Leila Ann

A New Start

2012-01-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

A New Year and a New Start!

Polly has adjusted quite well to her new home.
Trouble (the old cat) is not quite as thrilled with her as she is with him - but we keep thinking he'll get better.

Austin and I went to Fairmont last week for orientation.
(Talk about deja vu. Seems like we just did that.)
He ended up getting placed in an apartment rather than a dorm.
He has one other roommate in a 2 bedroom furnished apartment on campus.
He moved up there yesterday, and starts classes tomorrow.
It's a little further away - about 2-2.5 hours.
I really think this will be a good thing though. I think this is a good place for him.
I've seen a difference in him over Christmas.
He's grown up and matured some in the last 5 months.
And I've enjoyed having him home this last month.
I can't imagine what the next 5 will bring.

Nov & Dec

2012-01-16T19:01:00.004-05:00

Nov and Dec have now come and gone.

Nov was relatively uneventful.
David went to Turkey for 2 weeks on business.
And we acquired a kitten while he was gone.
I SWEAR she just showed up one morning - I did NOT go get her.
She's a cutie, and as ornery as can be though.

Polly

Not a lot of people came for Thanksgiving dinner, but it was nice.

I took the boys (and Jessica) with me for the first time ever shopping on Black Friday this year.
We did things a little different this year and shopped all night instead of all day this time.
I actually think I liked it better that way.
They were anxious to see people fighting, but alas - we just got some deals and had fun instead.

David turned the big 5-0 on Dec 3. (Ohhh, he's getting old!)
I had a little surprise birthday party for him.
He claimed he figured it out, but he didn't.

Dec brought the usual hustle and bustle of Christmas.
I guess Christmas was as nice as it could be this year.

I've been bowling on a league this year with some ladies from church.
I am probably the 'weakest link', but we have a great time. (Love going for lunch afterwards too!)
David and the kids got me a bowling ball and bag for Christmas. It's bright pink!
And was a total surprise.

Christmas Pictures

Christmas Sunday

Cookies for Santa

Oct 2011 - Halloween & Birthdays

2011-11-29T19:28:00.012-05:00

Oct was a busy month (as usual).

We started out the month with a nice visit from some of David's family.
I didn't get to see them much (I ended up with the flu that week), but David and the kids did - which was good.

Darrell's knee is doing better, but he missed most all of cross country season.

Oct also brings homecoming.
Darrell participated in it all - spirit week (where they dress up every day), decorating and riding on the parade float, decorating the hallway, working the powder puff football game, the bonfire - you name it, he was there.

Costume Day

Blast from the Past Day

Spirit Day

All that school spirit must work because, Point Pleasant is 13-0 now.
For the 1st time ever, we're headed to the State Championships this weekend.

Austin's football season is officially over.
I think he'll find himself missing it (and the comraderie) more than he thinks he will - but maybe not.
I'm sure he won't miss practice 7 days a week though.

A Cold Game

One of His Biggest Fans

Although they didn't have a winning season - they won more games this year than ever before.
KCU is on it's way.

'Our' Player

We've been working on the paperwork to get Austin transferred to Fairmont (what a pain).

Oct is also a big birthday month here.

Leila turned 4 on the 29th.

Decorating Cupcakes

4 Years Old

And Darrell turned 15 on the 31st.

He took his test and got his driving permit on his birthday.
I must say - he was more excited than we were.

The end of the month brought Halloween.

We carved some cool pumpkins.

Ready to Carve

Leila's (and Daddy's) pumkin

Hard at Work

Darrell's pumkin

Trick-or-Treat night was COLD and rainy.
We still had a good time (even though the block party got cancelled).
Leila got LOTS of candy.
And Leila made a very cute little witch.

September

2011-10-18T14:13:00.010-04:00

Yes, I know it's (the middle of) October - but I'm just now getting around to posting about September.
Sept was an eventful and emotional month.

We had 3 family reunions.
The first was my Dad's family.
As wonderful as my cousins are (and they are quite the assortment) and as much as I love them (I really do), it was also the hardest.
We spent the day at my uncle's.
Turned out to be the hottest day of the year too.
Later that evening, some of them came here for some swimming, food, fun and drink.

We celebrated our 3rd (can you believe it) 'Gotcha Day' on the 16th.
Not a big celebration (we had a lot going on that week), but we did meet Austin in Huntington and went out for Chinese (of course).

That same week, a sad event occurred.
A good friend of ours at church passed away. He wasn't actually related to us, but he was related to some of our relatives (make sense?).
Anyway, he was only 40 years young.
And one of the most selfless, giving people you could ever hope to meet.
He'd been sick all summer with an unexplained illness.
Turned out to be cancer of the spleen.
He was also Darrell's piano teacher for the last 2 years.
At this point, I don't know if Darrell will ever go back to it.
He says that although he knows Darren would want him to - he just can't imagine taking lessons from anyone else.
David and I have decided to just let things ride for now.

Dad's birthday was also in Sept.
He would have been 74 on the 19th.
We had a big party for him last year.
We had debated about it - do we have one for '73' or do we wait and have a BIG one for '75'?
I am SO very glad we didn't wait.

We did something else that I think is neat.
We took some of the flowers from my Dad's service and had them made into jewelry.
I had never even heard of it before, but my sister-in-law had and mentioned it.
I did some research back at that time, and found the info that we needed.
We dried some of the flowers and sent them off.
I got an oval necklace and matching earrings. I got Leila a smaller round set.
My Mom and sister-in-law also got one.
They all also have a name on the back.
Leila's says 'Papa', mine says 'Dad', etc.
I even got keychains for the boys - since they weren't too interested in jewelry.
They have quite an extensive keychain collection from our travels (and Mom and Dad's) over the years - all over the country and I even think 5-6 foreign countries too.
I think it's a wonderful, meaningful keepsake and so much better than having flowers pressed in a book somewhere that are going to fall apart if they're touched.

Poor Darrell.
He started cross country practice back in Aug.
He did all the practice. (This is his favorite sport.)
He only got to compete in 2 meets.
And then he hurt his knee.
So far, I've had him to the doctor 3 times, had x-rays twice, and now we're scheduled for an MRI.
He had planned to 'letter' his freshman year, and that just did not happen.

Austin is still at KCU - for now.
It's a wonderful school. Small classes. Very personal.
They had 'Grandparent's Day' in Sept.
My Mom, David's Mom and his girlfriend's Grandmother all went down together.
They had a great time.

We've been to a couple of his games.
He looks good in his uniform.

And... he's decided to transfer schools next semester.
Although I do think KCU is great - I also think he's making the right decision.
Even though he denies it - we believe a big part of his decision to go there had to do with the fact that his girlfriend and his best friend were going there.
The problem with such a small school, is that their choice of majors is not overly extensive. And they don't have anything that he REALLY wants to do.
Austin likes (and is good at) drafting. That's not an option there.
It looks like he's headed to Fairmont (in WV) for the spring semester.
They have a drafting program (and in-state tuition).
I really think this is a much more 'grown-up' decision and one that will benefit him in the long run - even if it means the headache and hassle of figuring out what needs to be done to transfer and moving him north next semester instead of south.

1st Days of School

2011-09-02T16:49:00.006-04:00

Everyone is now back in school.

Leila has made such progress in the last few months - leaps and bounds. Her speech is exploding. She isn't as clingy. She is learning that she can do things on her own, and I will still be here when she's done. She has come to realize that even if I leave - I will come back.

She went to school on Thurs.
She did SO good. (She is so much more ready for it this year.)
Although she started to whine just for a minute when I got ready to leave - she stopped.
She didn't cry!!!
She did good all day.
She even laid down on her cot at rest time - and fell asleep.
She got a 'Good Day' note in her backpack.

Darrell started high school (9th grade) on Aug 18. They went back earlier this year than ever before. He's got a full load of all honors classes. (He didn't cry his first day either.)

Although Austin has been at school since Aug 1 (football), he didn't actually start class until Aug 23 - after Darrell. He's taking 14 hrs this semester. So far, he says he's doing fine. (And as far as I know - he didn't cry either.)

They're all getting so big!

China Reunion

2011-08-22T21:43:00.008-04:00

We've been very fortunate in that we've been able to stay in contact with some of the families we traveled with back in Sept 08.
Even nicer is the fact that 4 of our families live within range of a day trip.
The summer after we came home, we started the tradition of getting together for an annual 'China Reunion'.
Last Sat, was our 3rd one.

It's such a blessing to get together and catch up.
To see how the kids have grown and changed and are developing.
Some families have since gone back to China and increased in numbers - so we get to meet new faces as well.

Food was great.

The kids played on the swingset and the trampoline.

They played with a various assortment of other toys.

Kids and grown-ups alike played a fun, non-competitive game of volleyball.

This year seemed to be especially good, in that all the kids played together really well.

Austin didn't get to go of course - he's already at school.
David didn't make it again this year either.
Back when the date was originally set, he was fine. BUT,... he had to switch his on-call schedule around because I went to New York City 2 weeks ago. SO,... it was my fault, he was on-call and didn't get to go (as he has so often reminded me the last few days).
My mom went with me in his place. It was nice for her to finally be able to put faces with the names she's heard so much about the last 3 years.

Our beautiful '2008 China Dolls' this year.

Look at how they've grown!

2010

2009

Our thanks go out to our wonderful hosts - Susan and Thad.
We had a great time and can't wait for the next one.

Busy Summer

2011-08-03T14:04:00.003-04:00

Gosh, it's been awhile since I've 'blogged'.
Summer has been busy - but isn't life always?

The last few years, David's brothers have come to visit for the 4th of July. Neither one was able to make it in this year.
We still celebrated though.
We had a cookout with my family and went to the parade.
We normally take the boat out watch fireworks from the river, BUT since we don't have that anymore - that wasn't really an option.
David and Darrell went to watch go-cart races. Leila and I went to one regatta for a music concert. Austin and his girlfriend went to another regatta and are the only ones that actually stayed out long enough to see fireworks.

We've had a couple cookouts this summer with food, cornhole and swimming.
You would think that after so many, I would be getting better - but nope.
Unless my partner carries me - I lose every time. At least I'm a good sport. And I still enjoy it!

Leila went fishing for the 1st time this summer.
Mama and Papa got her a Barbie pole for Christmas, and we finally got around to using it.
Seems she likes the IDEA of fishing better than the actual sitting and waiting for a fish. (Just like her Mommy.)

Darrell went to Camp Electric. It's a Christian music camp run by Toby Mac.
This was his 2nd year. As before, he LOVED it.
Last year he went to the one in Nashville. This year, they opened one in Cedarville, OH. That was so much easier for us.
And he talked us into signing him up for next year too.

Austin left for college this week.
His classes haven't started yet. But football has.
We took him down on Mon.
His coach said - here's your room key, get your stuff carried in and unpacked, we have a run at 4:00.
Wow - what a welcome!
He said last night that it wasn't bad so far (wrestling was worse). It's just exhausting. They only have a one hour free a day, and the heat is terrible.
I told him this is the 'initiation period' - it will get better.

Beach

2011-06-24T15:22:00.004-04:00

Last week was our 2nd annual 'Girls' Week'.
We went to Atlantic Beach last year and had such a good time that we decided to try to make it an annual thing.
There were 6 of us last year. 5 this year. My aunt, my cousin, my mom, me and Leila.
We went to the Outer Banks - Duck, NC (such a funny name).

This year was SO much better.
Leila was not exactly what one would call a 'beach baby' last year.
She HATED the sand. She wasn't thrilled with the water (because it had sand in it). She didn't get enough sleep - something she desperately needs.
She didn't make the trip the most fun one ever.
She was good this year. She enjoyed herself. She had fun. Therefore, I enjoyed the trip immensely.

It was a lazy, relaxing week.
Early every morning (O'dark thirty), Mom and Marcia would walk on the beach.
By the time, they got back, Leila and I would be up.
We would have coffee on the balcony, and send Leila up to wake Jessica. (Sometimes she woke her - sometimes, she just crawled into bed with her.)
Then we'd go to the beach for awhile.
Come back and get cleaned up.
And then go driving around to see what we could see or do the rest of the afternoon and evening.

I had a better time, but I spent more money this year.
Last year, we ate in almost every meal.
This year, we ate out more. (Not the best arguement for why it's such a great idea that we go again next year tho.)

David and the boys enjoyed their week of 'bachelorhood'.
They played golf several days while we were gone.
We came home on Sun - Father's Day.
He was pretty understanding about us being gone all that day.
Our resort was paid for up until Sun morning, so we figured we might as well stay as long as we could.
Honestly, it was a pretty sucky day.
I knew it would be.
That's another reason I wasn't real keen on coming home early.
It's been a hard week since we've been back - too many thoughts.

Graduation Week

2011-05-31T19:08:00.007-04:00

Last week was Austin's 'Graduation Week'.
It's no longer just a one day affair. There's so much involved.

We started out last Sunday.
Our church had a surprise dinner in his honor last week.
Lots of good food, cards and well wishes.
He was completely clueless too - which made it all that much better.

Tues was Class Night.
That's when they announce the 'Personalities', read the 'Class Poem', read the 'Class Will', announce their activities.... fun things like that.

Thurs was Awards Night.
Austin was upset with me initially because I said he had to go.
He didn't think he would be getting anything, so he thought it was pointless.
He wanted to go to work instead, since he'd already missed work Tues.
(I knew he was getting one thing.)
We were all surprised!
He got 4 scholarships!!!

Sat was THE big day. Graduation!
It was outside - down at the Riverfront Park.
The weather was perfect.
He graduated with honors.
(1 down - 2 to go.)

I even let him wear his 'toe shoes' thru the line.
He mentioned it as a joke.
When I agreed - he just about fell over with shock.

Our baby is off to college later this summer.
He's going to Kentucky Christian University, which is in Grayson, KY (about an hour and a half away).
At this point, he plans to major in youth ministry.
He's turning into a pretty amazing young man, and we're quite proud.

Dad

2011-05-10T14:22:00.019-04:00

We've been down a very hard road here lately.
My Dad passed away on April 29, 2011 (my brother's 47th birthday).
He'd been sick for quite awhile. He's had heart problems since I was little.
He fought this battle for so long, and he fought oh so hard - right up to the very end.
He didn't start getting really bad until Dec. (He even went hunting at Thanksgiving.)
His mind was still good. His body just gave out.
I watched my grandma a few years back. Her body was good, but her mind went first.
I don't know which is better or worse.
I guess we all knew this day would ultimately come, but it doesn't really make it any easier.

Dad was probably the hardest working and strongest man I've ever known.
He did things not for glory or recognition, but because it was the right thing to do. Things like giving the local guy that walks the roads and isn't 'quite right' and doesn't smell good, a ride when it's dark or raining. Things like weed-eating along the road so someone doesn't pull out and have an accident because you can't see, even though that's the state road's responsibility.
He was ALWAYS there whenever we needed. It didn't matter what it was.
He's kept my kids, run errands, helped us move, helped fence the yard, roof the cabin, build a shed, mowed my yard, ....

My dad hated the beach. They only came to see us when we lived in FL, because they had to and to see the kids - not because he wanted to be there. (He wasn't a fan of the hot and the sand.) The mountains were his thing.
We've been on more vacations with my parents than we have without. My favorite was probably when we all went on a 'family' cruise to Mexico. I think his was the one to Yellowstone though.
It completely, totally breaks my heart that there won't be anymore now.

