Living "in the moment"

Our dishwasher must be leaking as our wooden floor has buckled right by it although nothing feels wet so I am washing dishes the old fashion way....but I have quite a few dishes to wash!  UGH!  So despite that, I had a cooking spree today.  I woke up wanting doughnuts.  I truly do not keep anything in the house, no soda, no candy and no sweets.  I decided to make "healthy cookies"  don't know how healthy but at least they were organic cookies and good!  Then I cooked chicken and rice for lunch.  For supper I cooked  Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo and  Shrimp Jambalaya  two of our favorites...I'm stuffed right now!

Steve is all about wanting to go driving now.  He kept reminding me that we needed dog & cat food.  So he drove me to town.  We went to Walmart, his first time driving in a full parking lot and parking.  He did fine, we drove around for about another hour, drove by some friends' houses...had a good time.  He is really a good driver:)  I am quite impressed.  We thought he would drive good since he has been driving our ride on lawn mower for years and I'm afraid of it!  So if he could do that, certainly he could drive a nice van!

Selah seems a little "off".  Jon has been sick this week, and couldn't get his flu shot.  He has just a little cold, no fever or anything but I'm worried she is getting something.  Anyhow, she is not herself and even needed a little valium this afternoon.  She didn't want to be in her stander for long and now is asleep early.  Please pray that she doesn't get a cold!!!!

Being a parent is an awesome thing, having 5 very different kids, at different levels and ones that have such different needs is a bit overwhelming if I really think about it LOL   So I just chose NOT to think about it  and go with the flow LOL!

I think I live life more "in the moment" now than ever before.....I have no idea what tomorrow holds, so I just have to live today.....

Please pray for Selah!!!!

A Teaching Moment

We went to get the kids' flu shots today.  It was an interesting day......

 We first went out to eat, I always ask for a quiet corner and they took us to one.  As we sat everyone down, I noticed a child from another table turn and stare.  The child then turned his body around so he could sit and watch my kids.  This went on for about 5 minutes and finally I spoke to the "mother" or whoever he was with and nicely & quietly asked her to have him turn around and not stare at my little ones.  She decided to tell me her child had a right to look at who ever and he was just a baby...he was not a baby and understood perfectly and to his credit turned his body around and never looked back. So the mom decided to call the manager over, who was supportive of us (the woman asked that we be told to leave the restaurant according to my son who could hear it)  That group soon left and took their food with them.  We however enjoyed our meal.

Hopefully that child learned today that people do not like to be stared at.  Just for the record, if you are out somewhere and see a disabled person, don't stare, they are not a sideshow at the circus and you are not paying money to watch them live their life.  Thankfully my little ones don't understand things but I do....and I will not tolerate it.  When Sam was little, I didn't know how to handle it and sometimes was waaaaaaaayyyyyyy  too nice.  Those days are so very forever gone!  Some folks have suggested I should use times like that as a "teaching moment".  Well I did, but my way of teaching is kinda rough! 

Parents teach your children how to be kind to others and polite.  I was raised in a small town in the deep south with no political correctness whatsoever and YET, I knew not to stare at someone who was "different"  I'd never been around any disabled people other than one boy with Down's at my church and Jon's uncle in a wheelchair... but yet I had enough sense not to be nosy and stare at people out in public.  And let me tell you, the ONE time Steve (when he was young) mentioned something about someone in a store who was very overweight, he got in trouble and I talked to him about being compassionate and not to stare at people.  I told him to smile in a friendly way and look away from the person so they didn't feel put on the spot. 

People are very curious and feel they have some sort of right to have that need met......I do not understand that.  And I'm not here to meet that need for them. 

I think manners are a thing of the past......the society we live in today is just so far from even what I was brought up in.  Now granted I was confrontational, but I started our easy and gentle.  If anyone EVER had to say something to me about one of my kids like that, I would have been apologizing AND telling the other family that I would be dealing with it when we got home!!!!   I can not imagine.....I have NEVER had anyone come to me about any of my children doing something like that!   Kids are kids but .......  but a parent should deal with it not excuse it!!!!

So after our little adventure we went to get the shots.  For the first time Sam absolutely KNEW what the nurse was doing and tried to scoot away from her.  He looked at the tray and the shot and started whimpering!!!  This sounds crazy but I was so happy he understood!  The nurse "got it " too and we were laughing and really rejoicing at his level of understanding.  He was NOT laughing but he got over it quickly.  So he SAW the shot on the tray AND he remembered/understood what that was.....  I loved it!

