It's On

Well it looks like we are ON for Disney tomorrow.  That meant today I had to have all my church work done and ready to go to the bookkeeper.  I also had to shop for Sunday's big Christmas Dinner at church.  And I have to pack the Diaper Bag....  you have no idea what a chore that is to make sure we have everything!

I bought a turkey and ham for Sunday's Christmas lunch.  It's a "ready to go " turkey....you just put it in that roasting pan and COOK it!  That is my kind of turkey.  It says you don't even have to defrost it!  YAY!!  The Ham is pre cooked also!  YAY!  Hopefully I won't kill anyone!  I'm also using my new crock pot that has 3 crock pots in it to do baked beans, sweet corn and green beans:)  There is going to be some good food on Sunday!  Another lady is doing a turkey also so we won't go hungry!
If you live in our area, come and check out our church! 

We are hoping that Disney's policy on helping the disabled will still be in place.  I called today and was told it was a case by case situation.  I'm hoping they'll look at our case and work with us or otherwise it may not be a very good day.  You know I'm not one for pulling the disabled card out and I never abuse having a handicapped parking sticker.  If one of the little ones is NOT with me, I would never think about using it.  (well I did ONE time when it was pouring and I was getting meds for one of them!  I confess but the parking lot was basically empty and there were numerous handicapped parking spaces.)  But that is the only time.  I'm thankful I don't need a handicapped sticker for myself and I am glad to walk, I need to walk anyhow!  Anyhow I hope things go smooth tomorrow.  I want the kids to enjoy themselves.

Last night I had such a vivid dream.  I was alone in Ukraine working in an orphanage.  It was so real, I even discussed with the caretakers some of the children's diagnosis's.  In the dream, I wept a lot, at first I was helping to move some kids from a bad orphanage to a nicer one.  I held one child in a van as we traveled to the new orphanage.  Oh my God was this dream real.......I think that dream represents my heart and what I would want to do if I had the opportunity.  Of course I have my little ones here to take care of now. 

Sarah does not seem to care for vision therapy.  Today was her second day and she cried and cried.  I was working at the church and no one came to get me or called me so I didn't' know about it till it was over.  When I was leaving, she was not too happy and I suggested working with her on her horse.  The teacher of vision therapy is a lot like an Occupational Therapist.  There is a lot of fine motor skill being worked on.  So Sam is happy to sit with the teacher, put pegs in holes, but Sarah wants to be moving!!!!   I thought she'd be happier if she was on the horse and could rock some during the time, but evidently she was screaming!  Sarah NEVER does that!  I'm not sure what we will do about this but I think the teacher will have to work with her in a totally different way than she does with Sam or other VI kids.  In most situations I'd say the child had to get used to things BUT not with Sarah.  She has been through too much, was tied to a bed and CRAVES movement.  So we have to figure out how to work with that!

Next week the kids all start with their Academics teacher.  She is scheduled to come from 3:15- 5:45 pm 3 days a week.  That is really late for Sam.  If he can't deal with that, then we'll have to move some things around. 

Wish us luck tomorrow.....I hope Sam and Sarah enjoy themselves,  We've taken Sam to Disney before and he loved all the rides and did fine.  This will be new for Princess Sarah:)  We think she will love the rides, I can't wait to take her on some of them!  Selah is doing good=stable.  She is enjoying going outside daily and she is using her stander for an hour a day.  She tolerates everything quite well.  thank you for still praying for her!

Pictures and Christmas plans.....

 

 

 Here are some of our critters...

Vermont, named after the state that the person who gave us is from.  she did not work as an indoor cat for him!

 

 

 

 

 she loves my lilac bush

 

 

 

 Our sweet Brownie!

She is the greatest dog in the world

 

 

 

 Getting a bit gray.....

 

 

 

 

 Happy girl

 

 

Sam was pushing himself with his foot!!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Look at Sarah's giant foot!

 

 

 

 

I LOVE her sweet smile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

she has hair blowing in the breeze, who'd ever thought that:) 

 

 

 

 

We are enjoying our 80 degree weather with low humidity  THIS is why folks move to Florida!

The kids go out every day and so does Selah. 

 

The kids are getting excited about Christmas and a break from school for Shad.  Shad has asked for a baby kitten.  We are in process of getting one.  A friend of a friend does a cat rescue and they will have some kittens ready to leave their mama the week before Christmas so Shad gets to pick out a kitten.  I really do not want anymore responsibility,  Shad will take care of the cat, I'm not worried about that, but I don't' want anyone else to worry about!   But Shad wants a pet of his own and I want him to have one. 

