Dreary Days

Winter has been rather dreary here...not terribly cold but not warm.  Hardly any snow, but damp.  I think I read that we've only had 10 sunny days since the beginning of the year.

I see that I last posted on January 3rd.  At the time, I had all sorts of posts rolling around in my head.  Now I can't remember any of them.  I do seem to remember wanting to post on my "Word of the Year" for 2020 which is Faithful.  Maybe I'll do that yet.

Life continues to roll along.  This week Autumn got her wisdom teeth removed.  I'm strongly considering sending the boys all to school next year and resuming my original plan of only homeschooling high school, so I've started talking to schools about doing evaluations and what not to see about making that happen.  Part of me feels like I "should" feel guilty about sending them back to school as if I failed.  Part of me feels relieved at the thought of having some extra time to things around here that need done.  Another part of me feels some trepidation at having to once again deal with high anxiety over homework every evening.  But I never really felt "called" to homeschool like some people.  It's just something I evaluated every year and did what seemed best per child per year...so I'm okay with however it works out for next year.  We will see how this develops as we continue, but so far it has changed one thing...I'm not looking at curriculum for next year!  I will need to do this for Janae, but she's my third high school student so I pretty much know what I do for them.

In the spectrum of large family living, I'm frequently thinking of what style of dress I want for my oldest son's wedding...while simultaneously gradually potty-training the youngest son.

In January we dropped OT and added weekly tutoring for one son.  He continues with ST as well.  We are working on adjusting meds for another son and resuming talk therapy as well.  We had taken a break after his last counselor unexpectedly quit.  We are in the midst of our winter semester of our home-school co-op.  I'm supervising/teaching Typing this time.  These things are necessary, but do take a lot of time and driving...I'm glad we bought a car so I don't have to take the big van everywhere.  :-)

Considering how many viruses have been around, we've been relatively healthy.  Four of the kids did get mildly sick and we've missed and canceled a few events/appointments, but still, it's been relatively mild compared to what I've been hearing from others. 

As always, I continue to read as much as I can sneak in.  But right now I'm blanking out on what I've read since I last posted.  I know I read "Detached" which was a fascinating story of a man who was diagnosed with RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder) written by him from his perspective.  I recently purchased "20 Life-Changing Choices Adoptees Need To Make" by Sherrie Eldridge.  I've been blessed by Sherrie's writings and am finally starting to add her books to my collection after years of wanting to do so.

Randy and I went out for the evening last Saturday night while our friends kept the kids.  It's always nice to get away for a few hours and be able to talk without interruption from anyone other than a waiter or cashier.  :-)

And my final random thoughts...I'm looking forward to warmer weather and spring flowers.  I've been thinking about Lent and whether I want to "give up" anything this year...but nothing has come to mind so far.  Fasnacht Day is late this year so I guess Easter is late as well.  It will probably snow in March since we haven't had much yet.

Blessings!
~Karen

Book Review

It's been awhile...years, probably...since I've blogged about a book.  While Christmas shopping this year, I came across the book Sharing Love Abundantly in Special Needs Families by Gary Chapman and Jolene Philo.  This book shows how to integrate the 5 Love Languages in special needs families.

A few random thoughts from quickly reading this book:

• This short book covers loving your spouse and loving your children.
• I loved the point that in the time immediately following a diagnosis, parents need to receive love from outside sources as they are likely both to drained to receive love from each other.
• Great practical suggestions of how to tweak each love language for children with special needs
• Appreciated the stories of how other families used these techniques/modified love languages for their specific situations.
• Learned about ABLE, a savings program through the IRS to pay for future qualified expenses.
• Nice chapter on how to integrate love languages into an IEP or 504 and when communicating with professionals.
• I really liked that the authors acknowledged medical trauma.
• Special Needs children in this book covered children with physical and emotional special needs .including medical diagnoses as well as special needs related to adoption and abuse/neglect.
• The book includes love language quizzes for couples, singles, teens, and children.
• It discusses figuring out love languages for a nonverbal child.
• I admit that there is a part of me that read the stories of how other parents successfully used the love languages with their children/spouse and wished that I could be that parent/spouse...but I also know that I can start again every day.
• There is a great chapter on how the community surrounding the family can support the parents using the parents' love languages.  This helped me think about why some supportive actions are more meaningful to me while other actions are more meaningful to other friends.
• The authors encourage the parents to intentionally choose not to become isolated.
• The authors reference Dan Siegel and Karyn Purvis among others.  I appreciate these authors as well and have a greater trust for a book when it seems well researched.