Next week would have been my parents 48th anniversary. He was only 73.
All my cousins (and I have a lot), have been telling me how 'he was always their favorite'. I know - I had the best.
It just does't seem fair.
Every time I think I'm out of tears - there's another bucketful ready to fall.

I think I heard once that the true testament to a man's life is how many people show up at his funeral.
Well - that only reinforced what we all already knew.
There were almost 400 people came for the calling hours. People stood in line outside in the cold and in the rain to pay their respects.
The funeral home ran out chairs during the funeral itself.
After the service, our church provided a dinner and a place to go to for awhile.
I'd guess they fed 200 people that day. They had 2 long rows of food and another for just desserts. My dad would have loved it. What an amazing church family we have.

I hurt for me. I hurt for my Mom. But I hurt for my kids.
Austin will be graduating in 2 weeks. Dad won't be there. He'll be starting school and will be playing football in college. He SO wanted Papa to see him. (Papa was an amazing football player in school.) Now he won't.
Darrell was named after my dad. He's only 14. He has so far to go in life. And he's such a good kid. It breaks my heart that as he's entering high school next year, Dad won't be there to see how he matures and develops.
Leila - well she's only 3 1/2. My biggest fear is that she won't remember him and how much he loved her. When she says 'Mama and Papa's house', I cry because Papa isn't there. And yet, when she says 'Mama's house', I cry because I'm afraid what if she's already starting to forget?

Yes, I KNOW he's better off. I KNOW he's no longer suffering. BUT my head and my heart are two totally different things. Just because he's better off, doesn't mean we are. Just because he's not suffering, doesn't mean we're not.
Why do people that don't deserve the space God has given them on this earth still get to be here? And yet, people that should be, aren't?
I know that time eases pain and that things get easier. I may have that knowledge deep inside me, but it's not helping much right this very moment.

I have a million pictures I like. I'm just going to try to pick a few of the best here.

Back in the Day

Graduation

Wedding

Riverboat Cruise

50's Dance

Pensacola with Austin

Air Show with Austin

Darrell's 1st Christmas

Field Day with Darrell

Wrestling Tournament

Yellowstone

Meeting Papa

Last Picture with Papa

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T09:27:00.002-04:00

Coloring Eggs

Egg Hunt at Church

Easter Morning

What a Weekend!

2011-03-03T15:52:00.005-05:00

Last weekend was an extremely busy one.

On Thurs, Leila moved up to the 'big girl' class at gymnastics.
That means that I no longer go out on the floor with her.
She goes without me.
AND she did good! (Much better than I anticipated.)
Those that know her, must realize what an accomplishment this is.
If her coaches weren't so good - I doubt this transistion would be going this well.

Austin had WV State Wrestling Tournament Thurs-Sat.
He did good, but he did not place.
He wrestled with strep throat and an ear infection.
He lost 6 lbs last week, so he was giving up 8 lbs just to wrestle his class.
He did better than I expected with the way he felt (crappy), but not as good as I would have liked.
It was his very last wrestling tournament ever (after 12 long years).
I wanted him to go out with a bang, rather than a fizzle.
I know that as good as he did do - he would have placed if he hadn't been sick.
I'm still proud of him for what he did do though.
AND, the team got 1st place!
Point Pleasant is the WV State Champs - 2 yrs now in a row.

On Sun, we took Leila to see 'Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes'.
David was afraid she was too young for a show like this, but I was determined to take her anyway.
She loved it. She was mesmerized the entire first part.
I'm on the email list from Ticketmaster, so we have the opportunity to buy tickets for things early.
By doing that, we had great seats. Close to the middle and only 4 rows back.
It was a fantastic show.
I do think it's criminal what they charge for things though - not the ticket prices, but the stuff inside.
(You shouldn't have to take out a loan to go to a show like that.)
There are times I wish Leila had a sibling closer to her age, but at something like that - I'm glad she doesn't.
We splurged and bought her a t-shirt, tiara, and light-up thingy.
But we drew the line at the food.
I had wanted to buy her cotton candy (she's never had any).
A bag of cotton candy was $12 and snowcones were $16! That's ridiculous.
She can try cotton candy at the fair this summer.
David's just not sure who liked the show the most - Leila or Lois?

And Darrell started track on Mon.

Feb Holidays

2011-02-18T10:11:00.004-05:00

So far, Feb has been a busy month.

We celebrated Chinese New Year on Feb 3.
No big wild dragon parties - just dinner out at the Chinese restaurant.
2011 is the year of the rabbit.

(Got this picture from a friend - Thanks Erin.)

Feb 14 was of course, Valentine's Day.
Leila had her Valentine party at school and exchanged valentines - so cute.

Feb 15 was our 19th anniversary.
David was out of town for work on both of those though.

The boys went on a ski trip with the church (they had a great time), so we went out to eat the weekend before to celebrate early.
Austin couldn't find the hat he planned to wear that morning so he ended up buying a new one.
Cute, huh? Can't really say it's my favorite, but he seems to like it.

The rest of Feb isn't shaping up to be any less busy either.
Austin has regionals for wrestling this weekend and then States next weekend.
After that, he's done with wrestling - forever. (Kind of sad.)
BUT the Monday after States - starts track season for Darrell.
He's been counting down the days.
Hey, anyone want to sponser him in a run-a-thon that's coming up?

Snow Day

2011-01-26T17:21:00.002-05:00

We've had (it seems) more than our share of snow so far this year.
And it doesn't appear to be over any time soon.
What started out yesterday as rain, changed to sleet this morning and then quickly snow - a heavy wet snow.
School was dismissed early.
Leila and I were there, but left before the dismissal time.
The roads got so bad, so fast that I even texted the boys and told them to skip out of their last class and come on home.

Since it wasn't overly cold (and Austin was actually home today), the boys decided to take Leila out to play.
Up until this year, she has NOT been a fan of playing in the snow.
I haven't played in the snow for quite a while myself, so I joined them too.
It wasn't good snow for sleigh riding - ours wouldn't go.
But it's perfect snow for building a snowman or snowball fights.
Our snowman turned out pretty pitiful, but it was fun anyway.
And Leila loved 'throwing' her snowballs at the boys.

Cleveland

2011-01-24T18:09:00.003-05:00

Mom and Dad left for Cleveland Clinic last Mon.
Darrell, Leila and I went up on Thurs to be with them over the weekend.

I really think Cleveland is the coldest place I've ever been.
It snowed almost continuously while we were there.
Temperatures were in the single digits (or below) and that's not counting the wind chill from the ever present breeze off frozen Lake Erie.

As far as Dad goes, it seems like things change daily.
He originally went up there to have a 'port' put in.
They did something called a 'Swans-Ganz Right Heart Catherization' on Fri.
Based on those results, they're not going to do the port now.
He has fluid buildup. As of today, they've taken 21 lbs of fluid off him, and there's still more to go.
His left leg isn't going down at all, and at this point, they're not sure why.
They changed some of his medications today.
It seems as though his options for treatment are dwindling. And none of them they've mentioned yet is extremely appealing.

Leila did pretty good to have been cooped up in either the hospital or the hotel for 4 days.
And Darrell was invaluable with his help. (He's such a good boy.) I'm glad I let him miss a day of school to go with me.

The bright spot in the weekend though was lunch on Fri.
We have friends that we traveled to China with in 2008 that live in that area.
They braved the cold and ventured out to meet us for lunch.
It was SO nice to see them and catch up a little bit in person.
I hated to see our time together end.

After leaving them, Darrell and I decided to explore a little and go see Lake Erie.
It's all frozen!
I only made it part way down to the lake from where we parked.
It was so cold it made me hurt. (We didn't exactly bring clothes for Arctic weather.)
Darrell went on as far as he could. He wanted to find a place to walk on the lake.
Not being from the area and not really having any idea where we were going, we didn't find a place with 'walking access'. He did get some good pictures though.

Leila and Claire

All Ice

Christmas

2011-01-16T17:21:00.004-05:00

Dad's been in and out of the hospital several times in the last month.
He was home for Christmas though.

Christmas was relatively laid back this year.
In spite of all the hustle and bustle and busyness, you realize that the only thing that really matters is being together.
We went to Jim and Marcia's house (my aunt and uncle) on Christmas Eve.
No gifts - just visiting, eating and spending time together.
Christmas morning we opened presents and then had dinner at our house.
We finished out the day at Mom and Dad's.

Leila thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year.
But she is slow, slow, slow at opening presents. It took her forever. One little piece of wrapping paper at a time - put that little piece in the trash - play with whatever it was - convince her to move on to the next one - over and over again.
Quite a time-comsuming process!
Although she liked the toys she got, she LOVED the candy.
(Santa probably could have saved some money if he'd skipped the toys and just brought candy.)

Christmas Sunday

Santa's Cookies

Christmas Morning

Grandkids

My Dad

2010-12-16T11:00:00.003-05:00

My dad has been having a lot of problems lately.
He's got congestive heart failure.
The fluid is building up really bad. (His legs and feet are swollen so bad that it doesn't even look like he has ankles.)
He spent a day or 2 in the hospital here last week.
Another problem that he's facing is that he HAS to have lasics to get rid of the fluid for his heart, and yet the lasics are destroying his kidneys.
For whatever unknown reason - they sent him home last week without resolving the fluid issue.
Now it's gotten worse.
Yesterday morning early, his defibulator shocked him - 3 times.
Mom took him to the ER.
They then transferred him by ambulance to Cleveland Clinic.
He goes there for 'routine maintence'. He's considered a 'complicated case'.
Here's a little history:
He had an artificial heart valve put in back in 1982. Then later on, he needed another one. That's when they sent him to Cleveland. At that point, they put in another valve and also replaced the 1st one. A few years ago, they sent him back up there to put in a pacemaker/defibulator. (That's gone off more than once since then.)
At this point, they're running tests, but I don't know a whole lot else.
Please keep him/us in your prayers.

Getting ready for Christmas

2010-12-16T09:57:00.006-05:00

I usually get stressed out a little this time of year.
I always think I won't get everything ready in time.
I always do - but there are still times I doubt I'll be able to pull it all off.
It seems even harder this year - with having to go to school!
Last week, I was in a serious tizzy over it all.
Not so much now. I'm going to make it.
At this point, I think I have all my cards done, I'm 3/4 way done wrapping, and all my shopping is done.
I haven't started baking yet, but I'll get there.

Our Advent Calendar

Putting Up The Tree

We even went to see Santa last weekend.
He wasn't nearly as scary as he was last year.
She didn't sit on his lap, but she did talk to him.

School

2010-12-16T09:27:00.003-05:00

Leila started pre-school right after Thanksgiving.
Her pre-school is thru the public school system.
It's all day, 4 days a week.
We're not doing that yet though.
Leila has severe attachment issues and separation anxiety.
It's not that she's NOT attached - rather she's TOO attached.
And it seems as though, she get worse the older she gets.
The only people she will stay with willingly now is the 4 of us and my mom.

The school is wonderful though.
They are really bending over backwards to work with us.
So far, I take her in late (she's not a morning person).
We leave early.
My plan was to gradually stretch her day, and go in a little earlier and leave a little later until she's there all day.
My plan was to also leave her there. So far that hasn't happened.
The school lets me stay there with her. (I'm the only mommy that doesn't drop and leave.)

She likes school.
When I ask her if she wants to go - she always says yes.
She grabs her little backpack and is ready.
However...since school started, she hasn't been sleeping.
Leila has ALWAYS been a good sleeper - 12 hrs at night, and then a 1-2 hr nap.
She now wakes up almost every night and cries for hrs.
We've even cut out naps in at attempt to makes her sleep all night out of sheer exhaustion.
I took her to the doctor too.
We thought that maybe there was a medical reason for this (like an ear infection). Nope.
The doctor thinks it's anxiety related.
She's been home now for over 2 years, she was so young when we got her, and she didn't have any adjustment issues back then - so I didn't think her 'unique situation' (as the doctor calls it), should be causing issues now.
Not so.
The doctor said that studies have shown the 1st year is so very, very important and that it can/will cause issues for years.
Her recommendation is to give it till Christmas and then re-evaluate.
If she's still not sleeping, maybe we need to cut back on school rather than increase the time there.
After all, she is still a very young '3'.
I don't think we should 'drop-out' though. (Wow, a preschool drop-out!)
If nothing else, maybe she should just continue to go one day a week.
That way, she would still get speech, still get some socialization with kids her age, and get her more and more familiar and comfortable for next year.
I'm just not sure right now - this has been very stressful for all of us.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-16T09:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, I am behind on my posts.

I'll start with Thanksgiving.
We surely had a full house here.
Both of David's brothers came into town. (One from MD and one from GA.)
It was a nice day.
I think we had 23 people here for dinner. (Good thing I've got a big kitchen!)

I did go shopping on Black Friday.
Lisa didn't go with me though.
I was really sad about that - I missed her.
She and I ALWAYS go together.
That's 'OUR' day - all ours, all day.
But my sister-in-law went. I've never been shopping with her, and we had a nice time.
She's probably one of the most easy-going people I know.
She never seems to get upset or say anything bad about anyone. (Perhaps I should strive to be more like her!)

Austin

2010-11-19T07:55:00.007-05:00

Austin is 17.
In a lot of ways, he's a typical 17 year old (the world revolves around him, he's a little lazy on the things I want him to do, etc).
And yes, there are days that he drives me crazy and I absolutely want to pinch his head off.
BUT, he can be a really good kid too, and I'm so very proud of him.
He goes to school.
Although in some classes, I think his grades could be a little better - he still manages to stay on the honor roll. (Which gets us the 'good student' discount on his insurance.)
He has a job now.
He works at least 3 days a week as a gymnastics coach. (Which is good, because he's always wanting something, and he's expensive.)
Wrestling season just started.
He was picked as one of the wrestling captains for his HS team this year!
He even shot a nice deer with his bow a few weeks ago.
How's that for busy, busy, busy.

Halloween Birthdays

2010-11-05T17:59:00.005-04:00

It's tough having lots of things all at the same time.
2 birthdays and Halloween in 3 days.

We didn't do much for any of it this year.
Very low key - no big parties.
(Darrell was supposed to go on a 4-wheeler trip, but due to David's accident last week - that got postponed until a later date.)
We went trick-or-treating and to the block party for Halloween.
We had cake and ice cream for the birthdays.
Not a lot of excitement, but that's okay - I'm sure we'll make it for it later.

Trick-or-Treat with a Pink Zebra

Leila's 3rd Birthday

Darrell's 14th Birthday

A Fall Family Picture at Church

Tree Stand

2010-10-30T22:52:00.003-04:00

What a week!
It's bow season here, and David has been slipping off to the woods every chance he gets.
On Wed, he was supposed to have dinner with his boss but they decided to do lunch on Thurs instead.
SO, off to the woods he went.
About the time I was expecting to hear that he was on his way home - he called me.
He had fallen out of his tree stand.
Yes, he has the safety strap, and yes, he had used it.
But apparently, there's another part that you use as you're climbing up and down, into and out of it.
THAT was the part he forgot that day.
As he was coming down, he fell.
Another thing - I had NO idea where he was. Only a general idea of the vicinity of the land, he was hunting on.
I had to call Austin at work - because they are the only 2 that know where their stands are.
He had to immediately leave work (thank goodness they're understanding and nice).
I left Leila with Darrell and said - feed her something for dinner and do something with her!
We found David and took him to the ER.

