I have decided to continue this blog on our super fabulous adoption site. I want to talk about our family in one spot instead of two. If you'd like to continue reading with us you can at adoptingjudah.com
Thanks!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunday, July 14, 2013
One Week Down...
I tried to make the most of every day. We went to the children's museum, the zoo, the pool, the beach, the library, shopping, watched movies and went out to eat. That sounds like super fun mom to me.... you? The kids did have fun doing everything but they were also at each other's throats most of the time and we had the worst fits we've ever had from our new guy. Thankfully I covered this trip in prayer and God helped give me some extra Holy Spirit in my ear to battle all those thoughts that Satan was trying to throw in there. I know I may sound like a weirdo but our minds are a battlefield. A few times I literally said out loud "Satan will not steal this summer from me!" I wanted to quit and let one or two of the kids stay home with my mom this week or tell them no more fun and we would just sit in the room all day but I didn't. I want this time with them and it won't be taken away. I'm also starting the book Unglued this week so that will be interesting and hopefully helpful for me to see what I need to change in myself.
I expect this week to be better. Now everyone knows the new routine. RJ also knows now that I mean what I say when I tell him that we will see Daddy on Friday and everything will be fine. I'm really hoping that helps with his behavior this week.
I even had a few that told me they are excited for homework again this week. Of course that leaves a few not so excited....... What we're doing, in case anyone is interested, is 3 - 20 minute rotations: Read for 20, computer learning game for 20 and 20 minutes of workbook pages. I find our evenings are hard to fill the time so that is when we do this. I'm doing other fun activities with oral motor and fine motor with Laila during this time too as well as working on her letter recognition and phonics.
Laila had a good week back at CLC. She is walking around this house like a mad woman (holding my hands or with her walker). She does not want to be in her chair and every transition we make she asks if she can walk. Not a new skill she has learned since being here but the confidence just builds tremendously with having teachers who believe in her and expect that she can do these things and it is also a huge part that she is again with peers just like her. She has also been wearing big girl undies with me in the evenings and did at home this weekend as well :)
As far as my previous blog and talking about the attention between the children...... God's working on me. After I posted that blog and then looked back I realized something. This is the environment I have created. This blog turned into mostly about Laila when we adopted her instead of everyone and then we adopted RJ and he got his own website and t-shirts and facebook page. We made "celebrities" out of these two and that coupled with their obvious societal differences in looks and abilities, how could they not stand out? So, I'm gonna sit on that for awhile and figure out what I need to change. I do think God just laughs at me sometimes (all the time) when I think I have something figured out....
Monday, July 8, 2013
CLC Summer......
So I crawl back to my sadly neglected family blog with my head down in shame. Wow seriously, haven't written anything since last August.....
Well a lot has happen and most of the time that's why I don't blog. I'm busy and then I get overwhelmed by even thinking about getting caught up on blogging and it's a vicious cycle. I have done some blogging on our adoption site but have been slacking on that somewhat lately too. It's such a battle because I want to live each day to the fullest with my amazing husband and kids and don't want or even have time to sit down and write about it. I know though how much I need to because of my horrible memory and I want to have these memories written down. Ah, the internal struggle continues.......
So we're back up in Michigan again for another session at the Conductive Learning Center. This is our first time trying their summer program but I know other families have raved about it. We had hoped to return this past April but after our adoption, our new son was in kindergarten and the half days and the newness just didn't allow us to. So, summer it is! But..... with summer comes the extra adventure of having all four kids with me....... in our one room..... for five weeks.
I do have to say it took me a long time to get on board with thinking about taking on this adventure this summer. When we put RJ in school I knew that meant no CLC in the spring and it would probably be moved to the summer. I spent a long time having a bit of a pity party thinking about how this would take over half of our summer and how I would probably have a nervous breakdown having all the kids to myself for this long during the weeks. I spent A LOT of time praying for the Lord to change my attitude and guess what.... He did! Did you know that this means I get my kids all to myself for most of the summer?!? You see how he changed my attitude from I HAVE to have them to myself most of the summer to I GET to!