I definitely recommend this book if you have special needs kids or have a family/friend with a special needs child.  (And I apologize for the inconsistent grammar through the bullet points.)

Happy 2020!

~Karen

It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's already November!  How the year is flying by for me.  After a lovely fall day yesterday, the rain came in over night.  I expect it will be cooler as well.

Yesterday I officially started Christmas shopping!  I have picked up some things throughout the year, but am now getting serious.  Last week I made an official plan.  Yesterday Autumn and I went shopping.  Next plan is to go online shopping over Thanksgiving weekend.  Then in mid-December, Janae & I will go wrap up any last minute purchases.  Once it is colder and dark mornings and evenings, I love the lights of Christmas.  I do refuse to play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving though.

This past weekend I went to a business training in Maryland.  I took 2 friends along to hang out with when I didn't have classes.  It was lovely to get away a bit and sleep all night without interruption.  We went to Havre de Grace, MD for supper.  We ate at a little Italian restaurant.  I was amazed at how many little shops were open on a Saturday evening...I think they may have been having some sort of event?  Anyway, we went into a used book store...so many books!  I restrained myself and only bought one--The Clocks, by Agatha Christie.  My copy had fallen apart years ago.  I look forward to reading this again.

Appointments, appointments, appointments...I think my life revolves around them!  Today Mark has Occupational and Speech therapies.

Last week I had parent-teacher conferences with Micah's teacher.  He seems to be adjusting back to going to school very well.

Sunday we had our first family gathering of the season.  Randy's Dad's side of the family got together.  Our gatherings are spread out, stretching from now through March.  It's nice that they aren't all on a pile.

Well, I soon need to get Micah up to get the bus.

Enjoy your day!
~Karen

July?!

How did it get to be the middle of July already?!

Since I last posted...

• We wrapped up the school year, got our evaluations, planned next year, and turned everything into the school district.
• We took a Road Trip to New York & Vermont
• We participated in the annual Transport For Christ Truck Rally
• We spent a weekend at the cabin with my side of the family.

The first 6 weeks of summer were crazy, so I really enjoyed last week...multiple days with no appointments or plans and only 1 appointment.  This week, however, is a bit different...8 appointments!  And then VBS (well, they call it "Backyard Kids Club" these days) starts next Sunday.

This summer Randy usually has a passenger with him on the road.  The kids have been taking turns going along with him.  Now that we are in July, they usually take a bit of school work along.  We do not "officially" start school until August 27, but unofficially they have all started doing some work.

As always, I've been reading voraciously.  A recent book was "The Mitford Six"...a book about an elite, British family and their lives.  Fascinating.  I've also been enjoying reading some books from my childhood again...Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Beldon...

This month I'm focusing on the book of "Luke" from the Bible in the quiet moments before the children get up.  I'm also reading "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie O'Martien again.  Each month I'm working through "The Life-Giving Home" Experience workbook as well.  In Sunday School we are studying "Adorned" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Well, I need to get the children out of bed...no leisurely sleeping in on a day when we have an appointment at 8am!

Enjoy your week...and I'll try to not let so much time elapse between this post and my next one!

~Karen

Break Time Randomness

I am taking a break in those Road Trip posts for a random post.

