gwen video

here is the video of gwen helping chop.  I like how she totally ignores me when i tell her i love her.  Story of my life kid!

videos of the kids

Here is Thomas helping me make chicken soup!  We are all recovering from a yucky tummy bug.  Tom often tells me he wants to be a chef when he grows up so he always wants tohelp me chop and cut things!

Hug your kids a little tighter

My heart is so sad for another "blogging" mama today.  Her little man passed away last night.  He had a terrible disease called EB.  Although i am glad for him that he is not in such terrible pain anymore, his mama's pain will continue on.  Here is a link to her blog if anyone is interested in reading Tripp's story and leaving his mama a loving comment.
http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/


I will say that this makes me want to run up to my kids room's where they are laying down and give them a big hug and kiss.  We should be thankful for healthy children who can run adn play and tell us "i love you mama".  Another reason to be thankful today.

this is why

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Just in case anyone is curious as to why we would consider adopting, especially from another country and a child with special needs.  This is why
http://reecesrainbow.org/30655/ekaterina-16g


Look at this beautiful girl.  She is 8 years old.  She lives in a mental institute.  She is terribly emaciated and so terribly sad looking.  My heart is breaking.  I can't imagine why this is ever ok, let alone routine in these places.

I have no words left...

a picture

Just a picture of my cutie to remind myself that he is a good kid!

who said this parenting gig would be easy

whew!  today was hard.  We started off the day by going to our friend's house for a homeschooling lesson and playdate.  That was a good time and the kids had fun.  Then we went to the eye doctor for Thomas.  At his 6 year check up the doc mentioned that his vision test results had changed so we thought we better have him checked by the optamologist.  All was well until the doctor wanted to put eye drops in.  Thomas started freaking out.  Really freaking out.  Screaming and flailing.  I talked to him and he was afraid they were going to hurt.  I asked the doc and he assured Thomas that they did not hurt.  It didn't really help.  The drops eventually went in but i was frustrated. 

He is 6.  This has been a problem the last couple of times at the regular doctor too.  Part of this i know is normal but i also think at 6 years old he can control himself a little better.  Once we got home i asked him to go to his room until jared got home.  He did but this quickly escalated to him screaming and crying at the top of his lungs about how hungry he is.  I went in there and told him that his choices were to keep screaming and he would get a banana and go to bed right then, or calm down and we could talk and he could come down and be with us.  Well, he ended up going to bed with the banana.

And then comes the guilt.  What could i have done differently.   Should i let him come down.  Is this the right thing.  Why is this so hard.  I know Jared and i are doing the best we can but man this parenting thing is hard.  We are trying to help our children grow into kind, helpful and productive adults.  So the decisions we make are often based on how we want our children to go, not how we want them to be now.  But still i struggle.  And i guess, we will figure this out together.  And if we do a terrible job, well, i guess we'll add a psychologist bill to the equation ;)

and so it goes

I was making a large breakfast this morning for my brother, sister and law and their three kids to celebrate Luci's first birthday when she decided to throw up all over.  Poor baby!  Well, at least her first birthday breakfast will be memorable, if not necessarily in a good way.  And now, we have three large batches of pancakes, bacon, homemade fries and two cakes to eat.  Dig in folks!

so far so good

So i've decided that even if i don't really feel thankful for something, it's important to fake it till i make it.  case in point; yesterday we went to target.  The older two monkeys asked me 5 bazillion times if they could have an icee.  They were told no, 5 bazillions times.  As we were leaving Gwen asked again and i told her yet again that no, we weren't having an icee today.  I joked to the woman next to me, that it was only the 50th time she had asked.  She replied, "but you said no so nicely".  And i thought, good!  Even if i was super frustrated and thinking not so nice things in my head, what my child heard was a calm mama standing her ground.  And that's all that really matters :)  I don't want my kids to remember me as the mommy who always screamed at them...i want to be the calm and fun mama!  I"m working on it at least :)

I will be thankful

Last night i stayed up watching a documentary on orphanages in bulgaria.  It was terrible.  I knew there was abuse and mistreatment in these institutions, but this really brought it all home.  It's no secret that jared and i are considering adopting from another country, and the horror that these children have to endure is more than anyone should have to bear.

I'm not ashamed to admit that i cried while watching it.  The cold-hearted-ness of these adults and their behavior towards people with disabilities is unbelievable.  It's like a whole nother planet. 

So today, in light of my feelings towards this documentary, i will be thankful
I will be thankful when Luci cries in the middle of the night, b/c it means she knows someone will come for her
I will be thankful when my children complain about the food i give them, b/c it means they don't know hunger or starvation
I will be thankful when i need to put on extra clothes b/c of the weather, b/c it means i have extra clothes
I will be thankful that i live in a country where i'm not encouraged to give up a child with a disability at birth, b/c they aren't "really people"
I will be thankful when i have to clean the tub 3 times in one day thanks to presents the baby leaves, b/c it means i have water and the means to pay for it
But mostly, i will be thankful for my life and my children, friends included.

first day of homeschooling

Ok, third post of the day lol.  I know these pictures are old but i have to post them b/c they are so cute!  they are from the first "official" homeschool day last year!

Luci had to do homeschool too don't ya know

science curriculum

Just had to pop back on here b/c our science curriculum came!!!!!!  We finally decided on Nancy Larson science.  It's scripted (which i am not opposed to) and comes w/ allmost everything you need, including; sand, a marble and a strainer!  It was like christmas around here!

On a funny side note, you have to love a husband who does not freak out when you look over at him at night after sitting quietly and say loudly and frantically "i wish you would help me with homeschooling some times"!  While he was trying to relax after a hard day and had NO idea i was having such a hard time. 

first post

Okay, here goes!  First post ever!  So i am starting this blog so friends and family that are far (or near) can keep up with our lives (if they so choose).  We are a homeschooling family.  Our children are 6, 4, and 1!