We spend a lot of our days running from place to place to place and some days I go to bed wondering if I even looked them in the eye that day. Isn't that sad?? With this opportunity this summer I get them to myself. Not only that, but I get to have them to myself in one room. Again, different attitude. I only have one room to take care of for most of the summer instead of a whole house. This frees up so much of my time to actually sit down and do their summer school with them (yep, meanest mommy ever), and read with them and play. Also where we are we have passes to almost anything that we want to do so it's almost like a vacation. Now yes, it is only the first day so I will probably be singing a different tune when these five weeks are up (but again why I blog to remind myself).
Laila has her first day back to CLC today. She's been gone for 14 months. She seemed to jump right back in. They said they could tell she was weaker from having been gone but I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure she would've been stronger had she been here more consistently but I absolutely know she's so much stronger than she was 14 months ago. It'll probably just take her a few days to get back used to this equipment and routine.
While I love to post about CLC, I'm not going to say too much this time. I'll of course give updates every couple of days but there's something that's been on my heart for a long time now that I feel it's the right time to write about it. I was asked about a year and a half ago to write an article about trying to balance siblings getting lost in the adoption process. I have felt a tug about it for a long time but never felt the right time to write it. As I come into this summer of being able to focus aside from doctors and never ending therapy and wheelchairs and post adoption visits, I want to talk about the siblings. The siblings that most of the time never even get a hello from people who immediately give attention to the "special" children who have joined our family. We have two of the most heavenly beings in our family and their names are Emma and Jackson. They walk through life unnoticed a lot of the time and they never even complain. So, I will be writing more about that throughout the summer so be prepared that you may be one of the ones offended by me this summer. Not to hurt but to educate. Who knows, maybe a few of you out there in the blog world also have some kids who get lost in the special needs, or adoptions or whatever other circumstances you may have going on.
We'll see who keeps reading...... ;)
Well a lot has happen and most of the time that's why I don't blog. I'm busy and then I get overwhelmed by even thinking about getting caught up on blogging and it's a vicious cycle. I have done some blogging on our adoption site but have been slacking on that somewhat lately too. It's such a battle because I want to live each day to the fullest with my amazing husband and kids and don't want or even have time to sit down and write about it. I know though how much I need to because of my horrible memory and I want to have these memories written down. Ah, the internal struggle continues.......
So we're back up in Michigan again for another session at the Conductive Learning Center. This is our first time trying their summer program but I know other families have raved about it. We had hoped to return this past April but after our adoption, our new son was in kindergarten and the half days and the newness just didn't allow us to. So, summer it is! But..... with summer comes the extra adventure of having all four kids with me....... in our one room..... for five weeks.
I do have to say it took me a long time to get on board with thinking about taking on this adventure this summer. When we put RJ in school I knew that meant no CLC in the spring and it would probably be moved to the summer. I spent a long time having a bit of a pity party thinking about how this would take over half of our summer and how I would probably have a nervous breakdown having all the kids to myself for this long during the weeks. I spent A LOT of time praying for the Lord to change my attitude and guess what.... He did! Did you know that this means I get my kids all to myself for most of the summer?!? You see how he changed my attitude from I HAVE to have them to myself most of the summer to I GET to!
We spend a lot of our days running from place to place to place and some days I go to bed wondering if I even looked them in the eye that day. Isn't that sad?? With this opportunity this summer I get them to myself. Not only that, but I get to have them to myself in one room. Again, different attitude. I only have one room to take care of for most of the summer instead of a whole house. This frees up so much of my time to actually sit down and do their summer school with them (yep, meanest mommy ever), and read with them and play. Also where we are we have passes to almost anything that we want to do so it's almost like a vacation. Now yes, it is only the first day so I will probably be singing a different tune when these five weeks are up (but again why I blog to remind myself).