• It is pouring down rain (again).
• I'm starting to have a twinge of sadness every morning when I get up.  It's not quite as light as it used to be and I know fall is coming.  Summer can be very challenging with everyone home, but I do love the relaxed schedule (although some of my kids do better with more structure), the warm weather (no coats or shoes!), and the time away (vacations!)
• our VBS started last night.  It rained.  We do VBS outside at a park under tents, but due to thunder/lightening we all crowded into a pavilion.  It was loud.
• Half of my kids are now to old for VBS.  (Or Backyard Kids Club as they call it these days.)
• Reading.  After reading through my Agatha Christie collection, Emilie Loring collection, and Louis L'Amour collection, I was at a bit of a loss to what to read next.  I'm now reading through L.M. Montgomery's works (other than the Emily and Anne books).
• It is 7:00 and no one is up yet (although since I typed this I'm sure they will be in a moment).  Josiah even got up and went to work without anyone stirring.
• I have a rare week with only 2 appointments (+VBS).  1 Speech Therapy appointment, 1 visit for Baby.  What will we do with all of this free time?!  :-)  (Cleaning might be a good place to start.)
• I've been reading other books as well...but right now I'm blanking out as to what.  Oh yes, I have recently read and highly recommend "When Parenting Isn't Perfect" by Jim Daly.

Enjoy your week!

~Karen

February Randomness

We are enjoying some lovely spring-like weather here.  It's so nice to be outside without freezing for a respite from winter weather.  :-)

Life is busy...as it probably is for all of you...never boring this way I guess!

I'm currently re-reading Emilie Loring books when I make a few moments.  Emilie Loring (and after her death, a ghost writer) wrote novels from the 1920s to the 1960s or 70s.  I so enjoy reading them as they were "modern day" when written so I get a glimpse into (fictional) life in different decades.  I believe I am up to the 1940s.

We are contemplating taking a road trip again this summer...perhaps to the South...we'll see how things look after we file our taxes!

We are winding down the Bible Quizzing season.  Randy is coaching once again.  We have 2 more weeks of "regular season" followed by 2 weekends of tournaments.  The kids are doing well and having fun...no top of the league teams this year, more of the win-some-lose-some variety.

We are into the second half of school...projects galore for the "at school" kids.  Continuing to plug away at home for the "homeschool" ones.  Autumn is taking a quilting class at co-op this week.  She will be piecing a quilt but it will be knotted rather than quilted...I'm excited for her.  I don't think I have sewed since Junior High but she seems to enjoy it.  Speaking of Co-op, we are now into our final 10 week session.  So 8 weeks to go until that is complete.  Once again this year I am the parent supervisor in a Drawing class.  I enjoy watching the kids learn drawing techniques and improve their skills.

This week I managed to arrange all of our plans (Co-op, Therapy, Tax Appointment, Play group) on 2 days...giving me 3 full days at home.  I'm so excited!  :-)  Seems most weeks my days are broken up with appointments.

I continue to take baby to visit his parents weekly.  After 3+ months of thinking about it, I have finally started taking 1 kid a week with me (if they desire).  It's fun to have one-on-one time with them.  It's also fun to see where they pick to eat.  So far we've been to Subway (Janae), Arby's (Zach), and McDonald's (Micah).  This week is Mark's turn.  I'm not sure where I'll take him...he's a bit more challenging since he currently avoids gluten, high fructose corn syrup, and gluten.

Well, I need to wrap this up and get the kids out of bed for school...Have a lovely day!

2 Days in a Row

It's been a long time since I've been motivated to do 2 posts in 2 days!

Many years ago...a friend introduced me to the BBC miniseries:  Cranford, Wives & Daughters, and North & South based on books by Elizabeth Gaskil.  I think it was during a year that I had a baby who did not like to go to bed early, so I would watch an episode or two during those hours between when the other children went to sleep and the baby did.  Anyway, I found a DVD Set on Amazon containing those 3 series and put it on my wish list a couple of years ago.  Earlier this summer, I finally purchased it.  And on Sunday, I introduced Autumn to the first episode of Cranford.  We watched episode 2 tonight.  And my girls and I are wanting to watch more.  We enjoy a peek into that time period immensely (and are glad we live in today's world).

Today was fairly uneventful...occupational therapy, laundry, cleaning, bookwork, settling disputes...things like that.