 

Someone is giving our family tickets to Disney.  We plan on going before Christmas so everyone is all excited about that too.  I am somewhat.....it will be a fun challenge..... but a challenge!

 

We have some parties coming up and so much going on.  I'm really trying to enjoy this Christmas season. 

 

 

Last night I dreamed I was holding Selah on my hip and she was supporting her trunk, neck and head.  In my dream I was so very happy.....Please keep praying for her!

 

 

 

 

Hanging out at the Prison

Not many women can say their husband took them out to dinner at a prison:)  Tonight was the annual volunteer banquet and I  helped serve the food.  I wish I could have taken pictures, but.....I couldn't' bring in my camera.  Jon enjoys working at his prison very much.  Over the last 16 years, he has worked at four prisons as he was promoted. When you work in the prions system, you usually have to  be willing to relocate or drive to get promotions.   Each had a "personality" and a reputation.  The one he is at now is a great one for staff and inmates alike.  The staff all seem to work together and actually enjoy & respect each other for the most part .  The inmates have more services at this prison than at others and it is a very unique prison that serves the needs of the handicapped, the ill, mental health,  hospice patients and elderly. 

Tonight the prison choir sang and some of the staff & volunteers spoke.  The volunteer of the year Bob, was honored.  He kept the chapel running while we were away with Selah last year.  Then we had a remarkable good dinner:)  I got the opportunity to hang out with some of the staff that I'd never met and we really hit if off and I laughed a lot tonight:)  It was a really good night! 

Jon's prison leads the state in volunteer hours, they had 4000 hours in the last 3 months!   He averages 300 volunteers a month working with the inmates!!   He has sought to grow the program, even tho a lot was in place when he came there.  He makes place for every religion and seeks to find volunteers for each religion represented.  Jon preaches a clear Christian message but he works with different religions and treats them all with respect. 

For example tonight he had a Jewish volunteer doing a Hanukkah service for the Jewish inmates  and a Muslim giving the key note speech for the volunteers......he works with everyone and has been complimented by several non Christian inmates for treating them and their religion with respect.  That being said, he and I believe there is only ONE way to God and that is through Jesus....but we are to show love to others and not hatred. 

So we had a great "date" night!

The kids are all doing good.  Selah had a great day and enjoyed being outside this morning.  She just looked so good today,  I love seeing her look healthy.

And YES she got her formula today......  Geez I hope this is the last time we have a problem with that!

Please keep her in prayer, I'm always encouraged when I hear from others who still pray for her daily.  Please know no matter what is going on in my life, I call out to God throughout my day in my heart to heal my little girl.  Sometimes I get up in the night to go to the bathroom and lay back down and pray for her till I fall asleep.  There is seldom a day that tears don't fill my eyes at some point or another, I just hide it and get control of my emotions.  I want her to be herself again, I want to see her smile and hear her laugh, I don't even have the words to convey to you how deeply I still want that.  I've not accepted that this will be her situation for the rest of her life.....  So please continue in prayer for her.  I don't understand everything, I don't know what moves God to do miracles I just know we need one!

My CRAZY day

You would not believe my absolute crazy day......

I've been going strong it seems for days since vacations are not really vacations for a mommy!  Then we cleaned the church, then it was Sunday which is far from a day of rest in our home!  Then came Monday....

Got up, got the little ones ready....here comes the therapists....

9-10 am Sarah has PT
10-11 am Selah has PT
11:15- 12:15 Sam had Vision Therapy
12:15- 1:15 Sarah had VT BUT......
12:30-1:30 Sam had Occupational Therapy OT which today was working with him with feeding....so Sarah got mad that Sam was eating...
So 12:45 till 1:45 or so SARAH had OT and got to eat LOL
Then off to take Steve to Driver's Ed at 2:30 and pick up Shad at 2:30.....
drop off somethings for the church
Then like an idiot off to buy groceries at 2:45 with all three little ones.....Sarah peed while I stopped to check my blood pressure, all over the floor, through her diaper....YET my blood pressure was 101/68...I was making myself think of white beaches......
Then home to cook supper and oh yes, I did 5 loads of laundry! 

Oh and had a HUGE fight for Selah....