Laila has her first day back to CLC today. She's been gone for 14 months. She seemed to jump right back in. They said they could tell she was weaker from having been gone but I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure she would've been stronger had she been here more consistently but I absolutely know she's so much stronger than she was 14 months ago. It'll probably just take her a few days to get back used to this equipment and routine.
While I love to post about CLC, I'm not going to say too much this time. I'll of course give updates every couple of days but there's something that's been on my heart for a long time now that I feel it's the right time to write about it. I was asked about a year and a half ago to write an article about trying to balance siblings getting lost in the adoption process. I have felt a tug about it for a long time but never felt the right time to write it. As I come into this summer of being able to focus aside from doctors and never ending therapy and wheelchairs and post adoption visits, I want to talk about the siblings. The siblings that most of the time never even get a hello from people who immediately give attention to the "special" children who have joined our family. We have two of the most heavenly beings in our family and their names are Emma and Jackson. They walk through life unnoticed a lot of the time and they never even complain. So, I will be writing more about that throughout the summer so be prepared that you may be one of the ones offended by me this summer. Not to hurt but to educate. Who knows, maybe a few of you out there in the blog world also have some kids who get lost in the special needs, or adoptions or whatever other circumstances you may have going on.
We'll see who keeps reading...... ;)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Court date
We received a court date today for our adoption! It is August 10th and they are not requiring us to be there for it. Check out adoptingjudah.com for more details :)
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Happy 2nd Gotcha Day Laila
Today marks two years since the day we brought Laila home. Wow, time flies!
Remember this girl the day we brought her home??
I've been a bit teary eyed today thinking of the past two years. I can honestly say they have been the happiest, saddest, rewarding, frustrating, tears of joy, tears of sorrow, self reflection, self disappointing, lovely years of my life. I can't explain how this girl has changed me. It's not about me. This is what I've learned. When I step back and look at my life what do I want to see? I want to know that God truly used me for His purpose. I feel like being a mother of my children is definitely what He wanted. Every one of my kids is so unique and special and I see God working through them in so many ways and I know how different they could be because I've seen different. God has blessed us beyond belief and grown us in uncomfortable, incredible ways through this little miracle girl named Laila.
She went from just a handful of words two years ago to about 75-100 words last year and today (according to a handout I just did from her therapist) she's at about 450-500 words now! Oh how communication changes things. I can honestly say that I would choose speech over any other ability she could gain. Yesterday my parents stopped by and she was just cracking them up. She's a jokester and then says "Papa, I so funny!"
She went from diapers and me thinking that would be our whole life to being pretty much completely potty trained. She tells me she has to go (most of the time) and actually enjoys her alone time on the potty. I get her all set and then she says "goodbye momma, goodbye!" and kicks me out! Oh yes, the four year old attitude is there FOR SURE!
She loves to pester her brother and sister and is so sneaky about yelling at them when she thinks I can't hear her. Her absolute favorite thing to do is hang out in Emma's room. I think she really feels like a big shot when her big sister invites her into her room. She's also starting to understand that she has a new brother coming and when she sees his picture on the fridge she says "RJ!"
She has the absolute most infectious laugh I've EVER heard. I was so frustrated with her the other day and I was just was about to cry and then she and Emma were in the back seat, of course everything Emma and Jackson do make her crack up, and she started that laugh and I tried as hard as I could to stay mad but I just had to laugh too. She's got a special light in her that I only see in other special needs kids. God definitely made them different but not in the ways we see them as different, but in their eyes and hearts and minds.
We absolutely, positively, without a doubt love you to pieces baby girl. Thank you for what you do for us!
Remember this girl the day we brought her home??
And now she's this crazy girl......
She went from just a handful of words two years ago to about 75-100 words last year and today (according to a handout I just did from her therapist) she's at about 450-500 words now! Oh how communication changes things. I can honestly say that I would choose speech over any other ability she could gain. Yesterday my parents stopped by and she was just cracking them up. She's a jokester and then says "Papa, I so funny!"