In addition to reading "The Statesman and the Storyteller", I am also reading "Have a Happy Family by Friday" by Kevin Leman.  I have long ago learned to read any sort of self-help book with a "pick a thing or two to try and/or what of this will work for my particular circumstance" attitude.  I enjoy his books mostly because he mixes humor into his writings.  :-)  Yesterday I read "Monday"...and appreciated it!  We'll see how I feel about "Tuesday" when I get to that chapter.

In the past few weeks 3 young pigs and a bunch of turkey chicks have joined our farmette.  It's fun to see the new animals.

Well, that's all for now!  Have a lovely day!

Randomness

We spent the past week at the beach...now that we're home I'm faced with the reality that, despite the heat and  humidity, summer is approaching the end and fall is coming.  School starts next Wednesday.  This summer has had it's tough times, but all the same, I am sad to see it coming to an end.  I know that the return to school & it's routine will be good for me, but I love the relaxed yet busy nature of summer.

When we go to the beach, I pack up a lot of my kitchen and take it with me...including my food processor.  I now have learned that I need to be more careful in packing it.  I had it in a bag.  As we were unpacking the van at the beach house, Janae was carrying that bag into the house.  The blade cut through the bag and sliced her leg.

Did I mention that our oldest son got his driver's license earlier this month?  And that he drove to the beach so he could stay just part of the week and come home to work the rest.  (He said it is so quiet here without us all that he could hardly stand it!)

Anyway, Randy & I left the kids and unpacking in the hands of our older children and took Janae to a local Urgent Care where she received 6 stitches.  Unfortunately, they began falling out a few days later.  So we butterflied those spots.  Yesterday we removed the only 2 stitches that had not fallen out.  Today at the pool she bumped her leg and it split back open.  :-(  So it is once again butterflied up and we will be watching closely for infection.

Other than that, our beach trip was mostly uneventful.  We enjoyed the sun, the sand, the waves.  Our friends joined us for part of the week and some family joined us for another few days.

Zach is on his last trip with Randy for the summer.  Micah is hoping to squeeze one trip in yet.

The girls resume their music lessons this week.  They had a 6 or 7 week break while their teacher got married and settled into her new home.  Which reminds me, I still need to map out where her new house is.

Mark continues to have Occupational Therapy biweekly and Speech Therapy weekly.

After a 6 month break from therapy, we are once again seeing a therapist to help us with some of our children's struggles.  We will be meeting her weekly...at this point I'm not sure if it will be one specific child, multiple children, or mostly me.  And yes, I know that's vague, but I'm not one to put all that out there...but I do want to acknowledge that it is part of our life.  Adoption is a wonderful way for a child to have a family...but it's always born out of loss.  And some kids just have a really hard time, whether from the loss itself or from trauma of their experiences (even prenatal) or exposures.

I am watching the Olympics  as I type this.

I'm reading an interesting book about John Hay and Samuel Clemens...but I can't remember the title at the moment...Statesman and Storyteller or something like that?

I'm also wrestling with how much and how and if necessary and such regarding changing our diets.  I'm reading Trim Healthy Mama (minimizing/eliminating sugar) and cookbooks based on that plan as well as a book about Recipes for ADHD & Autism...minimizing Gluten and Casein (dairy).  Mulling over it all...so hard!

Well, this is certainly quite long enough.  Have a lovely week!

Time marches on...

So we continue through February.  Today was my next to last family based therapy session.  One more with the family for closure .    I have a homework assignment  to write out how this program affected me.  Truly, I don't know where to begin.  It has been incredible, though, so I'll recommend it to anyone local who has a challenging child.

And here's the link to their book... http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Traumatized-Children-Navigating-Turbulent-ebook/dp/B0165X48M6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455152763&sr=1-1&keywords=healing+traumatized+children

I realized that Sunday is Valentine's  Day.  I often try to do something special...should think about that...I should figure out if anyone needs anything for school as well...

Lent starts today...some years I do something for that period of time such as giving up sugar in my coffee (so hard!)...not sure about this year, but should've  thought ahead.

