzeled...Annie is GONE! He has searched the yard and he said she was outside playing and now no one has seen her for awhile. He has about 9 neighbor children searching a a couple of other adults.
Well I wasn't quite as nervous yet and I had a feeling...so I run upstairs and sure enough this is what I find..... The funny part (other than the fact that the National Guard was called in) was that she had a pacifier (which she does not take anymore...but she will steal a suck from one any chance she gets!) and was in her old bed/Lincolns new bed! It was kinda sad...like she was swooping up some some baby time while no one was looking!

Oh and yes all the neighbors got a good laugh when I called off the search team by explaining that she was in her room taking a nap!

lets go random!!

2009-05-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ughg no pictures again..the silly things are on the external hard drive (and well you already know I have no idea how to get them!!)

So this post will just be lots of rambling about absolutely nothing....

1.) So I feel like we are back in business..The Maynards that is...this is us a family of seven...a family that takes 2 carts through the grocery and they are both overflowing...a family that asks for one highchair and 3 boosters at the restaurant.... a family that gets 3 loafs of bread, 4 gallons of milk, 2 cartons of eggs, 3 boxs of pancake mix and wonders if it will last a week....a family that only eats a restaurant if it is kids eat free....a family that drags so many toys out of the garage that I am sure passerbyers think it is an in-home child care center.....but really it is us! I feel like we are on our A-game again I feel like these boys have been ours forever! The whole 5 kid thing has not been hard...really!

2.) Even Paul told his sis-in-law today that the jump from 2 to 3 children is harder than 3 to 5! (any of you want to weigh in on this?? Shanna ?? )

3.) Oh my goodness little Camden is HYSTERICAL!! He is just a dumpling! He gets so excited about well ...lots...and then he jabbers in his language at 90 mph! He loves to sing and dance..and his dance it is just adorable! He ends up with a toy a day...one day it was the "makeena" (car) his aunt April got him...yesterday it was a tape measurer..and today it was a pink princess microphone that sings "Bippity,Boppity Boo" and "Under the Sea"..yes we got some stares with that one today! He is TERRIFIED of dogs.....He is a VERY picky eater....He is a very good big brother to Linc....He is HAPPY...

4.)Paul and I were talking about how well the boys are doing and we looked into the back of the van and he said "They're happy, Bethany....they are HAPPY" it sounds trivial but seriously....they were dropped into an alternate universe! If Annie was dropped into Africa I would pray as her mommy that she was HAPPY, truly happy! I know their momma would be satisfied if she could hear that deep laugh from the bottom of their tummy. So happy is good.

5.) My little Lincoln, his little world revolves around food! We were in a cabinet store today and when he saw the refrigerator his eyes lit up, he wanted to open it and find some food! He picked out his own little snack at the grocery and held it tight the entire trip, when we got home he pushed his snack on his riding toy for about 20 minutes! We have eaten out a few times and he can eat 3 plates full but as soon as I begin to clean his hands off he starts to cry...he truly does not want to stop eating. He is a smiley thing, nearly everyone we meet comments on his smile!

6.) Tonight after returning from the grocery with LOTS of foods to put away, Camden was precious. He helped me put every last thing away. It was like a child pulling gifts from under the tree. He was excited to hold and touch every last item of food. He is so smart that he quickly figured out what went in the pantry, what went in the lazy susan and what went in the fridge! THe little things our kids take for granted! (picture of the pantry he loaded coming soon!)

Apologia Science

2009-05-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

If you love Apologia science curriculum...you will love this great new edition to her line of books. The most fun and rewarding part of her Science programs are the notebooking activities...but as you well know that is also a time consuming part for moms...so here is the perfect solution!!!

Apologia is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available. You can see samples on the Apologia website here:
These journals are beautiful spiral bound notebooks that will save you time and money. You won't have to print and keep up with your child's notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and compile binders...everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own notebooking journal.
Each of the notebooking journals include:
A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
Review Questions
Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.
See the sample pages here:
Botany: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=128
and
Astronomy: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=127
Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on their site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com

Quick Update

2009-05-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

This will be way too little, way too late...but it is something!!