She gets a formula that is hard to find outside of the company that delivers it to us.  We have not been able to have this company get the order right since she was changed from Pedisure to this formula......I talked to someone the week BEFORE last and went through the whole order,  The lady assured me it was being sent out that day.....our nurse also called and was assured of the same thing.....it should have been here no later than last Wednesday as we have NO extra feeds....well it didn't come.  Thankfully our nurse had picked up 2.5 days of the formula from one of the doctor's offices for me.  Even still we ran out and her last full feed was on Friday night.  Saturday we had 2 servings of it, it comes in little boxes like juice boxes.  We had to add Pedilyle to the formula Saturday night and on Sunday night she only had Pedilyite.   THEN the boxes came today with the WRONG formula.....can you believe that???????

I had called the company first thing this morning and they started working on it.  Then after I got the shipment, the WRONG shipment, I got a call from a head manager.  I was so upset.  This is the third month this has happened.  It is unreal and probably unlawful.  It's like they want to stretch out her servings so she isn't given all she should be....  I firmly told them I expect a month's reserve of formula to be sent with this new shipment tomorrow.  Our doctor had even signed a order for that so we didn't have to worry if there was a storm and the company couldn't ship it (they are up north).  But the lady who helps me in this area actually brought over 3 serving boxes for Selah tonight even tho she is supposed to have 4 boxes a night.  I do appreciate that this lady drove over a hundred miles round trip to do that for us.  And I was not even here to thank her in person.  (see above reasons) 

It just seems there is always another battle to fight, nothing can ever go smoothly....and people wonder why I am hostile????????   LOL

My husband says the reason I have absurdly low blood pressure is because I GIVE high blood pressure to everyone I deal with LOL  You'd think as mad as I get, I'd have some high BP going on!  It is a great medical mystery to us LOL

So that was my day.....

Boy I LOVE my life but had I known how complicated my life was going to get, I sure would have enjoyed those SINGLE years a lot more and those married years before we had kids a lot more too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

So how was your day???

Oh yeah....and Shad is asking for a baby kitten for Christmas......  I may need an extra month of my happy pills on reserve.......

Please pray for Ukraine

Saturday was an incredibly busy day for me.  We started at 9 am and cleaned our Fellowship Hall at the church.   It has not been used since the accident and had become somewhat of a storage room since we got new church chairs back at Easter but with a Christmas dinner coming up and a new Sunday School class starting in January that needs to meet in there, we cleaned it from top to bottom.   I got to get rid of some tings too!  YEAH LOL:)  We had lots of help including some of the Spanish church members. 

Then after all that was done, Steve and I went and got our Christmas Tree and some things for the church.  Then we put up the tree.....and cleaned up after ourselves....by then it was 10pm.  As you can imagine I FELL into bed after a hot shower....I was completely exhausted!  But it looks GREAT!

So we took some pictures in front of the tree this morning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the last picture is the best except Sam was getting mad and hungry.    Selah had a beautiful red dress on but we had talked so long after church with various people that our nurse had taken her home by the time we got a chance to take pictures and she was resting.  ONE day I will have that PERFECT PICTURE I KEEP STRIVING FOR !!!!  You know the one, where everyone is looking towards the camera with a smile on their faces!

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If you are wondering about what is going on in Ukraine, here is a good article that explains things to some degree.

We love Ukraine, our daughters' country, where we lived for 6 weeks. It's a country I did not know a lot about but now I have studied its' sad history. I pray that Ukraine will be able to break with Russia and have a successful future. I am afraid the country is very divided. From what we saw & experienced, there are some who want to become more Western, and some who love the past/Russia/Lenin. There is a big difference between many in the Western side of Ukraine, near Kiev and the Eastern side near Russia (where our girls are from)     Where our girls were from, there were many Lenin statutes, that were revered by some. There seemed to be a huge political divide. We pray the best for Ukraine!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/12/01/why-ukraine-matters/


Here are some pictures of the protests.....  I'm not an international expert by any means, but I can't help but hope and pray that finally Ukraine can be completely free from Russia and able to break all the shackles that has been on that country for so many years.  I loved the Ukraine people that we met and feel honored by the time they spent with us.  We came to love them all so much.  We had such a strong feeling, I kept saying to Jon that we must have Ukrainian roots and not know it!  I hope the very best for our daughters' birth country and hope the people there can live in peace and prosperity! I pray there is no bloodshed or anymore hard times ahead for this country.  Ukraine has suffered so much over the years.   

 We have been here, to Independence Square, this is a sight to see.......

So in your prayers, remember the country of Ukraine.....and Selah also.  Thank you!

Black Friday

Happy Friday here...no shopping.  I don't do it because I'm so spiritual I don't do it because I'd probably SLAP someone and wind up in jail!!!!!  Well seriously, I know my limits.....  but I do think it is ironic for folks to be out fighting over material goods the day AFTER we are supposed to be thankful for all we have.... 