I am writing on my tablet instead of the laptop...not working nearly as well!

Book Review - The Entitlement Cure

I was excited to be part of the Launch Team for this book.  I have very much appreciated other books by Dr. Townsend (and Dr. Cloud with whom he co-wrote "Boundaries" as well).  This book was not a disappointment.  The book encouraged me both in how I relate to those with entitlement issues and in how I deal with my own feelings of entitlement.  I'd definitely recommend it.  And today, on Amazon, it is on sale!

**I received a copy of this book for review purposes.  My opinions are my own.

Today...

...I went back to MOPS.  I had gone to MOPS for 4 years.  Last year I decided my time there was over and it wasn't worth the hassle with kindergarten.  They asked me to come and be on an "Experienced Mom Panel".  The moms there asked us questions and we answered them.  Afterwards, of course, as I was thinking about it, I decided to do a blog post about some of my favorite books that applied to some of the questions that were asked...and a few other recommendations on topics we didn't cover.

1.  Priorities - I'm really not very good at this, but I really like the books by Emilie Barnes on Home Organization.  I don't necessarily follow everything (I'm not structured enough), but I have found lots of helpful hints...but my life really does go smoother when I use some of her recommendations.  I like "More Hours In My Day" and "Survival For Busy Women".

2.  Teaching kids about s*x.  I like the "God's Design for s*x" Series

3.  Boys and their energy - I like the book "Raising Sons & Loving It" by Oliver & Oliver

4.  Marriage.  My current favorite book on marriage is "One of Us Must Be Crazy and I think It's You" by Tim & Joy Downs

5.  For strong-willed children I recommend the book "You Can't Make Me" by Cynthia Tobias

6.  In regards to discipline, I like the book "No-Drama Discipline".

7.  Adoption - So many favorites.  I really like "Adoptive Parent, Intentional Parent" and "Forever Mom"...but there is a whole list on the side bar of books that I like regarding Adoption and/or Parenting.  :-)

8.  Raising Kids in general:  I'm a huge fan of the Boundaries Series.  So "Boundaries with Kids" is on my list.  But regardless of what book I recommend...I'm in favor of looking for things that will work for you.  (Although if you decide to try something, make sure you give it a fair shake before saying it doesn't work).  Families are different.  Personalities are different.  While I personally love this book, if you kid has trauma or special needs, you may need to adjust how you apply some of the boundaries.

I can't remember what else we discussed right now.  But I did enjoy joining the ladies again.  Lots of fun, lots of laughter.  :-)

**Edit:
9.  Money/Budget - I like Crown Financial Ministries resources.  Ellie Kay has lots of resources as well.

Books: In General

I love books.  I love to read.  I love information.  I love history.  I enjoy novels (and poke fun at the lame ones).  Today I finished a book that I had gotten from the library.  "The Innovators" traces the rise of the computer to personal computer to the internet.  So fascinating to me.

I was also working on a list of the books I have on adoption, foster care, special needs, general parenting, and a few on personal mental/emotional health.  I copied and pasted the list...so it looks a bit strange...and I'm not techy enough to fix it.