The boys are doing GREAT! So Camden Yishake is a HOOT! he is such an entertainer already I cannot imagine what he will be like once he can speak English! He does sing his ABCS and a cute little song they did at the orphanage but the cutest thing is when he sings " I like to move it, move it..." (from Madagascar I think..I guess they watched it in the orphanage?!). He is happy about 90% of the time and then the other 10% (normally when he is told no) he has a precious little pouty face. He struggles a bit with sleep time but we are leaving the lights on and it is getting better! He is most definitely a Maynard...he is a VERY picky eater (lucky me..another one!) He LOVES being outside (witchynuta) and LOVES cars (mekeena). He resisted the sprinklers all day until late tonight and then he finally ran through...and had a blast! He was giggling so hard he could barley breathe! We are really still very unsure of his age...is he turning 3 or 4??? Pedatrician is preplexed so we are anxious to hear what the dentist says.

Lincoln Yohannis is the most lovable, sweet, smiley boy in the universe. He is not happy until he kisses you about 15 times! He will eat ANYthing and EVERYthing you offer him. He LOVES bathtime. His big sisters are ridiculous with him...carrying him everywhere (even when the poor thing wants to walk!) We are unsure about his age as well..is he just over a year or just over 2 years?? They both did good at the doctors office today...although baby Lincoln does have an ear infection :(

Adjusting from 3 kids to 5 has been a breeze so far..really no big deal! Guess that is it for now!! Thank you all for following our journey to get these children home!!

Just a few pictures.....

2009-05-17T21:08:00.001-07:00

An email from Bethany

2009-05-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

This is Teaque posting for Bethany. She sent an email today with tons of details. I loved reading every bit of it. Here are bits and pieces from her email. She included info for 2 other mom's that had kiddos over there so I have left that info out so it may not flow b/c of that, but you can at least get the gist of her trip so far. It sounds amazing and I wish I could be there to experience it with her. I am so happy for her and the fact that she is actually over there experiencing every bit of this!

Okay where do I start??

I will skip the OMG this country is awesome part and go right into meeting the boys!

We arrived on Sunday and the boys were at church.

We waited and went out to eat..YUMMY!! The food in Rome was less than delightful so we were ready for good food....our bill was $496.84 !!! (Oh that is only $50 in our money...including tip and appetizers and good ole coke in a bottle...YUM!

We arrived at the orphanage and my children were napping so we were introduced to the older children....upon walking into the room I saw Haile (beth's son) and immediately burst in to tears...to see that he was a real child was unbelievable..overwhelming..I look around and see many faces I know...the boys are hugging me and kissing me and shaking my hand...they are so well mannered and polite!

We walk outside and here they come bringing Yesak and "Baby" yes Mickey was right they call him "Baby"!! They were woke from their nap so they are a bit dazed and confused! They give Yesak to Paul and Baby to me. Yesak immediately holds Paul as tight as possible and looks at peace in his arms. Baby is scared to death nearly shaking and when I look at his face he has silent tears streaming down his face...Eyob tells me he is slow to warm up but once he does he is yours for good! (In less than 1 hour he will not even go to Eyob !!) We go inside and sit with all of the children crowded around..we hand out bubbles and candy...they LOVE it! Haile sits beside me the entire time...grinning from ear to ear every time I speak of mommy and daddy! Eyob tells me that Yesak asks every day when "can go"...Eyob tells him he gets to "go today"..(incredible that this tiny boy knows what is going on!) Eyob says he always asks when he can go to America!

The staff prepare a coffee ceremony for us..the children sing...oh Yesak leads them in a "play/song" TOO CUTE!! He also prays for us. We figure out he is the youngest of the children in the older area so he is a bit doted on by the children! EVERY child there is happy and well mannered...they are polite and BEAUTIFUL! Yesak knows his ABCs and a some writing of letters.

The boys are are very acclimated with us by the time we leave...and they are excited for the car ride!

They came home and slept all night...they are good eaters. Yohannis is happy to just be around people...he rarely makes a peep! Yesak is a doll...he is not as active as I had heard...at least not yet...but truly the life of the party! He LOVES STUFF...he has unzipped and re-zipped his backpack a million times and keeps adding our things to it...you hear of children that hoard food...well he hoards toys!

Seriously they are doing great! Oh ages..hehe they are younger and smaller than we thought. We were thinking Baby was about 1 1/2 and Yesak was about 3 1/2...then today we see the birth certificates and the judge gave them Dec. birthdays so it goes along with what we thought! They will be 2 and 4 in Dec.. Names: We will call Baby, Lincoln and we are a bit unsure right now on Yesak...I will have to get back to you on that...he will actually answer to Issac..so hmmm. not sure yet! Oh and Yesaks name is Yishake on paper??