When you fall more than 3 times your body length - it's considered a trama, and you get right in - no waiting (woohoo).
God was with him, because he had no major damage. Thank goodness.
At that point, we had 3 cars out and only 2 drivers. Austin and I worked them home little by little.
So after a VERY long evening, we all made it home about 12:30.

Thurs was Trick-or-Treat.
David made it out for that to watch Leila gather her loot.
But, Thurs night, he started bleeding.
On Fri morning, I took Leila to her preschool evaluation, and David headed back to the ER.
They admitted him for internal bleeding.
(Once again - 3 cars, 2 drivers.)
After running several tests, they're still not 100% sure where the blood was coming from, but it seems to be stopping.
They sent him home this afternoon with instructions to follow up with the dr on Mon.

We had cake and ice cream tonight for Leila and Darrell's birthdays.
Fortunately, David seems to make it home each time just in time for the important things - but I'm exhausted at this point.

Oh yeah, and his bow is totaled.
When he heard that - I had to keep reminding him of just how lucky he really was and of how much worse things could have been.
But the bow with all the sights and junk on it, is about $600-$800. And we just don't have that kind of money right now to replace it.
I'm sure he'll be even sadder once he feels better.

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-19T08:06:00.004-04:00

We carved pumpkins on Sunday.
We always say we're going to do it early, but never do.
We actually managed to do it before Halloween this year!

Leila thought she wanted to help - until time to do it.
There was NO way she was putting her hand down in that 'yucky' thing.
David tried and tried to get her to help him, but each and every time, he got a definite and resounding - 'NNNOOOOOOO'.

David and Leila did one, and Darrell did one.
(Austin came home about the time they were finishing up.)

Austin had senior pictures taken last week.
If anyone wants to see them, go to www.putneyphotography.com
Click on HS Senior Gallery and then his name.
I've been eliminating some, but I still have a ways to go.

I have friends that home school their kids.
I know some are very good at it.
They put lots of time and work into it.
Their kids are smart, well-adjusted, and polite.
It's not for me though.
I do fear that we would all go crazy and end up in jail.
HOWEVER - we still learn LOTS of things from each other.

For instance:
The boys taught Leila how to do the 'Loser' sign during church a few weeks ago.
And just last night, Leila taught them that sticking a pretzel up your nose will make your nose bleed.
See - we're educational too!

Homecoming 2010

2010-10-09T15:52:00.002-04:00

A little bit of 'Spirit Week' from Homecoming 2010

Spirit Day

'Blast from the Past' Day

Birthday Party

2010-09-22T09:18:00.004-04:00

We had a surprise birthday party for my dad last Sat.
It wasn't one of the 'big' birthday's (65, 70, 75, 80, etc). It was 73.
So he really wasn't expecting it. And we pulled off the surprise!
Considering that we only decided a week beforehand to do it - I think we did pretty good with it.
We had it at our church and ended up with about 45 people.
Most of my aunts and uncles made it - very few of my cousins though.
I'm not sure if they didn't get word, or if they already had other plans.

On the downside, Leila had gotten a flu shot on Fri.
I know that people in the medical profession say it does not make you sick.
But a lot of people in the general population says it does.
She's gotten one the last 2 years and been fine with it. Not this time.
She was sick from Sat until Mon. She ran a fever - no other symptoms (other than whiny).
But it made her not the most pleasant person for the party.

Dad

Mom

Me & Leila

Austin & David

Darrell

Darres & Juanita

Dad & some of his brothers

2nd Gotcha Day

2010-09-16T21:18:00.006-04:00

Today was our 2nd Gotcha Day.
We didn't do much to celebrate.
David worked today. The boys had school. I ran some errands.
Austin was off tonight (oh yeah - he got a job a few weeks ago).
Darrell's track practice got cancelled due to rain.
We did all manage to go out to eat together this evening before Leila went on to gymnastics though.
We went for Chinese - of course.

I had a new Chinese dress for her, but she doesn't like it and won't wear it.
The neck comes up high, and it bothers her.
With her - it definitely HAS to feel good, and apparently this just doesn't.
I had even considered putting it on her for Halloween.
I know - it would have been a little bit of a cop-out.
But hey, I thought it would work.
I guess not.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with it now (or what she's going to be either for that matter).

Austin's job?
Well, he got a job at Leila's gymnastics place.
He's working with the girl's team.
So far, he really likes it.
It interferes with his weight lifting schedule - which his wrestling coach wasn't too happy about.
But Austin assured him that he was lifting 'weights' and getting a far better workout at the gym than he'd been getting in the weight room.
He's doing better now, but oh my, was he sore and tired that first week.

Happy Travel Day

2010-09-11T22:13:00.002-04:00

2 years ago today, we got on a plane and headed around the world to pick-up this beautiful baby girl.

Although it may be a sad day in our nation's history - it's a happy day for our family.
Happy Travel Day to all our Travel Buddies!
I've enjoyed 'knowing and growing' with all of you the last 2 years.

Family Weekend

2010-09-07T16:29:00.005-04:00

We just had a full family weekend.

My dad's family had a family reunion on Sat.
Perfect weather. Lots of food. Good company. What more could you want?
My aunt had come across a huge barrel of hats somewhere. These were expensive, outrageous, beautiful, and yes - somewhat outlandish hats.
She decided that we should have a 'hat parade'.
Well now - this family will do just about anything suggested. So, yep - a 'hat parade' it was.
Pretty much everyone was seen in fancy finery at some point that day.

On Sun afternoon, we went to David's mom's for my birthday brunch.
My birthday was actually last week, but sometimes it's easier to get together on weekends than it is during the week.

Later Sun night, we had cookout with my mom's family. More food.
As much as I'd like to eat like that all the time - it's probably not in our best interest.

1st Day of School

2010-08-24T17:08:00.005-04:00

School started yesterday.
Have you ever wanted to choke a kid?
Oh, yeah - if you have one, then of course, you've wanted to at some point!

After the boys left, I was cleaning and found some papers.
Oopps, there was Austin's summer assignment for Civics class.
Was it done, and he'd simply forgotten to take it? NO!
Had I reminded him various times over the summer that it need to be done? YES!
Had he even started it? NO!
Has he had it since June? YES!
Was I ready to choke him at that point? YES!

I texted him.
Here's how it went:
Oh my gosh - here's ur summer civics assignment! U didn't do it and it's 150 pts!
It's ok - I don't have civic till next semester.
(Keep in mind that would be okay - IF he had known that all along. He didn't. He just found out his schedule 2 weeks ago.)
Why do u have ur phone out in class?
Why r u texting me during school?
Don't change the subject!

I WILL survive! - Won't I???

Austin's 1st Day as a Senior

Darrell's 1st Day as an 8th Grader

Leila - Just Because

Adoption Seminar

2010-08-22T16:15:00.002-04:00

We're going to be helping out with an Adoption Seminar hosted by our agency (America World)next Sat.
The invitation to open to one and all to join us.

It will be at:
LifeSong Church
1100 Greenup Avenue
Ashland, KY 41101
August 28th 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

PLEASE REGISTER AT: AWAA Events
Call to register today.
8 8 8 - O N E - C H I L D

Riding Rides

2010-08-22T15:38:00.005-04:00

We took Leila to our county fair.
(The boys went almost every night, but we only went a couple.)
She LOVED it!
She loved everything about it - the animals, the music, the people, the rides...
She liked the rides enough to ride by herself - and if you know Leila, that's saying something.

Then boys and I went to Kings Island with the church this past week.
We like going this time of year because most OH schools have already gone back, which means it's not crowded.
Although the weather is still hot, we got lucky and had a good day - not too hot, not too muggy.

I learned a few things that day:
I'm getting too old for some of the rides.
I take longer and longer to recover from each one every year.
It is possible to drag bottom on the log ride.
Some people REALLY do NOT like heights (Drop Zone).

Lots of fun - Lots of good memories though.

On another note, I would like to catch a break.
In fact - winning the lottery would be nice.
(Yes, I do realize that having a ticket would greatly increase my odds - but still ... )

We've had David's truck in the shop - not once, but twice in the past month.
Now, Austin's truck in there. And I'm scared to death to get a verdict on the repairs this time.
We have another water leak. (At least this one's small and not doing much damage though.)
And someone got David's debit card info!
I was checking the bank balance one morning last week, and found several hundred $'s had been charged to a French airline.
I blocked the card immediately, and we've filed to get our money back.
The bank assured us that we won't actually lose our money.
BUT in the meantime - someone (other than us) still has it, and is going somewhere that I might really want to go.

4-Wheeler Ride

2010-08-13T10:43:00.003-04:00

David went on a big 4-wheeler ride last week.
He was SO excited. He's been planning this for months.
He went over to McDowell County with a bunch of guys.
This was his 'guys' trip - his equivalent of my 'girls' trip to the beach.
He was having fun - until he rolled his 4-wheeler and came home a day early.
No, he wasn't doing anything stupid at the time. It was just a freak accident.
The bike (I think) only has minor damage.
David, on the other hand, has been off work all week.
This is his back:

I won't post one of his butt (you're welcome).
Let's just say, it's bad too.
Hoping he gets to feeling better soon - because men to be a little whiny when they don't feel good (sshhh!).

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-08-13T10:21:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I posted.
We've been BUSY!

2 weeks ago, we had our annual swimming party for the church.
Some of the 'regulars' couldn't make it for one reason or the other, but the ones that did - had a good time.
We swam and ate all afternoon.

Then sports started full-swing.
Austin's been weight-lifting in preparation for wrestling for about a month now.
He also decided to go out for golf this year.
Golf is a little different in that they only take the top 4-6 'qualifiers' to each tournament.
Austin just started playing golf this summer. Most people on the team have been playing since they were like 6.
Chances are - he may never 'qualify' at all this year.
He was a little disheartened by that thought at first.
(And it didn't help that there's a couple snotty brats on the team too.)
But after thinking/talking about it - it's okay.
He's still getting FREE golf lessons and FREE play time every day. (And since golf is such an expensive sport - that's pretty good.)
Learning this now is something he will be able to enjoy the rest of his life.
(I love his wrestling, but let's be honest - after high school, wrestling is pretty much over.)
Darrell started cross-country. He likes track season, but he loves cross-country.
He says he gets bored just running in circles. Cross-country gives him variety.

I took Austin to buy a suit for senior pictures and all that 'senior' stuff.
(Not really ready for that.)

Can't believe school starts in about a week and a half!
Austin will be a senior, and Darrell will be in the 8th grade.
And then there's Leila.
Boy we've got them spread out, don't we?

After about a month lull, Leila started with (another) new speech teacher.
She seems to be doing really well with her though.
Hopefully we'll be able to keep this one until she ages out of the program in Oct.

One of my (many, many) cousins had a birthday last week.
We had a little mini reunion to celebrate.
Actually I believe the birthday was just an excuse to get together and party a bit.
This is just a few of them:

HomeWrecker

2010-07-25T22:39:00.008-04:00

We have a restaurant not too far from here.
It's called 'HillBilly Hotdogs'.
This is the kind of place you absolutely HAVE to see to believe.
If you've never heard of it and just drive by - you either won't believe it's an actual restaurant, or you'll be afraid to eat there out of fear of gangrene or some other unimaginable illness.
HOWEVER, they have the BEST hotdogs and the most delicious, unusual combination of things to go on them you've ever seen.
AND, I've never driven by, but what I haven't seen the parking lot full.
They've been featured on TV shows (such as The Food Network's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'), as well as in several national magazines.

Well - our preacher found out about a 'special' hotdog they have.
He decided we needed to try it.
It's called the "HomeWrecker".
It's 3.5 lbs. The hotdog itself is 1 lb and 15" long.
Then they pile on jalapeno peppers, chili sauce, slaw, and a habanero sauce.
IF you can eat this concoction in 12 minutes - you get a FREE t-shirt.
Woo-Hoo!

Today was the day.
We had 4 guys up for the challenge.
(David and Austin were 2 of the 4.)
They've been planning their strategy.
It was discussed at the fellowship dinner on Fri.
It was refined at church this morning.
We went this afternoon.

Let me tell you - the pictures we had seen on the internet did NOT do this thing justice.

Even with t-shirts on the line, I'm sorry to say ... none of them made it.
Maybe if they'd had 15 minutes, instead of 12. But ... no.
A good time, a nice afternoon, but no t-shirts for us.

BTW - I had a fantastic hot dog.
Mine was deep fried with hashbrowns, eggs, cheese and bacon.
Darrell had a 'pizza dog'.
Leila's 'Puppy Dog Meal' had a hot dog, a juice, a package of cookies, a handful of candy and balloons. (She was loving it.)
3 of us didn't feel sick on the way home!

China Reunion

2010-07-19T09:33:00.011-04:00

We traveled to Columbus on Sat for our 2nd annual 'China Reunion'.
4 of our families made it.
David didn't get to go. Although he was still officially supposed to be on vacation, he ended up having to work both Fri and Sat.

Dan and Nicole hosted this year at her parents' house.
It was a wonderful place to have it.
Big, beautiful back yard, swimming pool, trampoline, swing set, hammock, sand box, etc.
(We just may invite ourselves again!)

2 of the families have added additional children since last year.
It was good to see the old ones, and meet the new ones.
The kids (and the men) played. The women visited.
A very enjoyable day.

Leila - not so great.
It was naptime - and we all know how she is with her sleep and with new people and new places.
She did swim a little, and she did jump a little.
But overall, she was clingy - until almost time to go. Figures!
That's when she decided that - hey, this place is alright.
That's when she decided to get down and play and be nice and socialize.
What to do with her sometimes?????

'Doesn't Leila Look Nice?'

Hallie & Emmali

Claire

Enick & Evan

Elijah

Darrell & Jake

Emmali, Hallie & Leila (and Katie)

Leila

'Playing with Bubbles'

2 Years

2010-07-17T10:35:00.006-04:00

Last Tues was the 2 year anniversary of our 'Referral Call'.
2 years have gone by since we first saw that sweet little face.

We had just dropped the boys off at scout camp, so we had to turn around and go find them to tell them.
Ironically they were at a camp again this year on that date.

We received (I think) 5 pictures that day.
I believe this is the one we actually saw first.

Maybe this one.
(I'm not sure I remember exactly - I was SO excited.)

From that to this.

What an amazing 2 years!

Nashville

2010-07-16T22:58:00.008-04:00

While the boys were at Camp Electric, we did some site-seeing.
It was a bit too far to drop them off and come home, only to turn around and go get them - so we stayed too.

We drove over to Memphis one day.
We toured the famous 'Graceland'.
Some of it was more interesting than others.
I think was amazes me the most about it - the man's been dead for 33 years and yet the place is still crawling with visitors and bringing in a fortune each and every day.

In Front of the 'Mansion'

Elvis's Car Museum

We got to visit with a few of my cousins that live down there on another day.
It was good to see them, because we don't get to often enough.
A 'real' visit is better than 'computer time' anytime.