Books
Title	Author(s)	Category
5 Love Languages of Children	Chapman/Campbell	Parenting
A Place I Didn't Belong	Freeman	Adoption, Mom's Emotional Health
Adopted for Life	Russell Moore	Parenting, Adoption
Adopting the Hurt Child	Keck/Kupecky	Parenting, Adoption
Adoptive Parent Intentional Parent	Manning	Parenting, Adoption
Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child	Worwood	Essential Oils
Attachment Focused Parenting	Hughes	Parenting, Adoption
Beyond Consequences, Logic, & Control	Forbes/Post	Parenting, Adoption
Beyond Consequences, Volume 2	Post	Parenting, Adoption
Boundaries	Cloud/Townsend	Personal Mental/Emotional Health
Boundaries with Kids	Cloud/Townsend	Parenting
Brain Based Parenting	Hughes, Baylin	Parenting, Adoption
Changes That Heal	Cloud	Personal Mental/Emotional Health
Dare to Love	Post	Parenting, Adoption
FASD:  Trying Differently Rather Than Harder		FASD
Forever Mom		Parenting, Adoption
Heads Up Helping	Boring, M.L.	ADHD, SPD
Help for Billy	Forbes	Adoption, Trauma, School
How to Really Parent Your Child	Campbell	Parenting
It's Better to Build Boys than Mend Men	Cathy	Parenting
Loved By Choice	Horner & Martindale	Adoption
Loving Our Kids on Purpose	Silk	Parenting
No-Drama Discipline	Siegel/Bryson	Parenting
One of Us Must Be Crazy:  And I'm Pretty Sure It's You	Downs	Marriage
Parenting from the Inside Out	Siegel/Hartz	Parenting, Adoption
Parenting the Hurt Child	Keck/Kupecky	Parenting, Adoption
Raising Sons & Loving It	Oliver & Oliver	Parenting
Say Good-bye to Stress	Leman	Personal Mental/Emotional Health
So Many Children…	Ward	Foster Care
The Angry Child	Murphy	Parenting
The Challenging Child	Greenspan	Parenting, SPD
The Connected Child	Purvis	Parenting, Adoption
The Intentional Family	Taylor	Parenting, Adoption
The Life Ready Woman	Feldhan/Lewis	Personal Mental/Emotional Health
The Long Way To Simple	Neafcy	FASD
The Mom You're Meant to Be	Fuller	Mom Care
The Out-of-Sync Child	Kranowitz	SPD
The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun	Kranowitz	SPD
The Way They Learn	Tobias	Education
Thriving Family	Can't remember	Parenting, Adoption
Wounded Children, Healing Home	Schooler/Keefer Smalley/Callihan	Parenting, Adoption
You Can't Make Me:  But I can Be Persuaded	Tobias	Parenting
DVDs:
Title	Time	Category
Beyond Consequences LIVE!	6 hours	Parenting, Adoption

Reading, reading, reading...

I go through periods of time when I read mass amounts of material...and then it goes awhile again.  With Josiah going to a co-op for an hour once a week, it's the perfect time for me & Micah to go to the local library...which is rather bad in a way because then I spend much more time reading books.  :-)

So, what have I been reading?

• "Parenting from the Inside Out" and "No-Drama Discipline".  Once I stumbled upon a few books that gave me insight into parenting a child from places of trauma, now I just keep reading more and more.  The results - I now know a lot of information.  Translating that into the actual parenting process is the challenge!
• From Fear to Love.  This is a small book that breaks down much of what I've learned into bite size, easy to understand pieces/concepts.  It's the perfect "introductory" book!
• The Grave Robber.  This book explores the miracles of Jesus as found in the book of John as well as miracles today.  I bought it because Kim of the blog (now fb page) "His Hands His Feet Today" is mentioned in it.  I enjoyed the book and thought the author provided a good balance of "God still does miracles" and "We don't get to decide when God does miracles".
• And less you think that I only read serious books...I've also been reading for fun.
• Working through my set of Agatha Christie books (as well as the ones the library has)
• Dee Henderson's books 4, 5, & 6 of the O'Malley Series
• Christmas at Barncastle Inn (and another similar 4 lame romance novels in one book)...sometimes it's nice to read "fluff"...provided that you don't think to hard about how this would actually play out in real life.  :-)
• Story of the World:  volume 4.  I found this in the homeschool section of our library.  I love how these volumes weave the history of the entire world together.  So instead of learning about a specific section of the world to the exclusion of the rest, you learn about what's happening all over the world in any given time period.

The other week I introduced my kids to the show "Master Chef Jr." (season 1) which we could watch on the internet.  Those kids blew me away with their cooking skills!  We all really enjoyed watching the show together.  (Although it provided me lots of opportunities to discuss the fact that in our family there are certain very common phrases that we don't choose to say.)