We will also meet the boys mom on Thursday! She WAS critical the week we had court and the doctor had to be bargained with to let her out of the hospital...2 nurses accompanied her to court!

I feel like I am forgetting something!! Well obviously i am!! (She was forgetting that both boys are potty trained which came in a later email.)

LOTS!!! I am in overload but I will end with this if I had to live in Rome or Addis...I am going with Addis!!!

Bethany

1 Day til Travel

2009-04-29T00:49:00.001-07:00

Our last official family picture!!
We had a great evening with the Sanders who had us over for dinner! It was a fun way to fellowship with them before leaving for Africa! We began this journey with them 2 years ago "un-officially" when we began discussing adoption with them on a boat trip! One year later we put our wheels in motion and BAM here we are!! The rest of my evening was pretty much this......

I have been a bit emotion-less over the last couple of weeks. It is the weirdest feeling....you can picture the boys in your arms and the softness of their hair against your chin ..yet at the same time it is a complete unknown. I am SO excited about meeting 2 of my children yet sad for leaving the other 3. Well tonight at Wal-mart it hit me! I told Carson he could pick a fruit snack out for the boys and BAM...waterworks!!! Right in the Wally World aisle! It has hit a few more times sporadically since too!

Signing off......

2 Days Til Travel !

2009-04-29T00:33:00.001-07:00

Our day consisted of crazed madness...last minute errands.....packing...more packing and a ballgame!
The day also held a few surprises! My super duper friend Teaque dropped in with LOTS of goodies for our family! Fun magazine for Paul and I on the airplane, 2 Mancala games (which we already LOVE Teaqe!!) and several prefect storybooks! Thank you so much!!! Later tonight when I arrived at my homeschool meeting, I found this waiting for me (& my friend April!). All of the mommies brought a fun book for the boys...it was so sweet to be remembered for children #4 and #5!!!

3 Days Til Travel

2009-04-26T20:59:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of our family on the day we passed court! One week from today we will meet our boys!!!

Carson was holding Yesak's picture tonight talking to him in a baby voice and tickling him! He said " I just want to take him to our room!"....so sweet!

4 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today the focus was all on the kids.

We started off eating doughnuts at the ballpark...yummy!

Next we watched Madelyn play ball....exciting!

For lunch was Culvers.....delish!

On to a park for outdoor fun....no park, but a hike was fun!

We offer a movie to the kids but they want to come home and play!

Mommy ends up cleaning and packing a bit, while the kids play with all the neighbors!

Quotes of the day:
Annie " Momma its too much.....five weeks until we get owr brodders....that's too many!"

Annie "It keeps taking too much....its not fawr"(fair)

Annie" My brodders like to swim, cuz when they hewr the pools gonna be open"

Carson " My brothers rock because they are the best brothers in the world"

Carson "I can't wait until my brothers are here...I am gonna teach them how to have a light saber battle"

Carson (he loves finding rocks and the ones with crystals he swears are diamonds)-on a rock he found and cannot wait to get rich off of. " Where is the donation bag? I want to put this rock in for the orphanage." (SOOO stinkin sweet!)

Madelyn was a bit exausted today...so her comments were not quite fun to re-live!!

Oh we did end up measuring Carson today and he is 50 1/6th inches..I am serious folks! So when I tell him that he no longer needs a booster seat (I did check the laws prior!) he is ecstatic! He hoops and hollers, jumps up and down...had the cutest smirk on his face.... was walking 10 feet tall.....it was great! Paul told him he could officially remove his booster from the van, he was crazed! I am so happy he will not be in a booster when he is nine!! It is weird enough to have a kid in braces in a booster!! My poor little short thing!!

We were actually measuring Madelyn for her graduation (which led to measuring Carson) anyhow Maddie came in and said "Can I graduate?" I was confused and she said " Am I tall enough? Can I graduate?" I kept a straight face and said "Yeap, your tall enough!"

