A group of people from our church went on a mission trip to Peru last week. They spoke at church last night about their trip. It sounds like many lives were touched during their trip, as well as their own. During their presentation they talked about the children at the orphanage they visited.
They spoke of how happy the children were to have visitors. How they just clung to them and wanted to hold their hands. How they wanted so bad to be loved. When the group left, the children asked them not to forget them, to please come back. The group didn't have plans to return, but ended up working another visit in during their trip. The kids were thrilled to see them again. They were glad they weren't forgotten. They spoke about how these kids need security and a family. Most of them may never have a family. All of the things they said about these children, I could relate too.
I picture my girls the first time I saw them. They clung to us the first time we met them. They wanted to hold our hands and not let go. We went to a local fast food restaurant and they wanted to ride with us. We visited with them for about three hours and then left. They didn't want us to leave them that day. They told us later they were worried we wouldn't come back. They wanted a forever home very badly.
They came to our house for a visit later in the week. They stayed three nights and we took them back to their foster family. I remember Hannah gettting in the foster mother's van and quietly crying. She didn't want us to leave her. She was afraid we wouldn't return. She cried the next few days alot while she was at the foster home. I can only imagine what she was thinking because she did break every rule possible while she was here the few days. She didn't believe we were coming back. When they first came they wanted to hold our hands often. They immediately called us Mom and Dad with little meaning. Now, it has meaning to them.
I am so thankful that God blessed us with our precious girls. It isn't always a fun or easy journey, but it is God's plan for our family. I am glad that we were able to provide a loving secure home for Haylee and Hannah. I am so happy they are not children still hoping and waiting for a forever family. So many children are still waiting. Some may never find their forever family. I hope we can continue to teach them to have a heart for their heavenly father.
My husband just walked in...so...we are off to Cullman!!
It took them a while to believe they were really going to stay forever in our home.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
State Swim Meet
In a few minutes we are leaving to go to the State Swim Meet. So, we have at least a four hour drive this afternoon. The meet is usually a lot of fun. We will be with a few other families for two days. I hope the girls do okay. My parents will be at the meet both days, so I will have help. The seven of us will be stuffed into one hotel room. I am not really worried about this because it usually ends of making some fun family memories.
The last few days have not been the best. The twins have stopped thinking. They are asking a million questions, of which they should know the answer. They have been finishing up their summer workbooks and it has taken them hours and hours and hours. Hannah had already finished her time and money workbook and Haylee finally finished hers today. I am not sure who was more excited, the girls or me.
I am a little anxious about school starting. I hope it doesn't take from early morning to late afternoon for them to complete their work. I will start them off with Math and History. History is taking as a self-paced online course with Ver*itas Press. We did it last year and they all really enjoyed it. I liked it because they worked on their own and I just checked their scores. I will worry about all of this when we get back from the meet this weekend.
The last few days have not been the best. The twins have stopped thinking. They are asking a million questions, of which they should know the answer. They have been finishing up their summer workbooks and it has taken them hours and hours and hours. Hannah had already finished her time and money workbook and Haylee finally finished hers today. I am not sure who was more excited, the girls or me.
I am a little anxious about school starting. I hope it doesn't take from early morning to late afternoon for them to complete their work. I will start them off with Math and History. History is taking as a self-paced online course with Ver*itas Press. We did it last year and they all really enjoyed it. I liked it because they worked on their own and I just checked their scores. I will worry about all of this when we get back from the meet this weekend.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Attachment
Thursday my dad was having a heart cath. As much as I wanted to be with my parents for the procedure, I have five children to take care of and my mom was with him. I had an uneasy feeling all day. My mom called and said the procedure went well and he had three stents. Well, the afternoon went on and she called again. He was having heart attack symptoms. He was rushed back to the lab, the doctor was still there, in between patients, thank you God. They were able to open up the blockage with a balloon and insert a fourth stent. My mother called after they took him back and I decided to quickly leave and drive the three hours to the hospital. They had the heart surgeon on standby if needed. Thank you Lord they didn't have to open him up. When I arrived he was stable and uncomfortable. By this morning, his color was good and the actually discharged him. Many prayer warriors were interceding for him in this time of need. I appreciate everyone of them. I am so glad God was not finished with him here on earth!!
