Sleeping during school

In late February I found a small piece of paper on the floor. I am not sure if it was left there intentionally for me to find or if it was not disposed of properly. It was written by my fifteen year old homeschooled daughter. She even put the date on it. I imagine that she wrote it during class.

Here is what she wrote:

     To D (the four year old) 
Mom says: "Oh, D. You look tired."  | implying: a nap.

     To me
Mom:  "You look tired." | implying: "You should take a nap, but after school, because school is more important than your health."

 Funny, that daughter slept through Geometry class, even today. :/

I have been contemplating taking up blogging again. I honestly doubt that I'll have the time, and with many fast, short and simple social media outlets these days, who wants to read lengthy blog posts anyway?

Briefly, our family has grown again with the birth of two more sons, another J and another D. (I'll have to come up with nicknames for them to distinguish them from their older siblings.) Our two oldest children have moved out of the house. Brian has started a business making custom furniture and cutting boards. Two children have graduated high school from our home school, and another will graduate from the local public high school in June.

This year we will be celebrating many milestones: Brian's and my 20th anniversary, plus several special birthdays: a 40th, a 21st, an 18th, a 16th, and the birth of baby D.

Check back next year! Maybe I'll post again by then. Or maybe next month.

I will say good night with a blessing on you that you will be encouraged and strengthened this year and that God's favor will rest on you.

Boys: li'l and married

Li'l D started crawling on Saturday, at 9.5 months. He got his fourth tooth just a few days before. He is growing fast!

He has the most adorable smile. And cute curly hair in the back. His sisters all began that way, with only K and V still retaining some waviness. I hope D keeps his curl! Pretty unlikely.

He is such a happy baby and content to be in my arms, or most of his siblings' arms. V is a great big sister. I know she will be a wonderful mom since she takes such good care of her younger brother.

Eleven and a half years have passed since I became a mommy. I don't remember many milestones in development, like when my girls began to sit up, teeth, walk, etc. But I won't be forgetting D's first day of crawling: it was on the day of my sister's wedding.

I have a new brother! And I love him and his family. Congrats, guys!

A man after God's own heart

Wow. Has it really been ten months since my last post? So sorry. I guess this is what happens being the mom of nine children. I don't have much personal time anymore.

As it is, I meant to post this yesterday (just over an hour ago...), because it was exactly six months ago that my baby, D, was born.

Here is the birth story:

I saw my OB on Wednesday, June 29th and by ultrasound we saw that the baby was a footling breech. Aversions (externally turning the baby) on a footling breech can break the baby's leg, so that was not an option. Even if the baby were a normal breech (bum first), an aversion performed on a woman with a previous c-section runs the chance of rupturing the uterus, so was not an option either.We were left with a c-section being the best option. If the baby turned, we would cancel the surgery.

The c-section was scheduled for Friday, July 1st. I so much wanted my baby to be born in the month of July, therefore having a birth date of 7/11. 7/1/11 was a great number (although I thought 7/4/11- Independence Day - was the best, followed by my dad's birthday of 7/11/11). As soon as I arrived home, my doctor called to say that the hospital was booked on Friday. I could pick Thursday or Saturday. A subsequent phone call from him told me that the assistant doctor wasn't available on Saturday. So Thursday it was! Even with man's plans to pick the child's birth date, God had it ordained before there was time. My child was to be born in June, 6/30/11, and at 5 p.m., to be exact. I was at peace with the c-section, being my second. I prayed, however, God's will be done. Maybe the baby would turn, and that would have been great, too, and I could have had a natural delivery.

We prayed. Brian commanded the baby to move. I did a few exercises, elevating my pelvis to encourage the baby to turn, but most of the night I cleaned my house and packed my last-minute belongings.

My dad, my sister, my mom, B's brother and his family, and most of my kids were present Thursday evening. (J and Aw opted to abstain from being at the hospital with us.) The nurse brought in a portable ultrasound machine and we were pretty sure the baby was still a footling breech. My doctor arrived and confirmed our suspicions. The surgery began an hour later than planned.

We were so sure we were having a girl. Even minutes before my c-section B was looking for girl names in the names book. When my doctor told him the baby was out and to peer over the curtain, he looked, and had to look again. Something didn't look right! The anatomy was different from what we expected and were accustomed to seeing.

When I was wheeled back to my room, we passed my family in the hall. B told them, "It's a boy!" but most of them did not believe him. They debated amongst themselves about whether B was joking or not. My mom heard him say, "It's a girl!" she was so sure. ;)

We selected his name easily and quickly. It has been one of our favorites. We named him after the second king of Israel, who was known as being a man after God's own heart. What a great legacy to live up to. My regular prayer for my son is that he, too, would love the Lord will all of his heart.

In the Bible, Leah presented Jacob with his first child, a son, as she hoped to win his heart. She named him Reuben, meaning, "See, a son!" We thought that a very appropriate middle name for our firstborn (biological) son, especially since he came as quite a surprise to us.

D joined our family on June 30 at 18:03. He weighed 7 lbs., 8 oz. and was 21" long.

We are in gratitude to the Lord for His mercies, gifts, and blessings. We eagerly anticipate any more children with whom He wants to bless us!

D & me two weeks ago

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from Him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127:3-5 (NIV)

Ultrasound

I've been hemming and hawing about making an ultrasound appointment. At my last doctor appointment, I was strongly encouraged to have an ultrasound so they would know that fluid levels are normal and that the length of the femur is good, etc. I made the appointment yesterday and got an appointment for today.

My hesistancy comes from my friend's recent experience: she had so many ultrasounds due to what they thought was a small baby. For almost three months she worried because her baby was so small. Her baby was born a day before her due date, perfectly healthy, and 2 oz. heavier than A was when she was born - and A was born on her due date! I really don't want to have a similar experience as my friend, especially since it is possible for me to have small babies.

A, K, and J went with B, V, and me to the appointment. We elected not to find out baby's gender but wait until birth. The due date measured by the ultrasound machine is July 4th. From all we could tell, the baby is healthy and is measuring the right size for her age. Oops, did I say, "her?" Yeah, so did the ultrasound tech. ;)

The Loux Family - Extreme Makeover Home Edition

A friend of mine passed this link to the Loux Family's Blog to me. I haven't spent much time on the blog but I am amazed at the love that flows from Renee's heart for the orphans and widows. Renee, and her many children, lost their husband and father a little over a year ago in an accident. However, Renee is continuing with her adoption plans.

Check out their blog, and, if you can, nominate them for Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. The directions are at the bottom of the post.

Post Placement Reports all but done

First, I will confess that I am three months late in submitting my post placement reports. Post placement reports are annual reports on the progress of our adopted children. These reports are ultimately given to the government in Ethiopia. Required also are photos of the children, six or more. The photos are usually what bog me down. I have to select the photos, upload them to Snapfish if I haven't, order them and then pick them up a day later at Walgreens. Then I have to write on the back of the photos and attach them to the reports, then go to the p.o. to have the envelope weighed and mailed to our adoption agency. The photos were a bit easier this year since I had done all the leg work for the calendar and knew the photos pretty well.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of good pictures from 2010. My old digital camera was putting out poor performance and then I got my new digital SLR which I didn't start using right away (not nearly as compact...need I say more?). Thankfully, my mom has taken some really good pictures and...I am currently downloading her Christmas photos and the photos she took last night of G and her birthday cake.

Now the only steps left to completing my post placement reports are getting the children's weight and updating then printing the reports, and taking them to mail at the p.o. I feel very close! One more giant project almost out of my hair!

Now on to the readoption....