5 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

So another biggie that has been on the list is the CARRIER dilemmia! I have been on the search for the best baby or well...uh toddler carrier on the market! I know that many families recommend carriers while in ET for bonding as well as ease (no paved sidewalks for strollers!). I spent an entire afternoon trying on carriers at a local shop.
The store owner could sense my crazed non-decision making self and actually allowed me to bring home a Moby to try-out. I really liked the idea of Lincoln snuggled up against me in the Moby...I try it with Annie okay.
Carson says" Mom you look like a mummy, all wrapped up?"
Paul "Says it is fine, if you like it" (remember ADD...doesn't even know we are having a conversation)
Annie says" Mommy...look....it makes your boobies look weird?"
Oh my goodness she IS right! When you do the back carry it criss-crosses on your chest and oh my NOT a pretty sight.
So I instantly knew that there would be NO Moby, oh wait did I forget to mention that byt his time Annie was sagging down to about my knees!!!
Sometimes I glance around to look for hidden cameras..no joke!

So I get online and check out a carrier recommended by a fellow homeschooler. It is called a Mei Tai carrier. She recommended the Mei Tais made by BabyHawk. I love the designs, I love the style. I call the phone number and the lady answers. I explain my time crunch issue...I need the ASAP for Africa but I do not want a pre-made...she is a DOLL and says she will have it made and sent out in 3 days!!
Well today was arrival day...YEAH!!
This is the carrier I designed...I know MORE green! I am on a green kick for some reason...it all started with the green paint...oh well!
I love it I tried it with Annie and she hung out for an hour! Another mark off the list!

6 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Todays big highlight other than really getting some cleaning done is attending our adoption meeting!
It is called "While You Are Waiting" and it started off as a coffee in coffee shops but as our group grows we have had to move it to the church!! How exciting!
Tera is the "Adoption Specialist" at our church...and she is growing our ministry like crazy!
This is another family adopting from our church. They are also adopting from Ethiopia ! I stay way too late...but I enjoy the conversation SO much!

Yesak and Yohannis....mommy is busy asking questions about what to pack in your bag , learning some Amharic and preparing to touch you and hold you for the first time ever! It is un-fathomable to love two little people that I have never touched, never held, never felt kick inside my womb. I do not know what makes you smile, I do not know what makes you cry, I do not know how you like to be held, I do not know how to comfort you, I do not know how to cradle you to sleep, I do not know what size clothes or shoes or diapers you wear, I do not truly even know how to pronounce your names....but know this my boys...I am your MOTHER and I love you as much as any mother can love any child and that is all that matters.

7 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today is our wedding anniversary AND hubby remembered!!
Oh and then get this.....he brought me a few treats from Archivers. This is extra special because I know his blood pressure rises when he gets near the place!
He found adoption paper...AHHHH
stickers of Italy.....OOOOHHHHH
and boy stickers......AAAHHHHH!!!

What a sweetie. And then we are off to Maddie's game. She is hitting those pitches and she bats lefty...daddy is SO proud!!
I see the 4 year olds playing and tear up, thinking that in the fall Annie and Yesak can play!!!

8 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T21:40:00.003-07:00

Wow I am feelin' a bit GREEN today.
I visited the Inernational Health Clinic and received the remainder of my shots for the trip. I was given the Polio, TDAP, Meneginitis, Yellow Fever, Typhoid today. I was very nervous, not because of getting shots (He said I was the first person to laugh while getting a shot...which I can then blame on the kids because they were watching with huge grins, and the girls were covering their ears..guess they thought I was a screamer!!) but because of the damage it does to your system...possibility of side effects...etc.....etc......
So we leave the office and head to Babies R Us.....I was so overwhelmed that I was in there for about 2 hours scratching my head!
First thing on the list was car seats. I wanted the same style for both boys and I wanted a seat that would eventually be a booster. The biggest problem was cost...GEESH...those seats are expensive!!! The second problem is width....we will have 5 kids in car seats so I need the most narrow style available...which coincedently are the more pricey ones!
So I let Annie be my guinea pig and have her set in every seat in the store. She is loving it but wait a minute....she thinks this is her new seat. I tell her she already has a beautiful seat with pink flowers....nope she wants this one. Oh the fun we will be having soon......
Anyhow...width....I drag a very unhappy sales girl, three exhausted children and a car seat to the van to see how it fits. Did I metion it is raining and I am beginning to feel GREEN from the shots. Hmmm car seats will not fit in the pack....great we will take two!
Carson says "Guess we need to get a new van. One of the those big kind."
Mommy informs him " THIS is the new van, honey...don't think daddy will go for that!"
Sales girl snickers.....