Sarah fought us like crazy!  She had some boosters to get too so she ended up with three shots and was not happy with us either!

We came home and I gave Steve his first driving lesson.  We started on a country road near our house, then ventured onto a state road and drove into town.  He drove all over town, then got on the main road, drove up the 4 lane and did a big circle back to our house.  He really did good.  All those stinky years of video games may have actually paid off!!!!!  When he was on the narrow country road, he did tend to stay too close to the edge and I was fearful of knocking out some mailboxes LOL  but honestly he did great, he had never drove before except to move the car on our property.   I was impressed, but I have to admit my right foot almost put a hole through the floorboard and I clutched the door handle the whole hour he drove LOL

We are finally fully staffed with nurses!!!!!  We have a new (to us) nurse starting tonight but she has years of nursing experience and training!   We are so happy with the staff we have working with Selah.  I truly believe the wonderful care she gets from our nurses is what has helped her to do so good in so many areas!  We have 4 nurses to make up the 24/7 nursing.  They all are different but they are united in taking care of Selah.  They are all pleasant and truly it is not hard to have them in our home.  They have become a part of our family.  We all joke together and get along fine.  My other kids all like all of them.  The four we have are very professional and trained and we feel totally blessed with them. 

It took us awhile to get a good staff together but it's worth it now to have people that we trust 100% with our daughter.  We had some "experiences" in the beginning but we got through that and we are so very happy with the folks who work with Selah.  They each have strengths that help her in different ways.  We are blessed.....now as one friend prayed..."Thank you God for the nurses, now please heal Selah so they can find other jobs"  LOL  And we have talked about that, all our nurses understand our faith, some share it and all want to see Selah healed!!!!  

Hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for your prayers for Selah!

Driver's License!

 

Look who got his Driver's license today???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He parked the van:)

 

 

 

 

Fun times, Steve got his license today.  He started the Drug & Alcohol class on line right before we started the girls' adoption.  We tried to schedule him for Driver's Ed but were waiting on Ukraine to tell us to come....then we got home...then NY.....so finally he took the course and got his license.  He will have a permit until he finishes the driving part of the test then he will have his regular license in December. 

 

I also talked to his advisor at the Homeschool Program we use as our "umbrella school" and he really should be finished with his classes by December.  Despite everything that happened he doesn't have much more to do!!!!!  YEAH!  Steve had a happy day!

 

Everything is stable here, we are taking the kids to get their flu shots tomorrow.  Steve already has has his but the little ones need theirs.  Please don't' tell me how bad the flu shots are.....I'm a BELIEVER in vaccinations and we've been getting the flu shots for over a decade with no issues whatsoever and NO flu  (that could kill Selah!!)   I encourage each of you to get a flu shot and not to listen to "old wives' tales"  The shot could save your life or the life of someone you love!!!

 

Thanks for your prayers for Selah, we appreciate it!!!!!!

Giving away the Crib

I got a surprise today and a friend came by to see me.  We went to eat, took the kids around, took Steve to class, ate again....rode around, had a good time....  As we were talking, my friend mentioned her daughter's upcoming baby and things clicked to me.

After we came home from NY, we took apart Selah's crib.  It was a pretty awful time for me.  I couldn't even be here while it was happening.  Since then we've had it in storage.  It's beautiful and obviously only used for a couple of months. 

 

 

I found this picture of Sam and Selah sitting and watching tv, quite ironically I wrote they were watching Veggie Tales singing "the Erie Canal" song  that DVD is banned forever in our home......  This was only weeks before we left for NY.  As I was going through the pictures, looking for one of her crib....I realized I had tears running down my face looking through all the pictures, not sobbing just tears flooding my face.   

I miss that little girl so much.......

The crib to the right was Selah's crib.  All three of them had matching cribs. 

Today that crib went home with my friend so she can have it when her granddaughter comes over to stay with her.  It's a little hard.  But Steve reminded me that even if Selah "came back to us" she is now too big for the crib.  That helped some.  I'm glad the crib is going to a happy family who is excited about their new grandbaby.  I wanted to give it to someone I knew.....  We had also been given some brand new car seats after the accident and I was able to give her one of those also, since we won't be able to use it. 