She went from diapers and me thinking that would be our whole life to being pretty much completely potty trained. She tells me she has to go (most of the time) and actually enjoys her alone time on the potty. I get her all set and then she says "goodbye momma, goodbye!" and kicks me out! Oh yes, the four year old attitude is there FOR SURE!
She loves to pester her brother and sister and is so sneaky about yelling at them when she thinks I can't hear her. Her absolute favorite thing to do is hang out in Emma's room. I think she really feels like a big shot when her big sister invites her into her room. She's also starting to understand that she has a new brother coming and when she sees his picture on the fridge she says "RJ!"
She has the absolute most infectious laugh I've EVER heard. I was so frustrated with her the other day and I was just was about to cry and then she and Emma were in the back seat, of course everything Emma and Jackson do make her crack up, and she started that laugh and I tried as hard as I could to stay mad but I just had to laugh too. She's got a special light in her that I only see in other special needs kids. God definitely made them different but not in the ways we see them as different, but in their eyes and hearts and minds.
We absolutely, positively, without a doubt love you to pieces baby girl. Thank you for what you do for us!
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Summer So Far
Wow, this has been a fun filled summer so far!! I think this is the first week all summer that we have gone longer than two days without swimming and actually E&J haven’t because they are in swim lessons this week! We love that both Grandma’s have a lake house, one grandma has a pool and a few friends have pools. One day we even went pool hopping from one pool to another!
Here are some fun pictures of what we’ve been doing so far this summer (not necessarily in chronological order!):
Fishing at Papa Roger’s lake when we stayed there for a week. Our friend Zoe & Kate came for a day
Fun at the Beach at Papa Roger’s
Snuggles with Papa
Emma Learned to ski!!
At the beach with Grandma Kathy
Jack got some wake boarding in
Hand stand contest with Emma & Kirstyn
Jack & Chad getting dumped off the tube. They LOVE their father-in-law
Visit to MN, Laila decided the magna doodle was her DS! Ha!
Fun cooking with Uncle Dave & Erin
We attended Camp Masala which is a camp for families who have adopted from India. We learned all kinds of fun new things and are so excited to bring Ranjit home. Hopefully this year!!
Jackson LOVES cricket!
Emma’s first Limca from the Indian grocery store 
Last day of India camp in our beautiful new clothes
All the kids doing the final program.
My beauties (minus one 
)
A local church had a super fun fundraiser for our adoption. We raised almost the whole amount of our matching grant!
LOTS of fun day at Grandma Kathy’s pool, especially since she got a slide this year!
Emma had a week of Girl Scout camp. She had lots of fun!
Our friends we met at India camp came to visit!
We spent half a week at Papa Tom’s lake with Jill and the girls
The girls spent a lot of time playing blocks
Jumpers!
We got to visit Uncle Kevin, Aunt Brooke and the twins too!
Emma & Logan having fun
Jackson has been so brave this year!
And of course old Superstar comes out!
Jackson found Papa Tom is a good foot rest
Fun on the Fourth of July
We celebrated 12 years of marriage!
Been learning some Indian cooking!
the Daddy’s girl loves the water
Fun trip to Chicago with our Shedd membership
Jackson got to spend his first time alone with Papa Roger fishing like the big kids. He LOVED it!
Laila has surgery and we were accompanied again by our surgery helper Melissa who always takes fun pictures She just had an endoscopy and it gave us no answers but I guess we can cross one more thing off the list!
Spent an afternoon at the park with Grandma Mary and Papa Tom
Emma went on her annual trip to Papa’s for special fishing time alone.
And… of course went out to breakfast
And this is consuming me now. We’re waiting for an email any day (or who knows when) that we are getting a court date scheduled in India for Ranjit.
What a fun summer we’ve had so far and it’s only a little over half over! We’re of course doing our reading a summer school work as well to stay in practice
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