Mom, Dad & Phyllis

Leila & Reanna

We went to the 'Grand Ole Opry' another night.
That was nice.
Straight music - no fancy light, no gimmicks - just good music.
I didn't realize how many people perform there on a given night.
(I think there were 6 when we were there.)
And yet, the show is only around 2-2.5 hrs long.
They only do 3-4 songs each.
David liked Charlie Daniels the best.
Leila liked Montgomery Gentry. She was coping the one guy's movements and blowing him kisses even.

Charlie Daniels

Those were our highlights.
It was one of the least, activity-filled vacations, I think we've ever taken.

I have to say - I was sort of surprised with the city of Nashville though.
Never having been there before, I had this preconceived notion that it was a huge tourist spot.
Yes, I think it's THE place to go if you're trying to make it in the music business.
But for the 'regular' tourist - not so much.
It was much cleaner, safer, and friendlier than I anticipated though.

'Walking Down the Street'

'On One of the Streets'

'Worn Out'

Irregardless, it's ALWAYS good to come home.

Getting Ready to Come Home

Camp Electric

2010-07-16T22:34:00.006-04:00

Both boys went to camp last week.
Not scout camp, like they've done in the past. Not another sports camp.
A music / praise & worship camp.
We found out about it last year from an 'adoption' friend whose son has been before.

It's held in Nashville, TN and is called "Camp Electric".
Contemporary Christian artists come to the camp.
Their band members teach music classes to the kids.
Then they put on concerts for them at night.
(Toby Mac runs it.)

Austin went for guitar. Darrell went for keyboard.
Honestly, we were a little worried about Darrell though. (He hasn't had a whole lot of experience yet.)
They didn't know anyone going (except each other). And they weren't rooming together anyway.

They both absolutely loved it!!!
We dropped them off on Sun afternoon, and by Sun evening - Darrell had already texted us and asked if he could come back next year.

Turns out - the emphasis wasn't as much on the music classes as it was on the praise and worship part.
They got to see around 2 concerts a day.
They saw Pillar, Disciple, of course Toby Mac and several others too.
And it wasn't like they were in huge concert halls with thousands of people either. They were never more than probably 10 yards from the stage. Sometimes they were even right up against it.

I would love to post some pictures of it, but I don't have much.
Darrell didn't take a whole lot, and Austin took mostly video.

And yes - we did do the pre-registration for next year too.

Bible School & 4th of July

2010-07-09T15:35:00.010-04:00

We had a busy, busy week last week.

Bible school was Sun thru Thur.

Leila liked Bible school. There were 8-9 kids in her class.
Although I didn't actually sign up to help (I figured I'd never be able to get away from Leila long enough to do anything) - me and another guy ended up in charge of her class anyway.
Darrell helped out with crafts.
Austin helped out in different areas. He was supposed to be the photographer, but Darrell and I both took pictures too. He actually ended up doing whatever they needed - pictures, games, etc.

And then David's brothers came to visit for the weekend. One came from MD, and one came from GA.
David's mother completely enjoyed having all 3 of her boys together for the 1st time in a long time.
My brother also came from TN.
The kids went wakeboarding and tubing in the afternoon.
Even Leila went tubing this time.
I had 18 people here for a cookout on Sat evening.
Then we all went to the regatta and to the fireworks.
You would think that with getting home around 11:30 after such a full day, everyone would have been beat. Yeah, but not too tired to go for a midnight swim.

Pretty Dog

2010-06-24T15:54:00.008-04:00

I sort of think we have too many dogs (3) some times.
I get very, very aggravated with the two bigger ones especially.
I get tired of giving Sable a bath every week.
I get tired of brushing off bags of hair and vacuuming and STILL having hair in the house and on the floor.
And yet - I still have to admit - they're pretty good with Leila and all she puts them thru at times.
Note the hair thing on Sable's head and the ponytail holder on her ear (and two others had already fallen off before I could get the camera).

Father's Day was pretty relaxing here.
We had gone to Charleston on Fri and spent the evening running around and went out to eat then.
The guys all went on a four-wheeler ride on Sat in Ritchie Co.
So Sun was spent pretty much as a normal day.
I thought I'd put a picture that has all my favorite guys though.

Sun night we took Austin to catch the bus to go to Kansas City.
So far, it sounds like he's having a really good time.
He'll be home sometime this weekend.
His teacher sent me a picture today that she must have taken during one of his competitions.

Darrell's been just a little bit lonely since Austin's been gone.
Not as much as he anticipated though.
He had a friend come to swim on Mon and Tues.
And he's been sick with a really bad ear infection since. Hard to miss someone when you feel bad.

Austin's Day

2010-06-12T19:23:00.004-04:00

Last Tues (6/8) was Austin's 17th Birthday!
It was a pretty good day for him.
It was his birthday, and he won the birthday cake on the radio.
It was the last day of school.
We went out to eat to Mexican food.
And his WV State Champion Wrestling Ring came in. (And what a ring it is!)

I may get aggravated with him, but I do know that all in all - he's a pretty good kid.

Gymnastics

2010-06-05T10:26:00.007-04:00

Leila started gymnastics last week.
The boys went for years and loved it.
Austin went more for upper body strength to stay in shape for wrestling. Darrell actually competed on the boys' team.
In reality, they both did more playing than anything though.
Although both boys would love to go back, they're not going to. Too much money and time.
I've been saying for months however, that I needed to call to see about taking Leila.
Well, I finally got around to making that call. She can go to the 'Mommy/Buddy and Me' class. It's for 2-3 year olds and only meets 1/2 hr each week.
When I called, Betty told me that at that point, they were full, but she'd let me know if/when a spot opened up. As luck would have it - a mere 2 days later, she called back. A child had dropped out, and she offered us the spot. Did we want to start that week?!
Leila's going to be starting preschool sometime in the fall. We thought that with that in mind, not only would she probably love gymnastics (once she gets used to it), but the socialization would be a good thing for her too to help prepare her for that.
We went. With her fear of new things, we really expected a 2-3 week adjustment period.
For about 10 minutes the first week, she wasn't too sure. She wanted to watch rather than do. After that, she start to join in. She even let the intructor (Amanda) pick her up, flip her, etc.
We went back last Thurs (the 2nd week). I was expecting that same 10 minute 'warm-up' period. Nope! Out on the floor she went!
She is taking to it and LOVING it!

The boys took her swimming this week too.
It's so strange.
Some of the most 'common' things scare her so much (using a different potty, touching sand, etc).
And yet, being thrown up 3-4 feet in the air and landing in the water or going completely under the water - great fun.

Although one of the dogs is missing from this picture - I liked this one.
(Obviously, animals certainly don't scare her either.)

Beach Trip

2010-05-20T10:08:00.009-04:00

Leila and I went to the beach last week.
We went to Atlantic Beach, NC.
It was a 'girls' week' - us, my mom, 2 aunts, and a cousin.
Our place was fantastic.
It rained here every day, but not there. The 1st 2 days were a little cool, but no rain at all. After that, it even warmed up for us.
The potential was there to have a really good time.
I didn't. Leila was terrible.
She hasn't acted like that since she had her surgery last year.
After a lot of thought, I think it was due to a combination of a couple of different things.
Leila is a VERY routine little person.
She's also a little afraid of new things. She has to be somewhere or around something for a bit before she's comfortable with it.
She was in a new, different place - with people that she knew, but she's not used to being with 24/7.
She's also someone that NEEDS A LOT of sleep. She normally sleeps about 12 hrs at night and then still takes about a 2 hr nap.
She was only getting about 8-9 hrs a day. When she doesn't get her sleep - she's wicked (she may be just a little like her mother on that one).
On the way down on Sun, I couldn't have asked for her to be any better.
The trouble started on Mon. It continued on Tues.
I won't even go into meal-times. Those were an absolute nightmare the entire week.
And although she liked the water, she hated the sand. That does tend to make it a little hard to enjoy the whole 'beach experience'.
On Tues, I was in tears. I didn't feel like I could deal with her anymore.
I was ready to pack up and leave. (I was also sure the others were ready for us to go too.)
I was however, with the best, most understanding, kindest, and sweetest group of women I could have been with though.
On Wed, she got a 2 hr nap. That made a big difference. She was at least tolerable then.
On Thur, she got a 3.5 hr nap. That was wonderful. Thurs night, she was good.
She was more like the child I know - the one our guys at home were all missing.
I really wish the girls could have spent all week with that child, instead of just a few hours on Thurs night.

I would like to make the 'girls' week' an annual thing. I do think Leila will get better with it, the older she gets. And I think it's good for us all to do something like that. The guys have their 'hunting week' - we need something like that too.
Maybe a year will dim their memory and by then, they'll all be willing to go with us again!

Leila's 'Box'

2010-05-05T18:19:00.004-04:00

When we were in China, we tried to buy things for Leila for the future.
We wanted things from her homeland to give her little by little as she grew up - things that would maybe in some way represent her heritage a little bit.
(On her 1st 'Gotcha Day' last Sept, we gave her a small jade heart pendant that we'd gotten in Guangzhou.)
Between running out of money, running out of packing space with all the weight restrictions on suitcases, and quite simply, not knowing what to get - it was hard to get a lot.
As she gets older, and more and more of her personality emerges - it's easier to buy things she likes.
As a result, I've taken to supplementing her 'future box' in other ways.

If you don't know what 'Love Without Boundaries' is - please check it out on the web.
In short, it's a wonderful organization that does amazing things for Chinese orphans.
They provide formula for orphanages (Leila's), they provide life-saving surgeries (heart, cleft, etc), give needed supplies for the babies, and lots and lots more.
Every April, they do a 'Born in My Heart' auction on Ebay. Items are donated, and all money goes to LWB.
Last year, enough money was raised to provide needed surgeries for 4 babies!
I've bought a few items from this the last 2 years - a panda purse, a tea set, a carved comb, etc.
No, I didn't actually cart these things home personally, but all the items I've gotten are still Chinese things, from China.
Yes, I probably paid a little more than I would have normally for those same items - but all the money is going to a cause I deeply believe in.
I think that makes it okay on all counts.

Leila and I are leaving on Sunday morning for a 'girls' trip'.
We're going to Atlantic Beach, NC.
There are 6 of us going - my mom, a couple of aunts, a cousin, Leila and me.
We've never done this before.
I'm just hoping Leila does good - on the trip down and back, in her travel bed, on the beach in the sand, and, and...
I'll try to post a few pictures next week...

NYC

2010-04-27T15:28:00.007-04:00

I went to New York last week. Not we - me.
Some of the people at church were planning a trip, and I decided to go.
It was just a short weekend trip, but it was so good to get away.
We left on Thur evening, drove all night. We got there on Fri morning, had the whole day to do as we wished. Spent the night at a hotel right in Times Square. Had all day on Sat. Got back on the bus on Sat night, and got home on Sun morning.
Very tiring, but worth it.
It wouldn't have been nearly so hard if I could just sleep on the bus. I didn't sleep at all on the way up. I did sleep some on the way back though, but not much.
I have a hard time sleeping in a vehicle. Not at all like David. He's out as soon as he hits the passenger seat (and unfortunately once in a while in the driver's seat too!).
We had 6 in our little 'group'. Me, my mom, my sister-in-law, my aunt, my cousin, and my sister-in-law's sister-in-law.
We went to the Statue of Liberty, up in the Empire State Building, to the Today show, walked out on the Brooklyn Bridge, down into a basement in Chinatown, went to a Broadway show, shopped in Times Square, went to Ground Zero and rode around on a tour bus and looked at countless other things.
It was a very, very busy 2 days.

Times Square

Mom and me at the Statue of Liberty

View from the Empire State Building

Our 'group' at the Today show

Brooklyn Bridge

While I was gone, David and the boys went to a Casting Crowns concert.
Steven Curtis Chapman's sons also performed.
They had great seats.
I was actually supposed to go, but then the trip to NY came up - so I gave my ticket to someone else and went there instead.

Darrell with SCC's sons

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T19:39:00.005-04:00

We went to the egg hunt at church Fri evening.
Leila didn't do quite as well finding the eggs at this one, as she did the one at school.
Maybe because all along, she thought she was just finding eggs for 'fun'.
After the last egg hunt though, she discovered that there was CANDY inside the eggs.
She just couldn't seem to stay with the task of 'finding more eggs', because she wanted to open each one as she found it, to see (and eat) what was inside.

Sunday was a fantastic day.
We didn't make it to sunrise service because it's hard enough on Leila to get up in time for church - much less any earlier. (She doesn't normally get up until 9:00-10:00)
We did get up a little earlier than normal though, to see what the Easter Bunny had brought.

After church we had 15 people here for Easter diner.
The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and the food was delicious.

The boys are on a much shortened spring break right now.
It was originally supposed to be 3 days longer than it is now, but it was cut short due to snow days.
Those were fun (and worth it) at the time, but not so much now.
I spent today putting away Easter things, and the boys spent it mowing the lawn.
Yep, it's that time of year again - already.

Easter Eggs

2010-04-01T21:34:00.005-04:00

We went to school last weekend to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny and to go on an Easter egg hunt.
Other than being a little cool, the weather cooperated nicely.
Well - the Easter Bunny, just wasn't happening.
He must just be too scary.
3-4 feet was as close as we could get to him for a picture.

Now the egg hunt, that was a different story.
We've been practicing hiding and finding eggs here at the house, so Leila was more than ready for that.
I really liked the way they had it all set up too.
It was sectioned off by age groups, of course. (Leila was in the 3 and under.)
But what I thought was so great, was that they told the kids to go and find 10 eggs and then come back.
All around us, I could hear parents counting.
And then, I'd hear - 'you've got your 10, you're done for now, let's go back'.
After they made sure all the kids had gotten at least 10 eggs, then they let them go back to get the rest.
I liked that they made sure no one got left out.

We have our egg hunt at church tomorrow evening.
We're looking SO forward to that one too.

We colored eggs here at the house last night.

Leila LOVED it.

At one point, she got just a little wild with dipping an egg and the dye splashed up, so she had bright pink splatters all over her face the rest of the night.
We did a dozen eggs, and she was so proud of them.

I put them in her basket, and put it on the fireplace hearth.
When I got up this morning .... all but 2 eggs were gone!
There were only a few remnants of a shell left.
The blasted dog ate them!!!
I had to go buy more eggs today, because all of our eggs are 'homemade' (you know, brown eggs from my aunt's chickens).
And we did it again tonight.

Darrell missed it tonight though.
He's at a track meet.
He texted me, and he did okay, but not great in the mile and the 800.
But his relay team got 2nd place!

Lots of News

2010-03-22T18:27:00.008-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything.
It's not that nothing has happened around here - it's just that I never seem to get around to it.

Austin's wrestling is now over for the year.
Point Pleasant is the new WV State Wrestling Champions!
They took the coveted title from the previous champions that had held it for the last 13 years.
It's the first time in PP's history to achieve this honor.
What a great way to end the season!

Wrestling ended on a Sat night, and Darrell's track season started the following Mon.
He has his first track meet this coming Thurs.
He can't wait - he absolutely loves it.

Leila started with a new speech teacher.
Before she alternated with speech one week and developmental the next week.
Now, she's going to be having speech every week, which I think will be better for her.
Although we miss the old ones, I think this new teacher is going to do well with her.