When I first mentioned the crib  to my friend, we were talking about doing it later, but I just felt like I had to do it today  There's a part of me that would like to bronze it....but that is silly, I try not to be a person that holds on to things.  I've seen people crowd their homes with furniture and things that belonged to someone who had passed away and it just looked sloppy and messy.  I now understand why they do it.....

When my great aunt passed away and I inherited the home, I didn't have a problem getting rid of things.  I picked a few things out to keep, sold some, gave away some and threw away a lot.  This is so different.....

So ...I'm in a reflective mood tonight.....missing my girl

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It may seem odd to you to have such older children in cribs but Sam still sleeps in his crib and he is almost 10 years old.  For Sam and Sarah it is a safety feature for them so they don't fall out of bed (especially Sarah)  And it is a safety thing for me, if they are in the crib, I know where they are!    Both of them are small and seem to be quite happy with a crib.  When I was in NY with Sam in May, He couldn't tolerate a big bed and obviously wanted a crib to sleep in.  He doesn't mind sleeping in a big bed, if someone is with him.....  The kids don't try and get out of their crib so it's fine.  Actually Sam tries to climb INTO his crib at night.  He is ALL about going to sleep and taking naps during the day.  Funny boy!

BTW, my friend hadn't seen Selah since she finished HBOT and she really thinks Selah seems so much more alert and "there".  It was nice to hear someone say that.  She mentioned several things that looked so much better now.  It's always good to hear positive statements.

So everyone is doing good....please keep praying for Selah.....

Driver's Ed

Steve started Driver's Education today.  We kidded around a lot about him FINALLY going to school right before he turns 18 years old LOL.  He is taking the class at a public school so this was a first for our family.  My kids have never been to a public school.  Of course we had to pay for him to take the class, but it will help him his insurance rates.

 

 

 

I was trying to take a picture of him at the school but he walked away....

 

 

he had a good class and really enjoyed it.  Jon and I both took driver's ed in school and we thought it would be good for him to take it too.  It also gives him an extra half credit for high school. 

 

I remember our driver's education teacher  Coach Barr....an old geezer who had been a coach but by the time he taught me, was just teaching Science classes.  He was a SMOKER, if I remember correctly he smoked in the driver's education car with us LOL!  I'm positive he smoked in his office at school....  I never cared for him at all but some of the students liked him.  I remember driving with him in the smoky driver's ed car.....UGH!  It was not the most pleasant memory.  But all in all we figured Steve would luck out a bit better than I did LOL   

 

 

We are going to a Halloween party and I bought outfits for all of us.....I'm really excited about it.  first time I've ever had an outfit as an adult.  The pictures will be coming!  Even Steve joined in on the fun.  I didn't know if he'd go along but he did:)  I bought Sarah and Selah matching ones, Shad actually found them and they are adorable!  But you'll have to wait for the pictures!

 

Some folks we know don't do Halloween or they do some type of "Fall Festival" but we like old fashion Halloween.  The kids love to go "trick or treating"  It's just fun.  Jon and I both grew up "doing" Halloween and we didn't turn into Satan worshippers so we think it'll be alright LOL

 

Actually the church I grew up going to, used to do a great haunted house.  We were one of the few buildings in Florida to have a basement.  So the basement made a great haunted house.   There were witches and ghosts....lots of fun!  Nowadays that is frowned on in evangelical circles.  Even "trick or treating" is made to be some type of satanic activity.....  we never understood that.  I used to dress up as a witch ( I know that is probably SO approiate for me LOL)  My aunt made me the nicest dress, I wore it for a couple of years and I had a really tall witch hat, I loved that outfit.   My old great aunts would dress up our front porch with ghosts and a stuffed mummy sitting in a rocking chair...it was great fun:)

 

 

October is one of the happiest months for me, I love fall, we got married in October, Steve's birthday is in October but we also lost our twins in October.  So with all things in my life, it's happiness tinged with sadness.......

 

 

Our friend Bill had one stint put in today and he is on his way to full recovery!  He should be released from the hospital tomorrow to go home:)  Thanks for praying for this dear man!!!!  We are all rejoicing:)

 

And thank you for always praying for Selah!  We appreciate it!  She is doing the same, nothing new but boy does she move her tongue around in her mouth!!!!!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Productive day

As I sit here with my 3rd big cup of Java of the day....I've gotten a lot done:)

Did all kinds of paperwork/bill paying/going through paperwork/ time on the phone for various things....then to pick up Shad and we went to drop off library books, bank, dry cleaners, dropped off my laptop, faxed a bunch of stuff and filled out an application for a home through a county program!  There is another program that I'm filling out paperwork on too.  And we picked up doughnuts....hey....sometimes it can't be helped!