Earlier this month we got pumpkins and painted them.  Last week we had a lot of rain which washed most of the paint off...but it was fun while it lasted.  :-)

January Randomness

• We're slowly settling back into our normal routine after the holidays.
• Because of snow the kids only had one day of school last week.
• This week they have school every day but have a half day on Friday.
• Because of the extreme cold, Randy was off work (kind of...he did maintenance and catch up stuff part of the days) Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
• I am continuing to work at potty training Mark and Micah.  In my opinion, Micah is potty trained, he just doesn't choose to do so.  Mark...well, we're working on it.
• I finished reading the book "Unglued" by Lya TerKeurst.  I really enjoyed it!  Next on my list are "Parenting from the Inside Out" and "When Godly People do Ungodly Things".
• In the Lord of the Rings trilogy movie watching department--I'm ready to start #3 - The Return of the King.
• Josiah has started studying/practices for this year's Bible Quizzing.  They are studying the book of Exodus this year.  I love that his Sunday School teacher studies it with them in class as well...so they are learning it, not just memorizing the words.
• For my "what shall I do for devotions this year" question, I'm joining with another friend (or more) and reading through/studying the New Testament.
• Okay.  Time to go pack lunches.  Have a good day!

I see...

...that I haven't blogged in a while.  So, what's going on around here?

• the weather is fabulous!  Really more like September than August.
• 2 weeks until school starts (I am so not ready for this year to begin).
• I've been reading "Wounded Children, Healing Homes" (How traumatized children impact adoptive and foster families).  I highly recommend it.
• We are in the process of redoing our basement.  Right now we're in the "demolish" phase.  We've torn out the drop ceiling and carpet (other than Josiah's bedroom which still needs some things removed).  We're going to replace the ceiling and carpet, paint, add more lighting, and add a few closets for storage (I really don't like boxes just sitting around).  Very exciting.
• Saturday the kids spent the day at Grandma & Grandpa's with their cousins.  Randy & I walked around Lowes for quite some time discussing what we're going to do.
• I now get sidetracked looking at paint chips.  :-)
• Today I need to straighten up the house (of course) and bake something with zucchini.  Probably I'll do a load or 2 of laundry as well.
• The children have all been sleeping in...this is going to need to change for school...not looking forward to that...
• I have done very little freezing and/or canning for this year so far.  That needs to change too!
• At church on Sunday we heard a message on "How Great is the Love the Father has Lavished On Us...."   He talked about getting away from perfectionism (shoulds, could ofs, and oughts) and living a grace-infused life.  (www.gehmanmennonitechurch.org)  I very much enjoyed it.
• This week we have NO therapies!  It is wonderful!  I know how important they are to our sons...but I so enjoy when I have a break from them.

Sunday Night

We had a lovely weekend!  As I mentioned, Friday evening we spent with Randy's brothers & families.  Saturday we did assorted household things and cooking things, then went to the Woodcrest Pool and over to a friend's house for supper.  Today we went to church where we also ate lunch.  Randy left on the truck.  We watched "Eight Below" again (love it!...although it scares one of mine even after all these times...).  Played outside (mommy sat in the shade and watched and read).

Speaking of reading, I've been reading Heather Forbes' books and getting a new perspective on parenting...particularly challenging children.  But I'm really enjoying the books and that perspective despite knowing that some (particularly in Christian circles) do not agree.  But that's okay.  Kids are different...what works for some does not necessarily work for others.  Anyway...I've been using her techniques a bit more in the past month and have to say that I've seen improvement (tiny glimmers...not perfection)  :-)  ...we'll see...

As you may remember, I'm focusing on different books of the Bible each month.  May & June I focused on Exodus.  This month I'm focusing on 1 and 2 Peter.  I'm also reading through a book study called "A Place I Didn't Belong:  Hope for Adoptive Moms" by Paula Freeman.

This week the girls are going to camp.  Autumn is going to overnight camp; Janae to Day Camp.  I had a bunch of appointments but I'm going to reschedule 2 of them so that the week is not quite as full.  I think that one morning I'm going to take Josiah & Zach out for an hour or two for time with mom...we'll see how that pans out.