I cut my thumb last week while giving the dog a bath.
Yeah, I know that sounds a little strange.
We have one of those adjustable showerheads in the shower downstairs.
There's a lever to push to change the water pressure.
When I pushed it, it snapped off and sliced my thumb open.
Thank goodness everyone was home at the time.
David took me to the ER, Austin finished up the dog, and Darrell watched Leila.
They stitched up my thumb, but yes, I got more than a few odd looks when my explanation to everyone was - 'I cut it on the showerhead'.
My stitches come out this week.

Leila went back to Children's Hospital in Columbus on the 17th.
Since she had to be there so early, we went out the night before and spent the night.
The hospital has a program with some of the area hotels where if you live more than a certain distance away (we do) and have an appt - then they let you stay a night for free.
This was the first time, we took advantage of that program.
Mom went with me, and boy - our room was nice!

I definitely think we'll do that again.
Leila had gained the required 1/2 lb, so they sedated her and worked on her messed up tooth.
They were able to cap it rather than pull it, which was a good thing.
They do such a good job with her too. That's probably why she was able to handle it all as well as she did.

A Happy (late) Birthday to Mom on Sat.

Austin went to a Skills USA competition in Beckley last weekend.
He competed in Architectural Drafting division.
This is his first year in that class, and his teacher thought it would be good experience for him.
BUT he won 1st place in the state!!!
(Mason County hasn't had any winner at all in over 8 years, and has never had a winner in his division.)
Wow! I have to say we were a little surprised, especially since he had said he'd finished like an hour before everyone else.
Maybe he has some natural ability here and there's a future in it for him.
He won some drafting software.
We're so excited and so proud.
Now he gets to go to Kansas City to compete at the National level in June.
And since he's only a junior, he can go back and do this all over again next year.
Now, if he could just get his English grade up....

A Hospital Visit

2010-02-27T11:32:00.005-05:00

Okay, Leila was sick last week and saw the doctor twice.
We thought she was getting all better.
Other than being cranky and tired, she was fine over the weekend.
Then, on Monday she got up with a temp of 101.
Well, that didn't bother me too much - except for the fact that she was still on antibiotics.
It went to 102.3 on Tues, so I called the doctor.
She wanted to see her, so back we went.
They ran a few tests, but couldn't figure anything out.
On Wednesday, it went to 102.4.
No other symptoms - just fever.
Dr. Bailey wanted me to take her to the hospital, because she was at a loss at that point.
We went to Cabell Huntington on Wed afternoon, and they admitted her.
They ran LOTS of tests, for lots of things, but everything came back normal.
That was good in that she didn't have all those things - but bad in that we still didn't know what the problem was.
After being fever-free for 24 hrs, they finally discharged her on Friday afternoon.
Still no answers.
Possibly it was a virus and that got better and then came back.
Possibly it was one virus last week and then another one this week.
Who knows?
But she seems better - and we're home now - I guess that's all that matters.

Oh How They Grow

2010-02-18T17:42:00.002-05:00

Kids grow up WAY too fast, but animals grow even faster.
We got our new puppy in Dec.
He wasn't quite 2 months old.
This was him then:

This is him now:

He comes in sometimes to visit and play, but the majority of the time - he's an outside dog. That was the agreement when we got him.
He's a good little dog though. And I really think he tries to be good. Sometimes, it's just hard. (Not so different from kids after all, huh?)

Leila's been sick this week.
She got up on Mon with a little bit of a fever. Motrin brought it down, so I wasn't worried. Plus, she acted fine all day.
BUT, then on Tues - she got up with a fever of 105*.
Now, when it comes to things like this - I am the calm, rational one.
David used to be. Not anymore.
The older he gets - the worse he gets.
He wants to take her to the ER for every little thing.
I am the one that says - no, this is something we need to treat at home - we don't need to go - there's no point in spending the money and the time for them to tell us to go home, etc.
Then he usually tells me I'm a cheapskate or something like that. I am, but it's not that - I just know that some things do NOT require a Dr visit.
I have to say though - 105* scared me. (Not that I let on to David though.)
I gave her Motrin, put a call into the Dr, and took it again 20 min later.
It did go down, but they said I still needed to bring her in.
They did blood work, and her WBC was 31 (normal is 10-14).
They gave her a shot and antibiotics.
I took her back today. Her WBC was back where it should be - which is good. And she hasn't had a fever since.
But she still must not feel good, because she's whiny, whiny, whiny. I can't even put her down without her crying. I hope that whatever it is, goes away soon, and she starts feeling better.

Chinese New Year

2010-02-12T13:35:00.011-05:00

Sunday is the first day of the Chinese New Year.
2010 is the Year of the Tiger.

The Chinese calendar is set to a 12 year rotation with each year being represented by one of the 12 zodiac animals - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Legend has it that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.

Leila is a pig - she's supposed to be sincere and smart.
Austin is a rooster - honest and bold. / Darrell is a rat - generous and optimistic.
David is an ox - strong and confident. / I am a sheep - shy and creative.
Hmmmm.......

Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival) is the longest and most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.

Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later.
The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements.
This is why, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving.

In China, customs and traditions vary widely.
People may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.
People buy presents, decorations, material, food, and clothing.
It is also tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes of making way for good incoming luck.
Windows and doors are decorated with red color paper-cuts with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”.
On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families.
They end the night with firecrackers.
Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.
(Red is a very significant color in the Chinese culture.)

The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

We celebrated Chinese New Year early last night.
We got together with our International Adoption group at Pizza Hut.
As always, we had a great time visiting and catching up.
We had 'representatives' from China, Vietnam, Guatemala & Russia.

I was so impressed by and liked the felt 'fortune cookies' that Erin made for the kids at our 'China Reunion' last summer - I decided to try my hand at it for this.
I studied the ones Leila had been given and made some to take last night.
I put them in cute little containers from the Dollar Store - along with a real fortune cookie from the Chinese restaurant and gave them out to the kids after dinner.
All 3 of my guys said that Erin's 'cookies' looked better, but softened their criticism by telling me that the real cookie was a nice touch, and it was still the thought that counted anyway.
That's okay - I still felt good contributing something, and hopefully they'll like it at least a fraction as much as I did.

Results

2010-01-26T14:46:00.004-05:00

Okay, here are all the results from our last few days.

We went back to the doctor on Fri. Darrell's tests came back okay. They think that lump is just a lymph node. We're so thankful. They still want to check it again in 6 months though - just to be sure. We'll go back in July for another ultrasound, but otherwise, we're done.

Austin placed 5th at the WSAZ wrestling tournament over the weekend. It's a huge tournament. It was a 2 day event, where they run 10 mats consecutively. We were very proud of him. In his last match of the weekend though, he twisted his ankle. I took him to the dr yesterday (yes - another dr). It's not broken, but it is sprained. They wrapped it and put it in a splint. He has to take this week off. I thought that according to the schedule, it was better this week than next. But now, I find out - the coach wants me to take him to another doctor that 'may' release him early so he can still wrestle this weekend. Aaarrrughhh!

One of Leila's speech teachers is leaving us. Today was Mrs. Susan's last day. She took a full-time position at her son's school. We know it's better for her personally and professionally - but we're really going to miss her. I have a meeting on Thurs regarding her replacement. Can't say I'm thrilled, but I do realize that change is always inevitable in life.

Also, we have a friend that is leaving tomorrow to pick up their new daughter in China. We pray for her while she's gone and her family anxiously waiting at home.

A Doctor A Day

2010-01-19T22:13:00.005-05:00

At this point in our lives, I'm getting a little tired of doctors.
In 10 days time, we've had (or will have) 6 doctor appts.
Okay, yes 1 was a shot at the vet, but still - it was a 'doctor'.

This 'run' started last week with Darrell.
He still has that lump on his neck, we discovered in Nov.
Since that time, we've been to the doctor for them to look at it and 'monitor' it twice.
He also had an ultrasound of it in Dec.
I took him back last week, and they did a biopsy on it.
I took him yesterday, and they did another ultrasound (to have it to compare to the first one).
I take him back on Fri to get the results on these last 2 tests.

I took Leila to Columbus today.
She has a cavity in the partial tooth by her cleft.
They discussed it at her annual 'cleft team' check-up in Dec, and decided that something needed to be done with it.
With not having much bone there to begin with, they don't want to risk her losing anymore.
We went to the dental clinic at Children's Hospital today.
They checked it and x-rayed it.
(She was NOT happy about the whole situation.)
We go back in March.
They're going to sedate her and either cap it or pull it then - depending on how bad it is once they get up into it.
There is one catch to this though.
She needs to gain 1/2 a pound between now and then.
1/2 a pound for me, would be one bite of pizza - but for Leila it's a different story.
Although it may sound easy, you've got to remember - she's weighed just about the same amount for the last several months.
(She's gotten a little taller here lately, but not actually any 'bigger'.)
She weighs 22.5 lbs. She needs to weigh 23 lbs for the sedation they plan to use.
Now I could probably feed her nothing but candy from now until then - I doubt she'd mind that.
But since the ultimate purpose is for 'dental' care, that really doesn't sound like such a great idea, does it???

I do know this is all necessary.
And I am so very, very grateful that we have good insurance at times like this - but golly, it's a lot of running.

On a more positive note - Austin had a good tournament last weekend.
He placed 4th in his class (out of 32 teams).
He really needed this win too.
The tournament last week was cancelled due to snow.
And the one before that - well, he didn't do so good. (Actually, he did horrible.)
He did so much better, and had such a great tournament this time, that the seniors and the coaches gave him the team trophy to bring home for the weekend!!!
They pick who they think is the most deserving wrestler that week, and that guy gets to take the trophy home for the weekend, then bring it to school on Mon to give to the principal for placement in the trophy case.

A New Car

2010-01-12T16:27:00.003-05:00

I got a new 'car' last weekend.
It wasn't that my old car wasn't okay.
We bought it new back in 2001.
It's been a great little car.
It was a Cavalier, and it was just that - it was little.
When we bought it, Austin was 8, and Darrell was 5.
Now - Austin is taller than David, Darrell is taller than me, and we've added another person.
We simply outgrew it.
So we bought an Equinox.
Well, it's not actually new, but it's new to us. It's a 2007.
The color is listed as Black Amethyst. Sometimes it looks black, sometimes it looks purpley.
Best thing though (other than the extra room) is that it's all-wheel drive.
I no longer have to be scared everytime it snows - which it seems to do all the time.

Other than that, not much has been going on.

Wrestling season is still in full swing.

The kids have been to school very little since Christmas.
There's been snow, snow, and more snow....
I am SO very, very grateful now that Austin has 4-wheel drive.
I would worry myself to death if he didn't.

The boys went sleigh riding one night for a while, but we haven't taken Leila out in it yet this year.
It's just been too darn cold.
Single digit temperatures just aren't fun to play in.

A New Year

2010-01-03T21:38:00.003-05:00

We got home tonight.
We've been in TN for the last 4 days.

We didn't do much - we just visited family.
It was nice. We only ate out once.
We went over to Gatlinburg and walked around, but it was freezy cold.
(I didn't even go shopping at the outlets!)

We stayed at my brother and sister-in-law's house.
They are fantastic hosts.
We had much better hosts, than they had guests though.
On the way down, David started not feeling too good.
He ended up going to bed early on Thurs night.
We had to ring in the New Year without him.
Last night, Darrell ended up sick. Poor thing was up most of the night.
I hope none of them get the 'bug'.
Instead of relaxing today, they probably had to disinfect their house after we left.

Leila did wonderful though.
I was really a little worried about her.
Although she loves to run around, she loves to come home when we're done.
She's not much on traveling.
She was SO good all the way down and back both.
And once we were there - well, she was just in heaven.
Darres and Juanita both spoil her rotten and do absolutely nothing but play with her the entire time she's there.
How bored will Leila be and how quiet will their house seem this week?

These are my Mom and Dad's grandchildren.

Calendar Girl

2009-12-29T14:39:00.006-05:00

Christmas is over, but I just have not had the time to post anything.
Between, well, Christmas (trying to prepare, have and then recuperate from that) trying to restore the things I lost on my computer, doctor's appts, wrestling, the new puppy and life in general - I've been busy.

Leila had her yearly check-up in Columbus on the 22nd with the cleft team.
She has one tooth that has a cavity in it.
Actually it's only part of a tooth - it's the one beside the hole in her gum.
I don't think it has enamel on part of it, which would definitely help explain the cavity.
We're going back to Columbus in Jan to have that tooth fixed.
Yeah, I know it's a children's hospital and all that.
I know they're used to working with kids.
BUT, having her mouth messed with is not something she's particularly fond of.
They said they don't plan to put her to sleep, so we'll see how that goes.
Other than that - she's good to go for another year.

Christmas was good.
We went to my aunt and uncle's for Christmas Eve.
Christmas morning and afternoon was spent here at home, and then we went to Mom and Dad's for Christmas night.

Leila liked it, but I think next year, she'll 'get' it more.
I have a feeling, she'll be really wild then.
She does love the candy though.
Getting her to eat 'real' food is turning out to be a bit of a fight when there's still so much Christmas candy in the house.
Santa also left candy canes on the tree. It sure didn't take long for her to find those either.
It was just too neat being able to pick one off your own personal candy tree anytime.
After a day of that, we had to take them all off and hide those.

We got our annual 2010 calendar from America World.
(Our adoption agency sends out a calendar each year to all AWAA families, and in the fall, you have the opportunity to submit your child's picture for the calendar contest.)
Leila's picture is on Dec! She's not the big picture for the month, but she's one of the little pictures along the bottom of the page.
I love getting the calendar with all the cute kids anyway - and I think it's really nice that our agency does that.
But it was extra nice this year, to have our little 'calendar girl' in it.

Christmas Sunday

Cookies for Santa

Stocking Time

Our Princess

A New Game for Darrell

A New Hat for Austin

Wild Weekend

2009-12-23T15:45:00.004-05:00

Wow, we surely had an exciting weekend.

I haven't been able to post until now though, because my computer crashed (again).
It's a good thing my husband works on a computers for a living, but on the downside - by the time he gets done with work - working on MY computer is the last thing he wants to do.
At this point, I'm partially up and running again.
I have some things back, but not everything.

Austin had a big wrestling tournament on Fri and Sat.
The team took 1st (again), and Austin took 3rd!
However ... in doing so - he got his top front tooth knocked out!
(And oh how 'wonderful', the kid that took out his tooth, also took 1st place in his weight class.)
Austin stopped the match for a minute and gave his tooth to the coach to hold so he could finish.
They put it in milk, and he brought it home that night.
(That's something everyone should know BTW: if you ever get a tooth knocked out, put it in milk. It will keep the nerves alive until you can get to the dentist.)
We went to the dentist first thing Mon morning and thankfully, he was able to reattach it! WOW.

We also had a pretty good snow come thru on Fri night.
We got up Sat morning to about 5 inches.
I asked David to drive me in to the wrestling, because I didn't want to drive in it. (My car's not 4-wheel drive, and I'm a chicken.)

Austin's youth group went black-light bowling on Sun afternoon, and Darrell and I went to a Christmas comedy play.
Daddy stayed home with Leila.