So we are looking into some programs that are through the federal government but administrated through our county and a private organization for homes.  Obviously we need a large home and one that is handicapped accessible.  I just do not think I could live in a subdivision. so we are hoping for something out in the country that could be remodeled or built to our needs.  The whole house thingy is overwhelming to me.  I know if anything works out, it will have to be the Grace of God!  But it is exciting.  Steve & Shad are the MOST excited, they would love to be off the air mattresses on the floor of the little ones' room.  Since our home has only 3 bedrooms, and was perfect but tight for us before the accident.  But since Selah has to have her own room, the boys gave up their room and now all the kids sleep in the same room.  I appreciate their willingness and it's not been too bad, the little ones, both are in cribs so their beds don't take up much room.  The worst thing is Sarah likes to "hum" at night, everyone but Steve can sleep through it, so most of the time, he puts the pillow over his head or he sleeps on the living room couch!  LOL   I do remind myself that there are many people in the world who live in much smaller spaces and are content.  Our bedroom is only a foot or two bigger than their room or we would have switched but it wasn't a big enough difference to do that.   So we will see what happens, please pray that things will open up and be clear for us.


Our dear friend Bill Meyer had a heart attack today and is in the hospital.  We worked with him and his wife Eileen in NYC at Brooklyn Teen Challenge  years ago in ministry.  They have a ministry now called Sarah Heart, a home for abandoned children in the upstate NY area.  They visited us several times while we were in Rochester last year with Selah and took us out to eat, brought the kids things...blessed us in many ways.  You can see Bills' "heart" as he leans over and talks to Selah.....please pray for him.  This world needs more Bill Meyers..... Please pray that the doctors will have wisdom and that God would also touch him and be with their dear family. 

 

 



Since I was really bad today and got us all doughnuts thankfully I have chicken chili cooking in the crock pot.  I'm hoping that will even things out.  I don't keep junk food in the house but I sure know where to find it at times!  I cooked dinner and fixed lunch all last week until Saturday night!  I really used the crock pot a lot.

 

 

I love crock pots, I have a mini, a large, an extra large and the one with 3 crockpots all together.  And I really use them, last week I used all of them but the mini:)  In our family not much is made on a "mini" scale :)

 

 

Hope you have a good night and thank you for your prayers for our family and for Bill and his family!



 



Happy Sunday

Sunday fun day...  great day in church.  Really have to say we missed our music minister....Jon was filling in this week and let's say he had a "moment"   couldn't find the tempo ....the funniest thing was somehow Sam caught on that something was off and started laughing with a belly laugh. Then everyone else was laughing too....it was really cute.    We are not "perfectionists" at Grace Church!   Love seeing our church grow too!   Excited about the new families and folks who are attending.  We have some new things that we are working on and it's exciting. We may have a GOOD BIG announcement in the near future for some new avenues of ministry for our church.  It's exciting as we see things come together in a way we never have before!

Then out to eat at Sonny's with friends and to visit one of our sweet ladies in the hospital.  After that we went to look at a house for sale near us.  GREAT location, in the woods, private, lots of land, very natural and backing up on a state wild life preserve but the house had a pool.  We probably couldn't afford it anyhow but it seemed perfect except for the pool.  I never wanted a pool BEFORE the accident but now knowing what a near drowning can do to someone personally, I barely can handle a bathtub!  Certainly not a pool that I'd worry about all the time.

Our weather is starting to change.....instead of the mid-90's it's like the high 80's LOL  but it feels different.  October is my favorite month and it's almost here....

This coming week will be a busy one, lots of different kinds of paperwork for me and Steve starts Driver's Ed.  I'm a weirdo, I like Mondays....I feel like it is a new beginning for me and a chance to get things done.  Sundays are such work days/long days for us....

We have a night nurse again tonight....oh GLORY!  And our new one will start next weekend.  I am so very thankful!  Sleep is a wonderful thing!!  I loved caring for Selah one on one but.....we've been doing this for 8 months, and at one point doing all her night nursing for over 2 full months so this is a blessing to be able to sleep through the night!  Sleep is a glorious thing....usually by Sunday night I'm about ready to pass out!  It's great not to be so tired.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and hope you have a good week ahead! 

Please keep praying for Selah!