So upon getting home I begin to think maybe Carson is old enough to lose the booster.....what is wrong with sacrificing one childs safety for anothers??
Okay so the seats are not green but the pads that go under them are!! Okay phase two....the highchair! Yes, I know the "baby" is 2 years old so why are we messing with a high chair. We are short a chair at the kinda sorta new table...so he gets a special seat. Oh and I did have Maddie try it out for size just so I knew how long poor Yohannis would have a seat. And before you ask I DID get some weird looks as we try the seat out and Maddie's legs touch the floor!! Love the GREEN....it matches my walls...can you tell???

So the last part is just for FUN! I love bags and it has been a while since I got to pick out an ultra cute dipaer bag! Love the GREEN... don't you??? This bag is the best size ever...it is in between those ridiculously large bags and the too teeny bags....it is just right!

Oh and the green did not stop there! I came home...blacked out....got chills..ran a fever....had a stiff neck.....arms throbbed.....had brian pains......had irregular heart beating....

I told Paul I had Yellow Fever and was dying...he said "That stinks".....I said "I Know"

(that is life married to a very successful bussinessman with ADD....he responds all the time and never even knows what he said...oh well).

So that was all of my GREEN day!!

Oh wait no it isn't. After my crazy attack I get online and the Hep A and Yellow Fever may not even have time to protect me (things that would have been nice to know PRIOR to getting them) and kids no longer need boosters at 50 inches....hmmm wonder how tall Carson is???

9 Days Til Travel

2009-04-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

So today was our last day of co-op. It is always sad to see the session end but today it was a huge relief. I needed to be done with it so I could focus on my ever growing list of things to do!
I did accomplish a trip to the doctor for a couple shots...Hep A and Hep B.
I also acquired a little medicine that should help me with the flying issues I have!

10 Days til travel

2009-04-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

So here is baby boy...the pics are backward in time, the last pic is our 2nd referral pic(believe it or not the first one was worse!!)
I figured it was time to introduce him officially as :

Lincoln !!

We are about 99% sure this will be his name. Big brothers is still being decided....

11 Days til Travel

2009-04-23T21:19:00.001-07:00

Just in case you need a reminder of the cutie patooties waiting for this ole girl who is TERRIFIED of flying ......and HEARTBROKEN about leaving these 3 kids in here for 11 days......or BROKE from all these last minute expenses...here ya go! This is pic of the boys getting their "referral" of us. The first time they saw us in pictures...well not sure what they think of us but the lollies were a hit!

12 Days Til Travel

2009-04-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

We met a handful of other families at the local Ethiopian restaurant for an adoption social. It was complete entertainment watching Mickey eat! Madelyn inspects her injera!

This was the dish Paul and I ordered...meat and chicken bascially! The chicken was very yummy! There are no forks....everyone eats off the same plate by tearing a piece of injera off and then pinching off the portion that you want to eat.

The Shipps and Sanders had this....

The girl were speechless as they watched Mickey devour his meal!

Mickey was intense...he cleared this plate in minutes! Paul said he sucked the bone marrow off the chicken!!

Annie, Carson, Mickey and Ellie!!

13 Days til Travel

2009-04-18T20:51:00.001-07:00

Well things are coming off the list little by little! Annie and I had spent our date night at "The Wal-mart" picking up items for the trip. I had to grab all kinds of fun Gerber Graduates goodies, wipes, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, Pepto-tablets, lotion, Tums, tylenol, and so much more. I spent 1 1/2 hours in the beauty section alone!! Sad part is I only wiped out half the list! I did get the boys a brush too! Paul asked if I got any weird looks and I said not for the brush but while I was looking in that particular section, Annie was saying "We got that and we got that and I love that..." pointing to all of the African hair lotions and cremes etc....and fortunate for me the aisle was full and yes we got some weird looks!

Did I mention that our airline tickets arrived!!! This is getting "REAL" feeling......

14 Days to Travel

2009-04-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Nothing much going on over other than the news that the boys tested

NEGATIVE for TB !!!!

Woohoo....praise the Lord!!!

For those of you who do not know what than means..it means we are free to TRAVEL!!