Due to the backroads still having snow and ice on them, school was cancelled on Mon.
We took the opportunity to go Mon afternoon and pick up our new puppy!
Yep, we decided to get him.
Maybe we're just crazy, but David and I are both suckers for dogs.
(And hey, it's cheaper than another kid.)
Meet Zeus:

He's a cute little fuzzball.
He turned 6 weeks old on Tues.
He's relatively small now, but he sure won't be for long.
His daddy's head came up to the hood on the truck.
Sable (the Alaskan Malamute) seems to be tolerating him rather well, but Bailey (the Cocker Spaniel) is not happy about the new addition at all.
He's probably thinking - oh no, not again!

A Dog?

2009-12-15T21:49:00.005-05:00

Austin is having a hard time with wrestling this year.
They have a new coach. He's tough on them - very tough.
As much as I liked the old coach, I don't think he always pushed them as hard as they needed.
I think this new guy may be pushing them a little too hard at times.
For instance, the week of Thanksgiving - there was no school all week.
And yet, they had practice every day (even Sat) except for Thanksgiving day itself.
Then, this past weekend when they went to the beach - they were gone from 6 AM on Thurs morning until 10:30 PM on Sun night.
I thought they would at least have the following Mon off. Nope - practice as usual.
I think there's a fine line between not hard enough and too hard.
Yes, I think he's going to take a great team and make them fantastic.
But...will it be at the expense of their morale, their drive, their hearts?

Austin has been wrestling for 11 years now. That's a long time.
He's saying now that he's going to finish the season because he's already started it, but he's no longer sure he wants to wrestle again next year.
I'm not okay with that.
After 11 years - 1000's of hours - bathtubs full of sweat ... to not do it his senior year???
No way!
That's supposed to be his 'glory' year.
That's when it all pays off, and he's supposed to reap some of the privileges and benefits.
I SO want him to see this all the way thru to the end.
I'd even be willing to bribe him at this point to achieve that.

You see - Austin's dream dog is a Great Pyrenees.
He's wanted one for at least 2 years now.
And it just so happens that when we were doing Leila's 6 month speech evaluation last week, it came up in conversation that Mrs. Lisa has a friend that has Great Pyrenees puppies right now.
They're full-blooded, but not registered, so the price isn't unreasonable.
Hmmm, is this fate? Is it maybe meant to be?
Are we absolutely nuts though to even consider the possibility of adding yet another animal to our menagerie?
Any thoughts???

On a lighter note, Courtney came on Sun to keep Leila while we went to the play.
Leila wanted her to sit on the couch with her and hold her hand.
We're thinking that she's imitating Austin and Kelsie.
How cute.
BUT, I told them that if she starts copying anything else - they're in trouble.

Leila and I both had our hair trimmed today.
After she trimmed it, Kim took a curling iron and put curls all over Leila's head.
It was just too cute.
(Sort of reminded me just a little bit of Emmi's wig on Gotcha Day.)
And Leila loved the extra primping and prissing she got.

Santa Claus

2009-12-13T22:05:00.004-05:00

We started out this past week with company.
David's mom and her husband came to visit.
They were here from Sunday until Thursday.

I got my car back on Thurs too.
I'm SO glad. I missed it.
Now we just need Austin's truck home.

Thursday morning our company left and so did Austin.
The high school wrestling team went to Myrtle Beach for a wrestling tournament this weekend.
When we got up on Sat morning to 15* temperatures, he was at the beach wearing short sleeves.
Their hotel had 3 pools, 3 hot tubs and 2 lazy rivers. (Now why did I not go on this trip with them???)
There were 27 teams competing from 6 different states.
Austin placed in the top 6 in his weight class, and Point Pleasant took 1st place overall!!!
It looks like its going to be a great season.

On Sat night we took Leila to see Santa Claus.
She did NOT want anything at all to do with him.
She didn't even want to stand by him.
One thing I thought was really cool though - he knew sign language!
When his 'elf' gave Leila a candy cane, and she signed 'candy' - Santa knew what she was 'saying'.
He asked us if she signed and when we told him, yes, he told us that he had taken 2 courses in sign language.

After church today, we left Leila with a sitter, and David, Darrell and I went with Darrell's youth group to see a Christmas play at the theater in Gallipolis.
They did a fantastic job, and we enjoyed it.
There's going to be a Christmas comedy there next weekend.
I'd like to try to go to that one too, but we'll have to see if we can get another sitter.
That will be Christmas Sunday, so we may have a hard time with that one.

What a busy week coming up we have.
I have something to do and someplace to be every single day this week.

A Late Birthday

2009-12-05T20:44:00.002-05:00

David's birthday was Thurs.
My happy birthday wishes (on here anyway) are a few days late, but I wish them nevertheless.

Austin's truck is now in the shop being repaired.
On Thurs however, my car ended up in the shop as well.
I had gone to town, but a pipe coming off the radiator has a hole in it.
That caused the car to overheat, and Leila and I ended up sitting along the road.
It just so happened though that my mom happened to be driving by and saw us.
She stopped, picked us up and brought us home.
I had to call the tow truck to come and get my car.
Now we're short 2 vehicles.
This is proving to be quite inconvenient, and I want all of our vehicles back home where they belong.

We woke up today to the first snow of the season.
Although it snowed for several hours, we only really got a dusting on the ground and none on the roads.
Because of the Christmas season and in honor of the first snow, we took the time tonight to drive through our town's Christmas light display.
Once we started thru the lights, we took Leila out of her carseat.
Being out of her seat must have thrown her for such a loop, she hardly noticed or enjoyed the 1st part of the lights.
Once she realized that it really was okay, she settled down and enjoyed the experience.
Well, she enjoyed it until we put her back in her seat at the end of the display.
Apparently she thought this being out of the seat and on my lap was a pretty good thing and definitely was not ready for it to end.

Christmas Tree

2009-12-02T14:25:00.003-05:00

We put our tree up. Leila loves it.
She really doesn't bother it either. But she does want it turned on 1st thing every morning.

I'm getting better. It seems I go thru a depressing funk every Nov.
I start pulling out of it as the Christmas season begins to wind up.
Once again, I'm thinking - I can do this.
I baked the 1st batch of Christmas cookies today.
I need to start cards and wrapping, but that will come.

In the midst of all this hustle and bustle and busy Christmas craziness, I think - okay, at least I'm not on my way to the other side of the world.
We have friends that are leaving tomorrow for China. They're going to pick up not 1, but 2 little boys!
I think - wow, how wonderful, exciting, crazy, amazing, unbelievable......
Am I just a little bit jealous - yes. But am I glad it's them and not us - yes.
And I can't think of better people for such a huge journey.
I wish them safe travels and easy transitions.

Recent Trials / Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T09:03:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted for awhile.
It seems like we've had a lot of trials lately and quite frankly, I didn't want to post unless I had something good to say.

We had my uncle's services on Nov 14.
The following week, my Dad was hospitalized for 4 days. That was due to fluid build-up and his ever-present heart condition.
We discovered a lump on Darrell's neck. I took him to the dr for that, and they did an ultrasound. Preliminary results look fine (thank goodness), but I found out this week that they want to do another test 'just to make sure'. That's okay - I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to my kids' health.
The same day, they put Dad in the hospital, and I took Darrell to the 1st doctor's appt, I took Austin to the ER that night. We thought he'd broken his hand at wrestling practice. It wasn't broken - it was just hurt really bad. (That was good too - if it had been broken, he would have been out the whole season instead of just a few days.)
BUT, he did end up breaking his toe at practice a few days later.

Well, by then it was Thanksgiving / hunting week - which the guys love, and I hate.
Darrell shot a 5 point, but when he did, the gun kicked and the scope hit him in the nose - breaking it.
With all the practice this new coach is demanding, Austin has been having a hard time getting to the woods as much as he'd like, but he managed to get out and shoot a 6 point on Wed.
David hasn't gotten one yet, because he's been passing up some so the boys would be able to get theirs instead.

Thanksgiving was nice (much better than last year).
We had 14 people here for dinner. It should have been 15, but we're going to dwell on what is, not what should be.
And dinner was great.

Thanksgiving night, I decided to go somewhere. Austin and I took his truck, because my car was blocked in.
Yep, we took out a deer. His truck is not drivable now. It's not that it looks that bad, but it won't start.
My brother pulled it to my Mom and Dad's house with his truck and now we're waiting until Mon morning so a tow truck can come and get it and take it to the shop.
Yes, I know - we weren't hurt. But still - what a pain.

I did get to go shopping for just a little bit yesterday. Not nearly as long as I normally do. I normally go from like 4 AM till about midnight. I was home yesterday by 11:30 AM, but at least I got to go.
I got a few things. I'd say I'm about 2/3 of the way done.

They boys put up my outside lights this week. Leila LOVES them. We turned them on for the 1st time last night. I think she even tries to say 'light'.
I put out my Christmas house decorations yesterday too. (Not bad on less than 3 hours of sleep the night before.)
Now if I can only get the guys to cooperate on doing the tree next...

Happy Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T08:06:00.003-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day

FREEDOM’S CALL

They Are Called To Be In Uniform
To Serve Both Day And Night
Protecting Our Great Country
To Fight The Valiant Fight
To Rescue Us From Danger
At Home – Across The Sea
Brave And Special People
Who Keep Our Nation Free
And Together On A Mission
Our Heroes, They Are There
Every Color – Every Creed
With Freedom’s Light To Share
And Day By Day – Step By Step
All For One & One For All
Our Heroes Stand Together Strong
To Answer Freedom’s Call

I am afraid that our Veteran's Day will not be so happy this year.

My uncle, Gene, passed away yesterday afternoon.
(He was ironically also a retired US Navy veteran.)
No, he wasn't old, and no, he wasn't sick.
He was on a ladder Monday. The ladder collapsed.
He fell, hitting his head on concrete.
His injuries were just too great.
We prayed for a miracle, but (for whatever reason) it did not come.

He was the 'rock' in that family.
Now we ask for prayers for his family and friends.

Orphan Sunday

2009-11-08T21:45:00.002-05:00

November is Adoption Month and today was Orphan Sunday.
Our pastor preached a VERY moving sermon this morning pertaining to that.
As he told a 'story' and talked about a 'drop-off' spot, it was obvious that he'd certainly done his research.
I don't know if everyone was affected by it as much as I was or if it was just because it hit so close to home, but I certainly shed a few tears.
At church tonight, I did a presentation and slide show about adoption and our trip to China.
There weren't a lot of people there - which was okay.
It gave me a little bit of practice though, because I guess I'm scheduled to do it again for the UM Women's group at end of the month.

Birthday Celebrations and a Check-Up

2009-11-03T16:08:00.004-05:00

David and Darrell finally got to go on their 4-wheeler ride.
They skipped church on Sunday and went down to the Hatfield & McCoy trails.
They had beautiful weather and a great time. They were both worn out by the time they got back though.

We had cake and ice cream for Leila that night.

Leila had her 2 year check-up today. She did great.
She weighs 23 lbs and is 2'7".
No shots this time, and she's good to go for a year.

The Big 13

2009-10-31T21:28:00.003-04:00

Darrell turned the big 13 today.
We didn't do much though.
He and David were supposed to go on a 4-wheeler ride. But it rained really bad this morning, so they decided to postpone it.
We actually all went down to get our swine flu shot, but there was a really long line. We decided we were not going to stand in line in the rain, so we didn't do that either.
We did go out to eat and then had cake tonight.
But it was pretty much a lazy day otherwise.

The boys got school pictures back this week.
This is Austin's 11th grade and Darrell's 7th grade picture.

Beautiful Baby

2009-10-30T23:02:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I know I may be just a little biased, BUT, what a beautiful baby...

Trick-or-Treat

2009-10-29T20:58:00.003-04:00

Leila LOVED trick-or-treat tonight.
It only took her 1 house to get the hang of it.
After that, she was off. She did not want to be held or carried.
She would run down the street and up to each house, wiggle her little butt to the front of the line, and hold her bag out.
This free candy thing was GREAT.

What a pretty little ladybug!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2009-10-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to my beautiful baby girl.
It hasn't been too great so far.
Leila and I went and got our flu shot this morning.
I really hated for her to get a shot on her birthday, but today was the 1st chance I've had to get one.
She was such a big girl. She didn't cry at all!
Her day will get better though.
We're going trick-or-treating and to the big block party tonight.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-24T21:53:00.005-04:00

We carved pumpkins tonight.
David did Leila's, but Darrell did his ALL by himself.

'What is in there?'

'This is sort of fun!'

'A little messy!'

'We're done!'

'This is hard work.'

'What a great job!'

Austin missed out tonight. He went to the movies on a date.
He may disagree, but we think he missed out on all the fun.

Nosey - Nosey

2009-10-22T08:48:00.006-04:00

On Tues night, Leila fell. She hit her face on the desk.
Her nose was bleeding, but just a little. It started to swell, but just a little. It scared me though, more than a little bit.
I am usually the calm one when the kids get hurt.
I've thought about this since, and I think one of the reasons this upset me so much, is because it dealt with her face. And with her nose and mouth not being 'normal' or 'right' to begin with, I REALLY don't want/need anything to mess that up any more.
There used to be an 800# to call where you could talk to a nurse 24/7. (I have the magnet with the number on the refrig.)
I called it. It no longer works. Apparently with budget cuts or liability or something, they did away with it.
That stinks. I never called it much, but when I did - I liked it.
I ended up calling my friend, Vicky - she's a RN.
She told me that even if it was broken, there's nothing they can or will do. She said NOT to go to the hospital (with all of this flu going on), UNLESS it swells to the point that she starts having a hard time breathing.
Okay, I felt better then.
We watched her the rest of the night, and she acted fine.
The next morning, it was still a little swollen and bruised, but only on one side.
I don't know if it could be a little cracked or if it's just bruised, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her.
When she fell down today though, it started to bleed again (a little bit). (No, she didn't hit her nose - she just fell on her butt.)
That's worrisome all over again, but we're thinking that maybe there was a small blood clot that broke loose. Still didn't seem to bother her.

You know as prissy as she is at times - with her jewelry and her purses and all, she's such a rough little thing and quite a contradiction at times too.
New people still scare her.
But when we were at the store last weekend, the boys were trying on Halloween masks to 'see what she thought'. I thought for sure she would get scared. Nope, they were funny - even with the scary noises behind them.
The other day, the boys were wrestling around on the floor (not something I encouraged, but was happening nevertheless). As soon as Leila saw them, she went running and dove right into the middle of the melee.

A Great Place to Live

2009-10-09T23:18:00.003-04:00

We live in a great place.

I took Leila to the doctor the other day.
When I got ready to leave, the doctor said to wait, they had something for me.
Both the doctor and the physicians assistant had gone through their daughters' clothes.
They had a big bag and a box of clothes there for Leila.
Can you believe that?! And almost everything in it fits her.
(The weather is starting to get cooler, and now she has plenty of cute things to wear.)

Then yesterday, I stopped at the jewelry store to have a necklace fixed.
The lady that owns the store, gave Leila a Viva Bead bracelet - 'because it matched her outfit'.
How nice was that?!
(Leila LOVES bracelets.)

We may not have all the amenities and conveniences of a big city, but we make up for it in so many other ways.
I wouldn't want to trade one for the other.

Chinese Moon Festival

2009-10-04T11:47:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was the Chinese Moon Festival.
This Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October.
(Last year we were actually in China for this important event.)

The Moon Festival takes place at the time of the autumn equinox, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest, and many of the traditional festivities center around admiration of the moon and eating foods that resemble the moon.