 Today we cleaned out the church office.  All of the boys' things have been here since Selah came home from the hospital.  I've 'straightened it a few times but today was an all out clean out day!  Shad found some new clothes he has never worn and we got rid of toys that were broken or not used.  "Found " a box of sweat shirts for both boys.  Realized they both need new underwear and socks (I know what Santa is bringing them YAY!  LOL)   I LOVE to clean out things and the boys didn't mind so much because they like their stuff all straightened, they just don't  like to do it!   Tomorrow when our church folks come to decorate from Christmas they will have a FREE yard sale to look through:)    We got rid of all our VCR tapes but wrote down the ones we want to get in Blu-ray.  Some I had held onto for sentimental value....like 'That Darn Cat' by Disney the old version.  One of my favorite movies. 

We are having a perfect Florida day.  Our winters are so nice, the windows are open and it's warm in the sun, but not too warm:)

When Jon was rescued from the air he saw he was near a big Phosphate plant, maybe 1 mile or so from it.  So today he went back and found out it was the plant WAY over on the other side of the woods (not the one he thought from the air)   So he was probably in the woods WAY more deeper than originally thought, maybe even 10 miles in !  If he can even get access through the plant, he then will have to cross a deep palmetto swamp to get to where the bike is.  So now he knows more where he was, he maybe able to map it out to go get the bike.  The officers tried to load it on the helicopter but were unable to do so.  Since it is getting dark soon, he won't be going to get it tonight:)  But he did get his bike out of the shop (had to have new gears-that's why he was using Steve's bike)  So he is off for a short ride on a WELL known trail LOL!  I THREATENED him:)

Sarah continues having normal poops:)   AND Selah keeps pooping on her own with no extra meds!  YEAH for GOOD poop around here!

Since Sarah has been taking these meds, the "sweet" smell she has always had even after a bath is completely gone.  I'd worried about the smell, it was everywhere from her forehead to her feet and I had mentioned it to every doctor we saw.  No one else seemed to be concerned about it but I was afraid it pointed to some metabolical problem.  Evidently NOT!  It must have something to do with the bugs she had.  Also her rash is gone.  She always had a particular rash that would come and go.  I thought she was sensitive to certain diaper brands and had tried every single brand out there but nothing seemed to keep it away!  Now it's completely gone! 

Selah has just been doing wonderfully as far as physically.  She has had great days and nights, been very peaceful.  We still have not seen any new changes to her:(  Except for the pooping on her own!  But even that seemed to start right before she did HBOT.  I think I'm as happy as I ever can be with her condition, when she is doing so good physically.  It's a blessing not to have her in and out of the hospital.  She has been very stable the last few months and I am so very grateful for that.  I love to see her relaxed, not tense, a nice normal heart rate, no arching....Thank God!

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

A Thanksgiving To Remember.....

Usually I have a problem NOT being able to think of a blog title, tonight I have MANY titles to chose from!

Oh What a Night
Happy Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving Story
The Helicopter Story
It Could ONLY happen to US!
A Thanksgiving To Remember.....


If you haven't heard the story yet....here goes.....

Yesterday as I was writing my blog, Jon left to go mountain biking.  He goes almost every day, sometimes he does about 20 miles, sometimes less.  Yesterday he was not going to do as much.   He has been riding for years.   He rides at a couple of different places.  They are all under the water management area, so they aren't parks with paved trails nor are they maintained like a state park.    Some of the roads are graded and more well used and some are more trails.  Hunting is allowed at different times in the parks.  There are a lot of wild animals in there too.    He has some trails memorized and most of the trails are marked to some degree.

I didn't really pay attention to when he left.  I did know he was still gone when the nurses' changed shifts but he is on vacation, didn't have to get up early and not afraid of the woods at night so I didn't worry.  Thankfully he had on his head light that I just bought all of them!  We had recorded a bunch of "Everyone Loves Raymond" while we were gone so Steve and I started watching them and laughing. Time slipped away and around 10 pm I started thinking that he should have been home by then.....but I didn't want to make a big deal as he is quite adventurous and knows the particular area that he went to (luckily he told me where he was going!!!!!)  really good.  In my mind, I thought I'd give him till 11pm.....well  at 11pm, Steve and I went to the little parking area to see if his van was there....it was, with his cell phone in it.  Our night nurse was with all the children, she was very concerned too and helped us out.  The parking area is only a couple of miles from our house.  So at that point I called the sheriff's office and then sent out a couple of deputies.  They assessed the situation and called in the air rescue as well as the ATV rescue team.  They were even going to call the canine unit but thought since he was on a bike, the dogs would have more trouble locating him.

