Rocking....back in time

Friday is our stay in our jammies till it's almost time for lunch...day.  This picture shows you the hazards I brave while cooking with these two under foot.

They both thought it was so funny that they didn't have an arm.

Iley thought she needed an eye patch like sis, so she tore a little square off of a napkin and stuck it behind her glasses. 

Trying on Sherman's helmet.

She looks like a bobble head doll.  Your helmet might be too big if you can  see a smile through the eye goggles??

Another bobble head.

Saturday Sherman decided we had a list front and back and we had nothing to eat......AND biggest reason... to make the 50 mile trek to Hays.....we were out of Toilet paper!  I assured him we can buy toilet paper and food right here in town.  But mostly I think he just wanted to roam around Wal-mart checking out all the possibilities available to buy.  I was ready to get out of the house too so off we went.   Harrison stayed home and had his very own little Star Wars Movie Marathon.  Sherman doesn't like Star Wars, and Harrison loves it, so it worked out fine.

We got hungry shopping so went to the deli and bought Spicy wings and potato wedges (that he ended up sharing with the beggars) for Sherm, a beef and cheese burrito for Wren, and fried rice for Iley.  Then we went in to Subway and I ordered a Sub.

While we were in Wal-mart we tried on glasses for the girls.  I would like to have a back up pair for Iley, and Wren's probably going to need a different prescription when we are done patching.  So we just tried on some for fun.  This is Iley's glasses she has now......Of the following, which ones do you like best??  Leave me a comment and vote.

These are squarish.....we would need a little smaller size.  Notice how her attitude deteriorates as we progress!LOL.

Again?

Sigh.......

ok this is no fun anymore......

 

are we done yet??  Well some of us are done for sure!

One of our purchases was a chair that rocks.

While reading another moms blog about how rocking her adopted older kids seemed to help so much with soothing their fears, and bonding, I decided we needed a rocking chair.  I have read in all of our training info that sometimes these kids that never got to be rocked and loved as babies, need to go back and experience that part of their life, then they are more able to move past it.  All I know, is that as soon as I sat in that chair in the middle of the second hand store and picked up Wren and started rocking her.....a kind of peace just settled over her, and Iley was dancing around wanting her turn and hardly able to wait.  I'm really glad the chair was cheap, cause it was definitely going home with me at that point.

I know it's just beautiful huh......they have another one just like it if anyone is coveting it..........$50.00 at the second hand store...just lettin ya know.   But it's really comfy, and it rocks well and that's the main point for now. 

Here it is....installed in an already crowded room.

Wren crawled right up in it and made herself at home.

 So now the plan is that each of them get rocked for 10 minutes each night. They bring their blanket of choice and doll or stuffed animal, and we wrap them up and sing. If you heard my singing you would feel sorry for Iley at this point...but she either has a terrible ear for music, or love is tone deaf. But she asks me to sing....sooo?   When Troy is here, he rocks them each for 5 minutes, while I snuggle with the other one, and then I rock them each while he snuggles.  So far they are LOVIN it!  We'll see if they get tired of it.......or if we think they are ready to move on.

This was Sunday.  This banana is a hot item around our house.  Why? I have NO idea.  This day it was carried around skewered on the end of this stick all day.  It's served daily on some plate, pan or bowl, it's been tied to a string and hung from the play house.......

The big kids had a little moment of reverting to their  childhoods too....maybe I didn't rock them long enough?

Here Grandpa, we are smiling for you!

I guess they forgot how fun coloring was?  The girls thought it was great.

We had Ellas Mom and Dad for lunch today.  They had brought a load of furniture, and wedding gifts back from Ohio.  It was so nice to see them and get caught up.  Thatch and Kyn were here too, and Isaac.  It was a simple meal since I had decided the night before to do this.  Cheeseburger soup, Rhodes dinner rolls, and Strawberry spinach salad.  Ella brought brownies, and I had ice cream. What we call a simple meal with plenty of left overs....others would deem a feast.  We are blessed to have so much good food, family and friends. 

My Heart is Breaking.

 These words were written by the Executive Director of Love Without Boundaries.  It makes me so so sad to read.  I just looked at the picture of a boy who has been hoping for a family for years.  Today is his birthday.  His 14th.  Birthdays are supposed to be Happy.  It's probably the worst day of his life. His last hope is gone today.  He can never be adopted now.  I feel guilty.  Like I have failed him.  I know I can't save them all, but am I doing enough?  Can we give more? Can we sponsor another child? Can we Foster children here in the states? Can we assist some one who is adopting? Are we praying for the orphans?  Christians......if not us....then who??  We will be adopting again, Lord willing.  I can't say for sure when, but with His help, and by His grace we will.  There are just too many children out there desperate for a family to love them.  Desperately in need of THE Savior......Desperately needing to know that they are not forgotten.  Please read the story below.  May each of our hearts be broken for the things that break Gods. 