(The moon was certainly full and bright last night.)
This day is very similar to our Thanksgiving.

Many of the stories surrounding the Mid-Autumn Festival center around the story of Chang’e, the lady who, according to legend, lives on the moon along with her companion, the Jade Rabbit.
Chang’e was purportedly the wife of a famous hunter, whose search for eternal life finally yielded a single pill of immortality.
Chang’e accidentally swallowed the pill and became an immortal, floating up to the moon and leaving her husband behind on earth.
Many Chinese people burn incense to the Moon Goddess, and her image is often featured on boxes of mooncakes.

Another story about mooncakes comes from Chinese folklore.
In this legend, Ming dynasty fighters who were rebelling against the Mongolian Yuan dynasty used mooncakes to smuggle messages to and from rebel bands, enabling them to defeat the Mongols.

Chinese mooncakes are small pastries about the size of a human palm that consist of a cookie-like crust and various fillings, ranging from lotus seed paste to red and green bean paste.
Traditional mooncakes usually have a bright orange salted duck egg enclosed in the filling, which symbolizes the moon.
Mooncakes are very rich and heavy, so each mooncake is usually cut into 4 wedges and shared.
Modern mooncakes have also made an appearance – many of these use fruit fillings instead of the traditional fillings.
There are also frozen mooncakes that are made with ice cream, as well as jelly mooncakes.

The traditional way to enjoy mooncakes is to sit with family and friends, and to eat the mooncake while admiring the moon.

We were 'lucky' enough to get to eat mooncakes last year during the Moon Festival.
'Lucky' is a relative term though.
We didn't think they tasted so great.
They're definitely not real dessert-y by American standards, that's for sure.
This is a picture of the one our guides (Rosa and Maggie) gave us as a gift last year.
Whether we enjoyed eating it as much, really isn't the point - we LOVED the gesture and the thought behind it.

Many people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by lighting paper lanterns, which they carry on the end of a stick, or by lighting sky lanterns, paper balloons that float into the sky with the buoyancy provided by the hot lantern lit under them.
Dragon dances are also popular performances at this time, and many people wear traditional Chinese clothing.

In the adoption community, many families with children from China, use the Moon Festival to remember and discuss birthparents.
I think Leila's still a little young for that, but perhaps in the future we can do something similar.
We have lots of storybooks on topics like that, and we'll read then when she can sit still for an entire story.

Home a Year

2009-09-28T09:14:00.007-04:00

We've officially been home one year now. Late, late light night was one year exactly.
We'd left China and traveled for what felt like forever.
The trip actually took almost 30 hours - 3 flights - and brought us from the other side of the world back home to our little section of it.

We didn't have enough time once we hit US soil to clear customs and immigration.
We left the stroller we'd bought in China (which I REALLY liked by the way) on the 2nd plane.
We RAN thru the airport and made it just in time.
Once we sat down in those seats - I cried.
I cried because we made, I cried because we almost didn't, I cried because we were almost home, I cried because I was exhausted, I cried because Leila cried, and I cried just because.

We had a small welcoming party gathered at the airport.
A welcome sight indeed.

Then we had an hour drive home. We had to stop at a Walmart on the way though.
All of luggage was still in Chicago, and therefore, so were diapers, formula, cereal, and bottles.
Everyone else waited in the truck while I ran in to get necessities.
I grabbed a 12-pack of Mountain Dew too. (I don't think they sell MD anywhere in the entire country of China!)
As we were leaving Walmart, we got stopped at a red light. When the light changed green, David didn't go.
I looked over, and he was sound asleep!
I told him to pull over for me to drive. He started to assure me that he was fine.
Yeah, right!
I told him that I did NOT travel around the world and back for him to wreck and kill us 45 minutes from home - to pull over NOW.

We made it. Got to bed around 3 AM. We were all up and ready in time for church the next morning. Gotta remember - we were still on China-time.

This 1st picture was taken at the airport a year ago. Do we look a little tired?

This picture was taken yesterday. I'd really like to think we look a little better in this one.
You know, at first glance, you think Leila is the only one that's changed a lot. But take a closer look at the boys too (especially Darrell). Look at how much taller he's gotten in just one year.

I was so glad we did get ready and go to church that next morning. They were happy to see us, we were happy to see them, and look at the welcome back sign they had waiting for us.

Another Loss

2009-09-25T14:05:00.002-04:00

We received news yesterday that David's Granny passed away.
No - I'm not repeating myself.
His Grandma passed away 2 weeks ago, his Granny passed away yesterday.
She was 104.
David and I have no grandparents left. She was the last one.
She was born first, and yet she lived the longest.
She was an amazingly crafty lady.
We're heading out the first of next week - KY this time.

A good thing though - the new kitten/cat (Spook) is adjusting quite well.
I'm not sure if he's incredibly brave and or just plain stupid.
He constantly tries to take Sable's food (yeah - the BIG dog), and yet, he growls at her when she gets near his!
Apparantly he hasn't quite realized that she could eat him in one bite and not even get choked.
I put an old 'Lion King' towel in his box. I suppose he's really taken it to heart!

A Babysitter

2009-09-24T09:21:00.016-04:00

Still a lot of memories this week, but not as much as last.
Last week was THE week - one of the most amazing of our lives.
This week, a year ago, the days were starting to run together, and we were getting a little homesick.
Then:

And Now:

It was SO unbelievably hot there most days that it wasn't even enjoyable to be outside during the day.
I'm not kidding, as soon as you stepped out the door of the hotel, it was instant sweat.
I remember saying something about how miserable it was one time, and our driver thought it was funny.
He didn't think it was so hot.
Of course not, it only felt like 150 degrees!

A year ago yesterday, all the babies had their required medical exams. It was a little different than what we're normally used to.
For instance, on the hearing part, they plunked on a toy piano. If the babies turned their head to look - their hearing was fine.
Gosh, that was so much easier and quicker than the one they did once we got home!

Here at home (now), Leila had her 1st 'real' babysitter.
Yes, my mom has kept her some, my sister-in-law has kept her, and of course the boys end up with her at times.
But on Sunday, she had a real, full-fledged, paid babysitter for the first time.
A young lady from church came and stayed with her.
(Ironically, the girl's older brother used to keep the boys all the time for me.)
It was hard too. She screamed when we left. I waited about 15-20 minutes before I called back.
Jessica said she was fine. She'd only cried a few minutes.
Oh, what relief. And she was fine all evening. Oh, joy!

Celebrating

2009-09-17T15:23:00.005-04:00

To celebrate 'Gotcha Day' yesterday, we went to the Chinese restaurant to eat last night.
It was just a small group - us, a little family, and a few close friends.
It's odd. Before we went to China, we used to eat Chinese a lot. But, we haven't been out for Chinese since we got back - year ago.
Maybe we had enough there that 2 1/2 weeks to last us awhile.

After we got home, we gave Leila a 'Gotcha Day' present.
It was a little jade heart pendant. It matches Mommmy's - just a little smaller.
I took it today and had it put on a chain (probably should have done that beforehand).
But here, it was still on the cord/string that they put it on that day in 'Donts' shop on one of those last precious days in China.

We had such a smooth and easy adoption. I'd be lying if I said we haven't considered going back.
It would be nice to even up our household. 2 blond 'homegrown' boys - 2 dark haired 'imported' girls.
We started talking about it in an off-hand way mere months after getting back the first time.
Then some events happened and unfolded back in August that made us have to make a REAL decision.
We discussed it and looked at all our options.
As much as we would all like to do it, we came to the difficult decision that we just CAN'T.
Financially it just isn't an option for us at this point in our lives.
Never say never.
But, I will say - probably never.
And I can say without a doubt - definitely, not now.

Instead, we decided to even up something else in our household.
We have 2 dogs, but only 1 cat.
Soooo, Leila and I went today and adopted a new cat/kitten from the shelter.
Now we have 2 dogs and 2 cats.
That's a pretty good way to celebrate an 'adoption anniversary' - don't you think?

Gotcha Day

2009-09-16T09:15:00.012-04:00

Happy Gotcha Day to my beautiful baby girl!
Happy Gotcha Day to all of our 'travel buddies'.

One year ago, our then family of 4 anxiously piled into our van and was driven thru the crazy Chinese traffic to the Government Affairs Office.
When we got there, we rode the elevator up to the 8th floor.
There was a lobby type area, but it was full of a Spanish adoption group getting their children.
Yesterday had been a holiday, so no adoptions had been processed. That made today an extremely busy day.
It looked a little chaotic. New parents were crying - children were crying.
We didn't understand the Spanish OR the Chinese that was flying around us.

We were the only ones from our agency, and Leila was the only one coming from her orphanage that day.
Rosa (our guide) arranged for us to wait privately in an office. We kept peeking out the door.
(Rosa was our rock the entire time we were in China.)
As soon as we saw the orphanage director carrying her across the room from the elevator - we knew it was her!
Just 3 had made the hour long trip from Shunde CWI - the orphanage director, the driver and Leila.

They went into another room for just a couple of minutes and then came into ours. The lady immediately handed her to me.
I know Leila had to be scared. But she didn't show it.
She never cried - not once all that day. (We did though.)
She didn't eat all day either. Turns out we were making her bottles warm - not hot.
We've wondered and wondered what she thought of it all.
What was she thinking? What were her thoughts about what was going on?
Her entire world had just changed.
She'd been in that orphanage since the day she was found - the day she was born - 10.5 months before.
She was tiny. She was just 14 lbs.
This was her then.

They gave us a small bag with a few items in it. I guess it was her 'to-go' bag. There was 1 diaper, 1 bottle, a small bag of fomula, a small box of cereal, a rag/dishcloth (to sleep with), a small photo album with some pictures, and the name tag from her bed.
We gave them a gift bag with clothes for the babies still at the orphanage and a few small gifts for the nannies (ayi's).

All that day, she just looked and watched. She took it all in.
When we left there, we stopped at the store on the way back to the hotel.
We needed to pick up a few things for this new life.
We got some more diapers, food, and a stroller - which incidentally never made it home from the Chicago airport.

The adoption journey is a hard one. There were SO many times we considered pulling out of it. It's not for the weak. BUT, oh, it IS for the best!
It is one (of the 3) best things we've ever done in our lives.
This child has blessed us in so many ways that we could never have imagined.
Our lives are (more in debt), but oh, so much fuller than they ever were before.
I guess sometimes you don't realize just what you're missing in life until you have (or lose) it.
Back when we started this journey (3.5 years ago now), our agency said that Jesus was adopted.
Yeah, but I never really thought about it like that. That really made an impact on me.
Yeah, we're adopted into God's family. But I never really thought about that either on such a personal level as I do now.
I truly, truly believe that not only is adoption such a part of God's plan in our lives, but I believe that God gave us Leila not only to fulfill our lives but to witness to others.
She's quite the attention getter. Everywhere we go, people stop us and ask questions and talk. It gives us the chance to witness and talk about God's plan with all of this.
The ones that really 'get it' though - are the ones that understand that we're the lucky ones to have HER, not that she's the lucky one to have US.

Just look at her today!

I ordered Leila and I t-shirts last month.
There was a company doing a special promotion where a portion of their proceeds went to Love Without Boundaries.
If you're not sure what LWB is - look them up. They're wonderful!!!
They work to benefit orphans in China in all sorts of ways.
(I even managed to get 4-5 pictures of Leila, from when she was little, thru them.)
Anyway, on the back of each one is a Bible verse.
The one I picked out for me says:
'Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance'. (James 1:2-3)
I picked that one because although I do know most of the time that we're very blessed - other times I feel very sorry for myself and think that we have WAY too many and more than our share of trials and troubles.
(Leila's says 'Chosen' on the front - and has a different verse on the back.)

Memories and More

2009-09-14T20:20:00.009-04:00

Oh what an emotional week this is. What memories it brings.
You see - one year ago, we were in China on the most amazing trip of a lifetime.
Every day I find myself thinking - one year ago, we were.....
One year ago yesterday, we were at the Summer Palace, Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City.

Summer Palace

Forbidden City
One year ago today, we were walking on the Great Wall of China. What a surreal experience. I still to this day, find it hard to believe that one.

One year ago tomorrow, we boarded a Chinese airplane and flew from Beijing to Guanghzou.
We were going to pick up our baby girl.
One year ago......what a year it's been.
And yet, it's flown by. Wow, it seems like just yesterday.

On another note, we went to MD this weekend.
On Fri evening, we had visitation at the funeral home. Leila turned into quite the social butterfly. Those of you that actually 'know' her, may find that hard to believe, but really - she did. She ran all over the place. Now, she still didn't want anyone to hold her (she didn't transform that much) - actually she didn't even want us to hold her. She was free! She ran around and visited with everyone all evening.
There was another visitation(?) going on in another room at funeral home at the same time. She even visited those people! I had to go and get her out of there - more than once. I told some of the ladies in there that apparantly, she was tired of our people and wanted to see theirs. They told me that they were getting bored with theirs too, and to let her stay! I said, well, maybe so, but I'm thinking that maybe it's just not appropriate!
She was NOT so good on Sat however, but that's another story.
I guess that 2 days in a row is just too much to expect.

Although Darrell missed his track meet this week, he shaved over 2 minutes off his time last week. Pretty impressive I think.
They also had a run-a-thon today to raise money for warm-up suits. He ran 6.5 miles in an hour. I was quite impressed with that one. I couldn't run that in a day.

And on yet another note - we woke up this morning to find a dead deer in the back yard. We're thinking that since an early bow season opened today, perhaps someone shot it, and it jumped our fence to die in our yard. That left us the task of getting rid of it. But not before the dogs found it. They had a baths yesterday, but ended up getting another one today.
And, I found a lizard downstairs today! Now, you must understand, that I have this insane, complete, total irrational fear of lizards. Sort of like some people (won't mention names) that are afraid of little innocent mice. Anyway, the cat had already found it and had it mostly dead. I did manage to finish it off - a task for which I am quite proud of myself for. I could not, however, bring myself to pick it up and dispose of it. I ended up shutting the door and leaving it until Austin got home.
Now my fear is not only how and when it got in, but more importantly - are or will there be more???
I'm really, really not loving the whole wildlife thing right now.
My big brave hunter:

One Year Ago

2009-09-10T23:07:00.003-04:00

One year ago, we were ready to leave for China. Our bags were packed. Our flight was early the morning of 9/11. We left our house one year ago tonight and spent the night at a hotel close to the airport. This time one year ago - we were on our way!

Tonight, we've been packing for another, different trip. We're leaving early in the morning for MD. David's grandmother passed away on Monday. As sad as the occasion may be, it will still be nice to see people that we haven't seen in what seems like forever. It's just a shame that often times it takes an occasion like this to bring people together.

We did however, get the pool closed this week.
Summer is officially over.
It's always a little sad, and yet, I'm always glad to get it done at this point too.

Track Meet

2009-08-31T16:52:00.004-04:00

Darrell had his 1st Cross Country track meet on Sat. He did pretty good. There were 130+ in his group. He came in right about the middle of the pack. They have a very small team. Cross country is still pretty new at our school. It's only the 2nd year for the high school team and the 1st for the Jr High team. (Actually Darrell is the only one for the jr high boys team.) I'm so proud of him for going out and doing it. Most kids his age wouldn't have the guts to go it alone like that.