The helicopter is fitted with heat imaging so it had a better chance of finding him.  BTW, last night the temps were down into the 30's, the coldest night of the year thus far!   Once the helicopter got up, I took Steve home, since he was dressed in shorts and I was DYING to go to the bathroom.  I had just drank two bottles of water before I left to go out there and in the cold....let's just say I was miserable! 

It took about an hour to get the chopper up in the air.  I thought once it was up, it would just take a few minutes to find him so I figured by the time I got back they would have found him but that was not the case. 

For the most part I was very calm, I know the area, and knew that he had gotten turned around a few times before but always could get himself out.  As time went on, I did start worrying more!  when I really narrowed the time down and realized he had left about 4:30 pm, then I started to worry.  At first I told the cops he had left about 6:30 pm.  The only thing I had to gage it by was he was gone at shift change.  But as I remembered, he had left right after we came back from eating out.   So then I realized that was just a little bit after 4pm.  YIKES....by this time it's after 1AM!

I called my brother in law and he put a prayer request on FB and one of my BFF's called and said she and her husband were coming to wait with me.  So by the time I got back from my house they were there and my bro in law came just a few minutes later. 

I can't say I didn't think the worst a few times.....but I tried to focus on the fact that the most logical thing was that he got lost.  My bro in law asked me if I'd taken a few (or a lot) of my "happy" pills but I really hadn't.  I just stayed calm, figured there was time later to freak if I needed to do so!

So around 1:45 am they spotted a light (yes it was the light I bought him!) and he was waving it around!   At first we all didn't know  much except that he or someone had been spotted.  The helicopter was able to find a spot to land near him and radioed to us when they had him on board.  They didn't ask for an ambulance so we figured he was ok.  WHEW!

The Preserve is located across from the airport so we met them over there.  Thankfully he was fine!

So his story was he was riding on some of the trails he knows, they are marked with numbers, he thought he'd try a new trail that wasn't as clearly marked, but he knew he could backtrack if needed.  Well.......it didn't' quite work that way!  He got turned around but still thought he'd come across a trail that he knew but never did.  He was about FOUR miles from the entrance when he was found.  It's about an 80 square mile area. so he wasn't too far from the front area but far enough back in to not be able to get out!

Jon also never panicked, he knew I'd call the sheriff's office eventually.  He was dressed warmly and had his light with him.  He did say there were a few times where he'd feel some fear creep in but he actually just started singing on the top of his lungs LOL!   He wasn't really afraid of animals, as that area mostly has deer and hogs, maybe a few bobcats.  Of course there are plenty of snakes and gators in there but with it being so cold, they aren't aggressive and were probably curled up in dens (snakes) or somewhat hibernating (gators-there is a term for what gators do in the winter time but I forget what it is called, don't think it is hibernating...)    Once he saw the helicopter with the big light, he knew it was there for him.  He kept flipping his light so that he could be seen and once they were over his area, they saw him. 

I told him he now has even more in common with his inmates, he got tracked down by the sheriff's department LOL!!!!!

The first thing the helicopter officer said was "hey you need a ride?" as he smiled at Jon:)   The Pasco Sheriff Officers were excellent with us.  They were so professional and kind.  Once we all knew he was ok, there was plenty of good natured kidding that took off all the tension.  We think highly of our sheriff's office and now that we have needed them and see how professional they are in a serious situation we REALLY appreciate them!!  They were happy that this had a good outcome and that no one was hurt!  What was nice is I could tell how glad they were that everything was ok:)  A bunch of good guys!!!

We were home by 2:45am.  My brother in law spent the night and we all stayed up talking for awhile...and laughing.  What else can you do??

One REALLY funny thing that happened was when the officers searched Jon's van, they came across a card.  So they asked me if I knew a "Aaron" and I said yes, he is one of our nurses.  They didn't ask anymore questions along those lines and I though nothing of us, just thought Jon had one of his business cards....that wasn't the kind of card they found.  They found a thank you card to Selah/us for his birthday cake and present we had given him...it was a Winnie the Pooh card as if it was being sent to Selah....talking about DYING laughing when we realized what ALL of that might have looked like to a cop!!!  OMG!  We told him the story when he came in this morning and we were all wiping tears!!!  