We had a nice shower (thunder storm) tonight which helped cool things off a bit.  Supposed to be pretty hot this week...

Books

It's no secret.  I love to read.  Really.  Over the weekend away with the ladies we stopped at an Ollie's.  What a wonderful selection of cheap books....quite hard to keep myself reined in!

I got:

• "You Matter More Than You Think" by Leslie Parrott
• "Making Children Mind without Losing Yours" by Dr. Kevin Leman
• "Boundaries for Kids" by Townsend & Cloud (an all time favorite of mine that I constantly loan so decided to get a second copy)
• "Integrity" by Dr. Henry Cloud (a favorite author, so even though it was more about integrity in the business world, I was still interested.)
• "I am hutterite" by Mary Ann (can't remember last name).
• Corduroy's Christmas (I'm keeping this one for next Christmas)
• Some seek-and-find type kids books
• a few new kids DVDs

Today it dawned on me that I had never checked the "free" selection of Kindle books for books by L.M. Montgomery.  I found quite a few...makes my day!  :-)

So I'm not going to be spending time on here tonight...I'm off to read!  :-)

Current Reading....

I checked this book out of the church library on Sunday and have been slowly reading it.  I recommend it...

Tuesday

I've been trying to get back into my "getting up before everyone else" routine...and now I'm remembering why I haven't blogged nearly as much this year.  Love having this extra 45 minutes alone before everyone starts emerging!

Yesterday I had a great morning with my sister-in-law as we shopped and talked and ate.  Lovely break!  And my shopping is done...I think.

Today Mark goes for his (private--as opposed to IU13) physical therapy evaluation.  Hopefully he cooperates.  He tends to be rather clingy.  Yesterday he bit through the edge of his tongue.  Hopefully it is better today as it seemed to really bother him last night.  I think tongues heal quickly?!

I'm trying a new coffee creamer (I know it's healthier with NO creamer)....anyway...Salted Caramel Mocha.  Different, but I like it.

I also need to do lots of laundry today since I didn't get much done yesterday.

One of my favorite Christmas books is When Christmas Came, by Barbara Rainey.  Barbara Rainey talks about Christmas by taking the words of John 3:16 and discussing them line by line.  She illustrates the book with beautiful water colors.  Lovely!

Catch-Up

So, other than the post I posted a minute ago or so, I haven't posted for a week.  Random tidbits from the last week include:

• It was very, very hot (and humid) last week.  Thankfully it's better this week.  Still hot, but more bearable.
• Friday started a string of 14 appointments in 14 days (some days more than one, some days none).
• So far we've gone to the dentist (2 kids), had a play date with a friend moving south, had therapy (Zach) and Speech therapy (Mark), gone for a broncoscopy (Randy), had a play date with birth siblings.
• Next on the list is the dentist again (different kids) and a follow-up trip to the ENT for Micah.
• Busy, but all worthwhile things...that just happened to fall on a pile.
• I read "4:50 from Paddington" by Agatha Christie and nearly finished Zach's afghan in a waiting room.
• I finished it that night after supper (only took roughly 4 years).
• I'm excited to go buy yarn for Mark's afghan.
• As long as the nights get below 70 degrees, our house really does cool down nicely.  And I love open windows and door...afterall, it's summer!
• I'm currently reading (during speech therapy and in waiting rooms) the book "What your childhood memories say about you" by Dr. Kevin Leman.  Very Fascinating!
• I'm thirsty for a McD's Mocha Frappe.  BK's wasn't quite good enough, although satisfactory and with a much shorter drive-thru line!  ;-)  Could drink a lovely cola slushie as well.  (Can you tell it's warm here?!)
• Sunday I finally made it back to church after being gone since the first week in June.  Lovely to be back!
• Boys sound like they are not interested in sleeping....but I'm sure eventually they'll get there.  Micah's been sleeping much better...guess it's the noise of multiple fans.  Or else he's just so worn out from playing outside most of the day.

Okay, enough of this mindless nonsense....  :-)