1st Day of School

2009-08-26T18:27:00.009-04:00

The boys went back to school today. Austin started the 11th grade, and Darrell moved up to 7th. They're in the same building (but in different parts) for the 1st time since Austin moved up - that was 4 years ago. They each have 4 classes (block scheduling), and will get a totally new schedule next semester. Right now, Austin has chemistry, history, drafting & fundamentals of electricity. Darrell has math, english, science/geography, & health/gym.

We had the kids' Sunday school classes come out last Sunday for a pool party and cookout. Everyone couldn't make it, but the majority did. It was a good day and a good way to spend the last weekend before school started back.

Here's another picture of Leila and Sable. The pictures make it look like they're best of friends. Pictures can actually be a little misleading though. It's more of an aggravate/tolerate relationship. Leila aggravates the dog endlessly. She uses her as a pillow, chair, stepping stool, etc. I'm sure Sable wonders why on earth we ever brought this 'human puppy' home. She probably thinks the only good thing about her is that she drops a lot of food.
(Leila doesn't bother Bailey, the other dog much - probably because he usually runs from her.)

A Short Break

2009-08-22T23:21:00.004-04:00

Leila is always on the go. This was a short break she took today.

Kings Island

2009-08-21T09:15:00.003-04:00

We went to Kings Island on Wednesday. The youth group planned the trip and invited the rest of the church, but then the majority of them weren't able to go due to various sports and activities. (Darrell is running cross country track now. He missed practice, but his coach is really good about it. As long as you let him know, he doesn't care.) We had between 20-25 that did make it though. Austin, Darrell and I went. David had to work. (He's afraid that if he takes any more time off 'for little things', then he won't have enough time left for hunting season.) Mom kept Leila.
We had a very good day. It was hot, but not unbearably and there was a breeze most of the day. Best of all - it wasn't crowded at all! I think that most of the OH schools have already gone back so it was great. There was one ride that we waited about a half hour for, but that's it. The rest of them, we walked right on. We even walked onto the new "DiamondBack" coaster - no wait.

Darrell had his 7th grade orientation last night. He's moving up to the 'big' school this year. The new school now houses 7-12 and is very nice. (They're just putting the finising touches on a brand new stadium this week.) He got his scheule and his locker and met his teachers. He'll do fine.

Fair Days

2009-08-14T13:30:00.003-04:00

Our county fair is going on this week. Although the boys have gone every day, last night was the first night David, Leila and I went. Leila loved it.
We ran into some friends that traveled to China at the same time we did. Their daughter (Savannah) is just about the same age Leila is, but look at how long her hair is! Isn't it pretty?
We looked at the animals. Leila petted all of them that would let her.
We ate some of the fair food. Mmmmm - love those funnel cakes.
We didn't make it to the ride section though, maybe tomorrow.
We did listen to the music, and Leila danced right along clear up until we finally decided to leave at about 10:30.

TIKE

2009-07-30T11:02:00.003-04:00

TIKE - Toddler Info Kept for Emergencies
This is one of the most practical things I hope I never need. A lady I know at the health dept gave them to me. It's a sticker that you put on either the back or bottom of the car seat or booster seat. It contains pertinent identifying information that emergency personnel would need if there were an accident and the adults in the vehicle were disabled. What a great idea! If you (or someone you know) needs some, check with your local health dept or go to www.ohioinsurance.org to get yours.

China Reunion

2009-07-27T09:41:00.006-04:00

What a great weekend! We traveled up into OH (only about 3 hr drive) to get together with some of the families that we went to China with last Sept. 5 of our families were able to make it.
The weather wasn't quite as sunny and warm as we might have liked, but we only had a little bit of rain. The kids were still able to play outside. We had some great food. But most of all - it was SO good to see everyone. We spent a wonderful day visting and catching up - actully in person, not on computers.
The girls are growing and thriving. Their personalities are blossoming. They've all changed SO much in the last 10 months.
I only hope we can get together many, many more times in the future.

Our group - taken by a very accomodating neighbor.

Five China Dolls - Claire, Katey, Emmali, Anna Kathryn, and Leila

Look how cute - homemade fortune cookies! Erin made these for Claire to give out. I put the box up to keep, and put the 'cookies' in Leila's little kitchen to play with. Hmmmm, maybe I'll try to figure out how to do these one of these days.

1 year

2009-07-13T20:58:00.005-04:00

It's been one year today since we got 'The Call'. We had dropped the boys off at camp. We really weren't expecting to hear anything, after all it was a Sun afternoon. When we got back to the truck, we both had missed calls on our phones. When we looked at the number - it was America World. We called them back and left a message. Within minutes, Melissa called back. They had a baby for us! Since we were an hour from home, I knew I couldn't wait that long. I had her send the info to David's phone. By that point, we were in 'Michaels', dropping off a picture to be framed - that's where we first saw Leila's face. Then we had to go back to the camp and find the boys to tell and show them. We stopped first at a Chinese restaurant and bought fortune cookies for the boys to pass out around the campfire that night in celebration. Then we had to fly up the road to make it to church in time.
And look how rotten she is now!

A Fashion Statement & New Laws

2009-07-10T15:34:00.007-04:00

Like I've said before, Leila LOVES to go. You would think that if she doesn't get to go somewhere (anywhere) every day, that we're being mean to her. She can be so fussy, but as soon as she's headed for the door - boom, she's a happy camper again. And as long as we're out and going, she's usually good - no matter how tired she is.
We went down to see the boys last night at camp. Didn't get home until after 10:00. She'd only had about 1/2 hour nap all day, and yet she was fine. She was out.

I took this picture last week. She put Mama's shoes on (doesn't even really have to be HER shoes). She conned her Aunt Juanita into putting both sweaters on her (yes, it's July, but a coat definitely means she's going somewhere). Now, I don't know about the 'hat', but I'm sure there's a reason for it.
At least she makes a fashion statement!

Austin is not happy this week. WV has passed a new law affecting underage drivers. One of the biggest changes that affects him is that in the first 6 months of having his license (until Dec 8), he is not allowed to have any non-family members in the car with him. That means - no friends, no DATES - only Darrell. For the next 6 months after that (until next Jun), he may only have one. They're also moving the curfew back to 10 PM - with the exception of church and school activities or emergencies.
He even offered us a 'deal'. He said that he would take his chances, and if he gets a ticket - then he'll pay it. NO - not happening. There's way more to it than a possible ticket. Yes there's that, but there's also insurance. There's the fact that if he were in an accident and someone got hurt - as his parents, we could be sued for everything we don't own. (At 16, common sense does not always rule.)
We gave him an alternate 'choice'. He doesn't have to like, but he does have to follow it. If not, we can take his truck - now or later.
Do I feel sorry for him - yes. Do I completely agree with it - no. Do I think it's a bit harsh - yes. But it's still the law (effective today). We don't get to pick and choose which rules and laws we want to abide by. It may not seem fair (and he certainly doesn't think it is), but it is what it is.

Late 4th Wishes

2009-07-07T19:57:00.004-04:00

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July.
I've been meaning to post, but just haven't had a chance.

Our weekend was good.
We had a family reunion. This was just my Dad's immediate family. Keep in mind though that there were 12 kids in his family. Now those kids have kids, who have kids, who have kids, and so on. Everyone couldn't make it of course, but still - this one little family reunion is pretty big. (And for the most part - they like each other!) I love seeing everyone. I just wish we could see them more often.
Later that night, we took the boat out. We stopped at the regatta for awhile and then went out on the river to watch the fireworks.
The first 10-15 minutes had Leila completely mesmorized. After that, it was just the same ole thing over and over.

She had her 2nd speech session today. She's really starting to try to imitate more and more. And I think she's starting to suck a little bit too. We've noticed it some with her sippy cup. That will be so nice once she learns to drink from a straw.

Both boys are gone this week too. It sure seems quiet around here.

Vacation

2009-06-30T16:52:00.006-04:00

A New Family Photo

The Rock Wall at WonderWorks

A Night Time Visitor to the Cabin

DollyWood

Dinner at the Black Bear Jamboree

We've been on vacation. We went to TN.
Although we've been there several times before (my brother and his family live there), we decided to rent a cabin (instead of staying with them), and do things we haven't done before.
We did go to Dollywood, even though we've been there several times already (Leila hadn't).
We went to Splash Country, which we all loved. I can't believe that as many times as we've been there, we'd never gone there. It was great.
We had our picture taken at one of those old-timey places.
We even went to a couple of dinner shows.
We did a few other things too, and other than being hot, the weather cooperated too.
Overall, it was a nice time.

We came home Sat night. Austin left for boy scout camp on Sun. He's working down there (about an hour away) for the next 4 weeks. He's going to be washing dishes. We think/hope it will be a good experience/practice for him.
Darrell will join him next week. Big difference though - Darrell's going to camp and have fun for one week. Austin is there for a month to work.
Nevertheless, the house will surely fill empty next week.

Leila had her 1st speech therapy session on Mon. Although I was a little curious as to how they plan to do speech therapy with one her age (and at her cooperation level), the first time went really well.
There are 2 different ladies. Although they work together, one deals more with the speech side of it and the other deals more with developmental aspects. We like both of them, but more importantly - Leila likes them. They'll come for an hour once a week and will alternate weeks.
The session on Mon was with the developmental lady (Lisa). Mostly it consisted of a full hour of Lisa and Leila playing. Leila loved it.
Then she gave us some suggestions on things to work on for the next week. It included things like finger play (Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc) and naming body parts (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, etc.)
The best part - they come to our house, and it's FREE. It's part of what's known as the 'Birth to Three Program'. It's run by the state, and will provide for her until age 3 at which time, she can attend the preschool program in the public schools. How great is that!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T14:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day to David and my Dad.

'The Family of Adoption'
By Joyce Maquire Pavao

You cannot change the truth,
These are your children,
but they came from somewhere else.
And they are the children of those places and of those people as well.

Help them to know about their past and about their present.
Help them to know that they are from extended families,
that they have only one parent or set of parents,
but they have more mothers and fathers.
They have grandmothers, godmothers, birth mothers, mother countries, mother earth.
They have grandfathers, godfathers, birth fathers, and fatherlands.
They have family by birth and by adoption.
They have family by choice and by chance.

Childhood is short;
They are our children to raise;
they are our children to love;
and then they are citizens of the world.
What we do to them creates the world that we live in.
Give them life.
Give them their truth.
Give them love.
Give them all they came with,
Give them all that they grow with.

Your children do not belong to you,
But they belong with you.
You cannot keep them from what is theirs,
but you can keep loving them.
You do not own your children,
but they are your own.

Brothers

2009-06-20T12:26:00.003-04:00

I want Leila to be a girly-girl, but not a sissy. For the most part, I think I've got that.
She's definitely not afraid to try new things. It doesn't scare her a bit when Austin throws her a good 3 feet up in the air in the pool. She jumps off the edge without hesitation. She thinks it's hilarious when Darrell carries her upside down over his shoulder.
And yet, she'll let me paint her toenails. Most of the time, she'll let me fix her hair. She absolutely loves jewelry and purses.
She does not however, see any point in stuffed animals. And baby dolls - well, she doesn't have much interest in those either. She is starting to show a little tiny bit of interest here lately, but not much - I still have hope though.

Now most of the time, the boys are really wonderful with Leila. You would think with 11 and 15 years between them, that they wouldn't fight. I guess sometimes though, the urge to pick and aggravate her is just too much.
Leila has a doll stroller that she really likes. It's not the doll in it that she likes so much - it's the stroller. I know this because the boys took the doll and put in a football - that was okay. Then they replaced the football with a shoe - that was okay too. Then they took the stroller and started pushing it themselves - that was NOT okay. She started yelling, MaMaMaMaMa. That of course, earned her the title of 'Tattletale' for the night.

More 1st's

2009-06-18T08:58:00.003-04:00

Since our old swing set is long gone, we need a new one. We haven't decided what kind to get yet though, and I don't think it really matters this year. We don't think Leila's really able to do much besides swing right now anyway. We decided to just buy a swing for now and hang it from the deck. That gives us another year to decide what to get. And she likes this just fine.

Since we're going on vacation next week, we needed to pick up a few things before we go. We went to the mall yesterday. They boys thought Leila needed to ride one of the quarter rides while we were there. I hate to think we started something, but I think we did.

I was so iffy about Austin getting his license. I just didn't think I was ready for that. I gotta say though - I'm really liking being able to send him on errands though. There are some definite advantages to this.

Sweet Sixteen

2009-06-08T22:37:00.004-04:00

Our oldest turned 16 today. He also got his driver's license today. Wow, it's exciting and scary both at the same time. It seems like he was just little, and now here he is - almost all grown up. He was so sweet and cute and innocent back then. Now ... well, those are relative terms. He can still be sweet and cute and innocent - it just doesn't ooze out like it did way back then.

They change and grow up WAY too fast. It's just not fair. Even looking at Leila. Just look at how much she's changed in just the 8 short months we've had her. She's such a completely different child now than the one we brought home last Sept. And, oh my, is she rotten. Rotten to the core. Makes you wonder - would she have been this ornery anyway, or is it something we've done to her?

Swimming

2009-06-07T22:08:00.004-04:00

Today was Leila's first time in the pool. We've had so much rain this week that the water was a little too cool for me. When she first got in, it took her breath for a minute. After that, she loved it. (Not that we had any doubts.) I'm afraid it won't be long until she starts jumping in on her own - with or without someone there to catch her.

Sidewalk Chalk

2009-06-04T11:41:00.003-04:00

We decided to try playing with sidewalk chalk the other day. Not real successful. She tried to color her shoe - not allowed. She tried to eat it - it wasn't good. Marking on the sidewalk - well, apparently that's just plain boring. She finally found what was fun - holding 2 pieces in each hand and running up and down the driveway. At least it WAS fun - until she fell 3 times and skinned up her knees, hands, and head.

Broke

2009-06-01T09:12:00.004-04:00

We've been broke.
Now I hate to complain, because I do realize that things can always get worse. BUT, I am getting a little tired of things around here being broke.
In just the last few months, it seems like its been one thing after another.
It started a few months ago with a small, slow water leak in Austin's ceiling. Then the lawn mower wouldn't work. The air conditioner didn't come on. The vacuum cleaner wasn't right.
That's when things started to snowball.
There was a water leak bubbling up in the front yard.
While David was getting the church's tractor tire fixed (another thing), someone hit his truck. Did they wait around, or even leave a note - of course not. We've had to turn it in on OUR insurance.
We opened the pool, but the liner was messed up, the pipe coming off the filter had a leak, and there was a leak by the faucet under the concrete.
Oh, yeah, and I'm waiting for the dishwasher repairman to come today.
Wonder if I've forgotten anything?
Nevertheless, all the breaks are breaking us.

Ready to Go

2009-05-28T09:38:00.003-04:00

Leila loves to go places. Now she likes coming home too. There's no place like her house and her room and her bed. But she loves to run around too. We were home all day yesterday. We didn't go out at all.
Last night about 8:00, she apparently decided enough was enough. She took David his shoes. Even though she'd already had her bath, she got her shoes and her sweater and demanded that they be put on her. Then she got her diaper bag and her sunglasses. She was ready!
Unfortunately, the only place she went - was to bed.