 

Play it again:) Audio Adrenaline's Kings and Queens. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64bongHqYU&feature=player_embedded

 

 

When many people think of an orphanage, I think they often envision babies and toddlers. I used to be one of those people myself. On my many trips to China, however, I began meeting and falling in love with the older children who have grown up in institutions, many who never had any true chance of finding a permanent home. Their faces and stories are in my heart forever now, and sadly many of my memories of these great kids involve tears.

karinf426 Fri Apr 15 07:51:46 PDT 2011

Their faces and stories are in my heart forever now, and sadly many of my memories of these great kids involve tears. Tears from Jenny, who broke down on her 14th birthday when she realized that she had aged out of the adoption system without being chosen. The final realization that she would never know what it meant to have a mom or dad of her own caused her to fall into a deep depression. Tears from Lily, a 17-year-old girl whom I had given my jacket after she admired it. When she refused to accept it initially, I put my hand on her shoulder and said, “But of course you have to take it because you are like family to me.” And it was at that one word, “family,” that this normally stoic young lady broke down and sobbed uncontrollably, as it is the one thing that she longed for.

karinf426 Fri Apr 15 07:50:56 PDT 2011

The most emotional moment of my time in China came one night when I was able to meet with a group of older orphaned teens I had watched grow up over a five year period. Every time I would visit their orphanage, I would enjoy getting to know them more. They all seemed so close, such good friends, and they always had smiles for me when I arrived. That night, however, was a night when the kids finally let their guard down. It was a night of real conversation and sharing what it means to grow up as an orphan. Toward the end of the evening we were all in tears. Afterwards, one of the older boys stayed to talk with me privately. I am hesitant to even write of it now as it was such a deeply personal and emotionally raw conversation. I will share, however, that he told me that growing up without a mother or father “hurts more than death.”

karinf426 Fri Apr 15 07:35:37 PDT 2011

Children aren’t supposed to raise themselves. They are not supposed to grow up alone, which I know sounds impossible when you are growing up in a crowded orphanage. The reality, though, is that hundreds of thousands of orphaned children feel utterly and completely ALONE. I held this incredible and wonderful teen in my arms as he sobbed about how much he wanted a mom, and I can’t think of it now without great pain.

Why was I given the opportunity to be born into a family who could take care of me, while millions of children are born into situations so sad and filled with hurt that many people don’t even want to hear their stories? I have struggled with that question for years with no answers. But I do know that all of us who have been blessed to know what a family really is should make every effort possible to help those who are orphaned. If not us, then who?

karinf426 Fri Apr 15 07:34:35 PDT 2011

The theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was a song called “You and Me.” It has been sung to me by children in orphanages many times, and it always makes me cry. The words haunt me… especially for the older children who have grown up feeling so alone: “Put your hand in mine. You and me, from one world. We are family.”

How I wish those words were true in every person’s heart. How I wish everyone believed that we need to treat people as family and share our ever shrinking world. What a wonderful place this would be if every adult took the hand of a child in need and didn’t let go. To all of the older orphaned children who have aged out of the possibility of ever finding a family, I send my heartfelt prayers. You are not forgotten. And we will continue doing our very best to help in every way possible.

Amy Eldridge is the Executive Director of Love Without Boundaries.

My New Favorite Quotes

“God doesn’t give children with special needs to strong people. He gives children with special needs to ordinary, weak people and then gives them strength.”

 “Raising a child with special needs doesn’t TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family.”

 She's a giraffe.....in case you were wondering.  "I lika giraffes mommy" 

Yep we know Iley:)

Making sure I'm getting the picture....like hurry up already ....I'm going to crash.

Are we doing enough?

 Please read what a good friend of mine through the blogging world wrote.....she adopted an older girl from the same orphanage as Wren and Iley.  That is the daughter she talks about here that missed some meals.  They were  in one of the "best" orphanages.  The orphans here are treated better than the vast majority.....and still they are treated as "less than."  I'm so thankful that mine are HOME and loved.

http://expectingsomethingsobigfromgod.blogspot.com/

Tu Tu's Tongues and Teeth

 

 You thought I was kidding...... Here's the tutu's.....the tongues and teeth are coming.  Feel free to exit now:)

Ok, here is Wren's tongue......

....compared to Iley's....

 ......and  Wren's lip......

....and Iley's lip.

 We have one of the shark teeth missing!!!  Yay!  Now for the other one.  The one she finally wiggled loose had a monster root on it!  Probably why it wouldn't let loose. But the other one is starting to move forward into place now that it's gone. 

P.J. Day and The White Door Rebellion

 Thursday was Comfy Cozy Day.  

Wren looks so big and grown up in these pictures! :(    The one on the left was taken in May of last year. Look where the table hits her now.  SLOW DOWN!

 They can both cross their eyes, and get such a great response from their brothers when they do it!  Mom is NOT a fan!

 This is literally as far as Wren can stick her tongue out!  I just noticed that her lip right between her front teeth is tied too!  I don't know that it would make any difference.... Has anyone ever had a child that had tied tongue and lip?   What did they do?  Just clip both?  I'll see if I can get a picture of both tomorrow.

 Sherm and Iley dancing...  They have a daily conversation:

Sherman:  Do you like me today?

Iley: (depending on her mood) says either NO! or uh huh yep I lika Sherman.

She has a thing against Sherman most days.  He has to work so hard to get her to like him.  I think it's just because he WANTS her to like him so bad, so she just wields her power!

 Iley came down from playing upstairs all dressed up.  I told her to stand in front of the white door just like normal................and she REBELLED.....gasp.....maybe it's those sassy looking pig tails giving them ideas??

 

and Wren flat refused....rotten much?

 

  Oh you want a picture of us ok.......how about like this?

 Or this?  We're in front of the door, what's the problem?

I gave it up!