Another  STRANGE thing, right before the first cop got there, there was a very strange light in the southern sky that turned the night sky BLUE as day and then there was a white flash on the bottom of the horizon!   The FUNNY thing is Jon saw it too and when I was describing it, he said he saw it clearer since he was in a field type area at that point and had a good view, he didn't see the white flash on the bottom of the horizon like I did but it turned the night into day for a second.  I'm wondering if it was a meteorite.  Jon thought it was a falling star as he seemed to see a actually thing falling, where all I saw was the bright light all over.  I've seen a "falling star" before and it did not light up the whole sky at all!  If anyone knows anything about this, let me know.  I've not watched the news today at all and I will look it up to see if there was anything said about something like that.  Our nurse had told us he heard on the news that a boy in Lakeland- not too far from us- was hit in the head by a piece of meteorite just a  few days ago.

Another really "hard" thing I had to answer was if Jon was suicidal.  I told the cops  NO but that we have gone through a lot in the past few years.  They asked if we had weapons and if any were missing.  I was able to determine that none were missing.  They asked if we'd had a fight.  I told them with 5 kids and being so busy just coming home from a vacation that I didn't think we'd had a fight, at least not one I could remember LOL!!!

So we are thankful that Jon is ok and we are grateful for the help we received from the Pasco Co Sheriff's Department!!




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So since Jon didn't get us a turkey last night.......  we ate at Denny's for Thanksgiving!

Before anyone feels too sorry for us.... 

Most Thanksgiving and Christmas I'd been cooking full meals for our family and some close friends.  I used the church's fellowship hall since it is large and has a beautiful big kitchen.  But since the Hall hasn't been used since last year, it was dusty and filled with our old church chairs, we got new ones this year.  We are having a big work day on Saturday and cleaning all of that, I just haven't had time to do it.   So I really didn't want to cook there this year.  Also with us just coming back from vacation, I wasn't really up to cooking a big meal so everyone made other plans, some family went out of state, some made plans with in laws, some of our close friends also went out of town....it just was a funky year for us.

BUT we were all together and everyone was OK.....that made it Thanksgiving for us:)

We'd planned on getting up early and going to the Golden Corral by like 10:30am to eat there BUT with everything that happened, there was no getting up early this morning at the Clanton's LOL!  We got up late, visited with my bro in law who had to be somewhere else by the afternoon so .....we thought we'd go around 3 or 4 pm....yeah we went and the line was AROUND the building....so then we went to the next closest bigger town and most of everything was closed there too.  Their Golden Corral was just as bad....then we saw Denny's and joined the other LOSERS!  LOL  We got seated quick and didn't have to wait too long, we all had breakfast food and we took back a piece of Pecan pie for our nurse!

 

Sarah was pretty in a pink corduroy dress I had gotten at the consignment store.  She actually CHEWED a little bit on the noodles in her soup.  It was the most I've ever seen her chew before:) Sarah never smiles for the camera but most of the time she smiles, but get the camera out and she gets serious!

 

 

 

Here we are having our "Hobbit" breakfasts.  We ordered off the "Hobbit" menu, evidently Denny's is pushing the Hobbit movie that is coming out soon!  LOL

 

Here is Sam in his new clothes also from the consignment shop

 

 

 

LaLa and me:)  She looked at me when I spoke to her!

 

 

her cute outfit is from my friend Shelly Burman who is still in process to adopt the kids we all helped raise over $1000 for!

 

Oh Sarah had completely  NORMAL poop for the first time ever!  This morning I was so excited I showed everyone her diaper!  LOL  I know that sounds awful but it's great to see poop with form to it:)  The little infection she had from all the meds is clearing up too with just over the counter meds:) 

 

Our nurse was laughing at us this morning, we laughed at one thing or another all morning long it seemed.  He says the networks are really missing out on ratings with our family!  We could have a reality show that tops them ALL with the dad being found by the helicopter cops and the baby having a normal poop:)  ONLY the Clantons!    

 

 

Well I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.....we did in spite of everything!

 

I'm thankful my husband is ok, I'm thankful that Selah is healthy and stable, I'm thankful that Sarah has normal poop and is chewing some, I'm thankful that it is NOT last year and Selah is NOT in the hospital and we are NOT a thousand miles from home facing the unknowns.  I'm thankful all my other children are healthy, I'm thankful that our church is growing .....I'm thankful for friends and relatives that will come to us when we need them.  I'm thankful for all the friends who prayed last night for my husband.  Things do not have to be perfect for me to be THANKFUL!!!!!!!!