Anyway, the reason for me to tell you this is about Hannah. I often wonder about the bond between the two of us. When I walked out in tears and told them we needed to stop and pray for my dad she got a fearful yet concerned look. We prayed and I was still trying to decide whether to go or stay. We had an Adoption Support Group party that night and I hated to miss it. Anyway, I made the decision to go and tearfully told them I was going and why. She immediately started crying and clung to me. I held her for a few minutes and told them the plans for the next hour until the party. I am sure she was afraid of another loss in her little life. I am so thankful that didn't occur. My dad is great with her. He is so patient and caring at times I am very short with her. All of my children adore their PawPaw. A dear friend of mine was at the party and she said she was "not herself" at the party. She behaved fine, but she could tell she wasn't at peace. So, after pondering the events in hindsight, some positive signs of attachment have/are occurring. I am always encouraged when either one of the girls run to me in a time of need whether it be sadness, injury, concern, etc. This is one of those times. I wouldn't want a replay of Thursday at all, but I am encouraged by Hannah's responses to the situation. It was a healthy response.
Haylee just rolled with the events. I think this must be how she has handled things in her past because, so far, she has shared very little about being hurt or upset. I believe her personality and ADHD has protected her from many things. She has only expressed tears and sadness over missing a half sister one time. She has never mentioned her birth parents. Hannah has cried for them a few times since she has been with us. I am sure Haylee will eventually share, but not yet.
I am encouraged that attachment is occurring. I pray God will continue the good work and progress will continue!
Anyway, the reason for me to tell you this is about Hannah. I often wonder about the bond between the two of us. When I walked out in tears and told them we needed to stop and pray for my dad she got a fearful yet concerned look. We prayed and I was still trying to decide whether to go or stay. We had an Adoption Support Group party that night and I hated to miss it. Anyway, I made the decision to go and tearfully told them I was going and why. She immediately started crying and clung to me. I held her for a few minutes and told them the plans for the next hour until the party. I am sure she was afraid of another loss in her little life. I am so thankful that didn't occur. My dad is great with her. He is so patient and caring at times I am very short with her. All of my children adore their PawPaw. A dear friend of mine was at the party and she said she was "not herself" at the party. She behaved fine, but she could tell she wasn't at peace. So, after pondering the events in hindsight, some positive signs of attachment have/are occurring. I am always encouraged when either one of the girls run to me in a time of need whether it be sadness, injury, concern, etc. This is one of those times. I wouldn't want a replay of Thursday at all, but I am encouraged by Hannah's responses to the situation. It was a healthy response.
Haylee just rolled with the events. I think this must be how she has handled things in her past because, so far, she has shared very little about being hurt or upset. I believe her personality and ADHD has protected her from many things. She has only expressed tears and sadness over missing a half sister one time. She has never mentioned her birth parents. Hannah has cried for them a few times since she has been with us. I am sure Haylee will eventually share, but not yet.
I am encouraged that attachment is occurring. I pray God will continue the good work and progress will continue!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
State Swim Meet
All five children swam in our the District AARPA swim meet this weekend. I expected the older three to qualify for state, but wasn't sure about the twins. Well, the older three qualified in all three of their events and swam very well.
Hannah swam slower than her best time, but qualified in the 50 breaststroke becuase the third place was disqualified. The top three in each event compete at state. She was thrilled!!
Haylee was back on her meds and swam like a different child. She knew what stroke to do, unlike the last meet where she would swim the wrong stroke. Not only did she know what stroke to do, but she did it very well and cut off about 15 seconds and qualified in the 50 fly. I couldn't believe it watching her in the water!! She was placed fourth going into the race. She was so determined and focused! She placed second in the event and will compete at state.
I am very proud of all five of them!!! My kids are five of the ten that qualified from our team. We are getting a shirt with the kids names on them. Well, when you divide the group into two columns you would have all five on one side. I changed it to age order to mix them up, so it doesn't look funny.
We will travel about four hours north next Thursday and compete Friday and Saturday. The older kids love this pool because they have water slides and diving boards on the pool deck. They allow all the meet attendees to play on Friday night after the meet at no charge.
However, we will be stuffed into one hotel room. Oh well, chalk it up as attachment and bonding!!