15 Days til Travel

2009-04-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

So my entire goal this week has been to get the house in order and then next week will be shopping and packing (yes I know I live in a dream world!!) So I spent 2 hours in the boys closet tonight. Organizing each boys clothes, section for matching clothes (hehe), toys etc. We still are lacking an extra dresser so pjs, shoes, undies etc are in the toy shelf for now!! I eventually ran out of hangers....for some reason I have LOTS of fall/winter clothes and nearly no summer....hmmm go figure!! So one thing on the list to bring for kiddos in diapers is rubber pants, because many of the babes have some tummy issues that result in 24/7 diahrea. So we do not want leakage!!! Sorry for my poor Yohannis but all we have is pink, pink, pink...but he should be used to it! Most of the pictures we have of him he is wearing pink!

TB UPDATE: NO..still waiting!

16 Days til Travel

2009-04-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

So today was a big off the list for me. We have had the boys beds for months but we still needed a second mattress. I had been worrying myself to a frizzy over finding a truck to borrow and finding a good deal etc. So when I show Paul my gianormous to-do list, he said "Oh I will go get a mattress tonight"...yeah evidently twins fit into mini-vans. That is information that would have been nice days, no weeks, no months ago!! Oh and the "good deal" part was taken care of too...the salesman goes to our church which they figured out once adoption was brought up (we have a great adoption ministry!)
So here is my "Pottery Barn " design on my "Target" budget. Now the little nightstand still has to be stripped and painted and new hardware put on. It was the kids great-grandmas, I forgot it was in the garage...so not sure if that will happen B.B. (Before Boys) or A.B. (After Boys). I still have my cool Pottern Barn shelf (that I nearly stole it was so cheap on clearance!) and their names above their beds (although we need to name Yesak before ordering those!).
Photo disclaimer:This picture is taken on "Green" . This picture is taken on "P". The colors are different in each one..not sure which I like better...not sure which is most accurate???

17 Days to Travel

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Christ is RISEN!!
We had a beautiful Easter Sunday! The children enjoyed seeing the gifts the Easter bunny had left for them (they left Yesak and Yohannis gifts too!). Next was an egg hunt and then it was time to dress-up and head out to church! We were so happy to see Granny, mamaw and Doe at church too! Our good friends daughter was baptized and then it was back to the house for lunch!

Sorry the pictures are in backwards order....ya'd think I would remember how they load...DUH!!
So here is Annie Pouty Pants...she is mad because she says she is always in the middle for pictures??? (She is NOT usually in the middle!?!??!)

Now look how sick it is ..she jsut turned it back on for this pic?!? Oh how I dread the teenage years!

The race is on for the eggs.....

Annie was hysterical! She ran full force knocking things over and dropping her bucket, she was a wild woman! Please ignore all of those nasty wires form the tv....long story and well an axtra long cord...its on the to-do list!

Daddy put the children in line and Annie went first, 5 seconds later Madelyn went and then Carson. I must admit I got a bit teary eyed thinking that this time next year the line will be 5 deep! This year the bunny had to put money in the eggs rather than candy, because Carson can not eat candy with his braces. Carson was so sweet he was caught in 3 random acts of kindness first he found an egg handed it to Annie, next he gave Madelyn some of his money because he felt like he had more then her, and lastly he said "I really think I need to save this and share it with my brothers when they get here". That's my boy!

18 Days to travel

2009-04-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Madelyn was SOO excited to ride on top of a firetruck in the opening day parade for baseball! She talked about it for days...she called family and told them ....she told her friends...as soon as she woke up she would say "How many days until I ride on the firetruck?"......
So we show up and here is her ride...... ....this is the confusion that occurs when dad attends the practice and team meeting!!

19 days til travel

2009-04-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Please pray for the boys today. They were given the TB skin test which could very likely come back positive (if they have had the vaccine or immunity toward TB it would test positive). If it comes back positive they will then be given an x-ray, which if it is positive they then are administered a sputnum test which takes 8 weeks to culture.
So lets pray for negative skin tests and if necessary quick x-rays and results!

We have 2 sick girls with strep so not much happening other than that!

20 days til travel

2009-04-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

So you guessed it...today we pay for our airline tickets!!! WooHoo

Post-court Day 14

2009-04-10T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today I got my PASSPORT!!! (well ordered it)