Hannah swam slower than her best time, but qualified in the 50 breaststroke becuase the third place was disqualified. The top three in each event compete at state. She was thrilled!!
Haylee was back on her meds and swam like a different child. She knew what stroke to do, unlike the last meet where she would swim the wrong stroke. Not only did she know what stroke to do, but she did it very well and cut off about 15 seconds and qualified in the 50 fly. I couldn't believe it watching her in the water!! She was placed fourth going into the race. She was so determined and focused! She placed second in the event and will compete at state.
I am very proud of all five of them!!! My kids are five of the ten that qualified from our team. We are getting a shirt with the kids names on them. Well, when you divide the group into two columns you would have all five on one side. I changed it to age order to mix them up, so it doesn't look funny.
We will travel about four hours north next Thursday and compete Friday and Saturday. The older kids love this pool because they have water slides and diving boards on the pool deck. They allow all the meet attendees to play on Friday night after the meet at no charge.
However, we will be stuffed into one hotel room. Oh well, chalk it up as attachment and bonding!!
Meds
We decided to put Haylee back on her medicine last week. It was the right decision. She was getting in trouble at swim team for not paying attention. She was making very poor choices at home which was getting her into big trouble. (ie: Choosing to not tell the truth because she didn't want to complete a simple math problem. Needless to say, the truth was discovered a few days later when she was talking about something else.)
We put her back on her medicine and our coach said she was like a different child.
The benefit of her being off for two months is she gained some weight. She did very well going back on the medicine. She gets up and eats, then goes to swim team. It helps the "jitters" that she gets first thing in the morning. She hasn't had anger issues in the evening like we saw before either.
I think she is more stable and happier now that she is back on her medicine. She is already not wanting to eat. Ugh...it is one battle or another. Thank goodness she will eat her lunch out of obediance because she understands she has to eat.
We put her back on her medicine and our coach said she was like a different child.
The benefit of her being off for two months is she gained some weight. She did very well going back on the medicine. She gets up and eats, then goes to swim team. It helps the "jitters" that she gets first thing in the morning. She hasn't had anger issues in the evening like we saw before either.
I think she is more stable and happier now that she is back on her medicine. She is already not wanting to eat. Ugh...it is one battle or another. Thank goodness she will eat her lunch out of obediance because she understands she has to eat.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
What??
I posted a new update. I can't get the pictures and words to look right. Now, my sidebar info is gone. I don't know what I did to cause this, any suggestions? I can see them in my design section, but not on the blog.
Beach pictures...finally
The last day at the beach, we took a trip on a large catamaran. I have never been on one this large before. It was a lot of fun. The kids all enjoyed it. Of course, they thought it was really neat that we ate lunch on the boat. It was just sandwiches, but they were very excited. We were able to take out paddle boards and kayaks in the bay. That was a lot of fun. My husband took the twins out with him. As you can see, the boys went together and Morgan and I went. I didn't want to get in the water because you could see jelly fish and stingrays everywhere!!
As you can see, they had fun burying Hannah standing up in the sand. Haylee is loving it. However, I think Hannah loved the attention just as well.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Fun Weekend
We had a great weekend at my parent's lake house. We were coming home Sunday, but the kids were having such a great time, we stayed until Monday. Everyone behaved very well. Very little correction was needed for anyone. Nothing out of the ordinary anyway.
The kids all loved playing in the water. They rode the tube a bunch and all three of the older children skied. Morgan had gotten up before and fallen pretty quickly. She skied better at camp made it all the way around the lake and earned a t-shirt saying she learned to ski at camp. Definitely, a hard earned shirt. She skied a couple of times this weekend and did very well. The twins thought they wanted to try, but changed their mind. They loved riding the tube. Hannah is still pretty nervous, but getting better. She fell off a few times, but got back on. She is overcoming so many fears! I am very proud of her.
The kids all loved playing in the water. They rode the tube a bunch and all three of the older children skied. Morgan had gotten up before and fallen pretty quickly. She skied better at camp made it all the way around the lake and earned a t-shirt saying she learned to ski at camp. Definitely, a hard earned shirt. She skied a couple of times this weekend and did very well. The twins thought they wanted to try, but changed their mind. They loved riding the tube. Hannah is still pretty nervous, but getting better. She fell off a few times, but got back on. She is overcoming so many fears! I am very proud of her.
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