S'more Spohrs: 2011

This and that...

A little catch up post of all that has happened in the past 2 months...
Baby boy, Levi came home after 5 days in the NICU. We came home on Monday evening, returned the next morning to find out he was discharged! He had lost a bit of weight at the hospital and continued to lose after we got home, down to 6.6 before climbing. That was a bit scary but God is faithful. We may not be Jewish but we managed to adhere to the 8th day procedure. ;)
He was in newborn diapers for a few weeks...none of the other kids even used them. At 13 weeks old he is still in size 1 disposables although we rarely use those. We may manage to move up to 2s soon since I don't have more 1s left. We are mostly using cloth diapers. My wonderful sis-in-law let me use all her cloth diapers. Such a blessing since the diapers are rather expensive in the beginning. Still trying to get the laundry part figured out but I'm getting there.
On November 19, John's paternal grandmother, Florence Spohr, went Home to be with Jesus. We spent Thanksgiving with his family then celebrated her life the next day. What a blessing to visit with family, just painful under the circumstances. On the way home, Levi decided to smile, at daddy and nana... and lick his chops at me :). Seven weeks old and I got my smile the next morning (I teared up).
We spent the next few weeks watching Levi grow and "wake up" with smiles and coos.
Levi was also honored to play Jesus at our church for a "living nativity" :) So much fun to see all the kids in awe that there was a real baby in the manger. He was 11 weeks old and 10# 10 oz. Still short for his age but look at his mom :)
The next day we got a new family member... Bam (formerly known as Bama, bleck, couldn't keep that one). He is a 10 month old 1/2 Weimeraner and 1/2 mutt with lab and maybe red bone coon hound. He was with a great family that had him well trained so we are VERY blessed. So now are you ready for pics? Here you go...

This is one month old...

And he shall be called... Part 2

So the past few weeks have been a huge blur for me. Let me try to back track and fill in the gaps as best I can. This is Levi James Spohr's birth story. Warning: This post will contain my birth experience, so if you ain't down with hearing the details, and I mean details, you may want to pass on reading this post.
First, the havoc Levi has rendered on this old body... I had gestational diabetes, placenta attached pretty much on my scar tissue from the three previous Cesareans, a huge amount of amniotic fluid, very frequent contractions and was anemic. As far as the diabetes goes, I controlled it well with changing my eating habits, so Levi did not get huge. All of these thing just added to the "advanced maternal age" statistics. We were merriely moving along and waiting for the scheduled arrival of Oct 12. I hurt and waddled, drove the little assistance carts at the grocery store so as to not go into labor during a shopping trip. I had peace about having a cesarean again, so the days flew by...
Soon we were one week away from Oct 12 and the already scheduled surgery. I had my usual ultrasound and ob appointment (I had those every week for months). Since we were one week out, Dr Amy gives me the lists of risks for the next week and for surgery since I had SO much fluid, I had a strong chance of having my water break early. Since my placenta was so low, I had a strong chance of having a prolapsed cord if I did have my water break. Since I had dialated in the past week, this risk was growing by the minute. During surgery, I had a chance of the placenta being attached into the scar tissue and causing major issues, like hysterectomy and major bleeding (boy that helped the fear factor go up about 3000%). I was anemic that made my risks for blood products increase during surgery. Add 4th cesearean and you have a dr that is not happy with the "ifs" and she suggests an earlier delivery. She had rather do surgery with a controlled environment than having a problem over the weekend and being in an emergency situation, so John and I decided to go ahead with an earlier date. Oh and btw, since you have gestational diabetes, your baby may have some breathing issues when he's born.
Fast forward 36 hours and we are having a baby... I have a HUGE, irrational fear of cesareans, I know I have had 3 others but I still freak out when I think about having someone cut, tug, and pull a baby out of me while I am awake. I am very blessed to have a dr who knows this about me and is patient and helpful with making sure I am ... as happy as medicine will allow ... during surgery. I also have a cousin that works in labor and delivery, she was able to make sure she was in the OR with me. That really helped with the mood of the morning. The anesthesiologist was great as well and did his job to keep me happy.
My ~~husband~~, hero was let into the OR just as things were getting started. He was able to let me listen to my Ipod during the surgery and put one of the bud in my ear so I could hopefully have a distraction... not really but I tried. I was having a hard time breathing while laying on the table but that got better as soon as all that fluid was allowed to travel elsewhere. John was able to stand up and watch a large part of what was going on. That was neat for him since usually he is focused on me. He got to see Levi being removed from his warm cozy hot tub and I got to hear him not.really.cry the first time or two he tried. I didn't think much of it as one of my children wouldn't cry at first. So they get him ready, move him from belly to bed to scale to bed to dad's arms to my face, take picture, then he is gone along with John, in milliseconds. I on the other hand have to endure the next 45 minutes of the surgery alone... fun. I then had about an hour in recovery, with my great cousin "Nurse Kayse" watching carefully. :) As the recovery period ended and I was being wheeled to my room, Kayse mentioned that my little guy was in the NICU.
What? .... Tears ... I was not prepared for this. I was prepared for my laundry list of issues, but not his one "maybe" issue.
As I arrive at the room John is returning from yet another trip to the NICU to see our hours old son. He had just gotten in to see him and had pictures... Thank you Lord for digital cameras. The rotten part of it all was up until I got to my room, John was frantically trying to get to see Levi. They were having a hard time getting the vent in, so they kept delaying his access to the NICU and Levi. John was not happy. So now I find out that he is on a ventilator and is having breathing issues. John spends much of the next several hours walking back and forth from NICU to my room just to see our sweet boy and bring his momma pics back. While this was a trying time, I am so thankful to the Lord... Levi being in the NICU, probably kept me saner than any of my other maternity stays in the hospital. I was able to rest, recover and at around 8pm that night I was able to hold my sweet boy... and they had removed the vent by then. Again, thank you Lord for my not having to see him with the tube in (in real life). When I did get to hold him, he was alert and had his eyes open. He then looked at me like he knew me, like he had been missing me, like he knew my voice and was interested in hearing it. That was amazing. I know they can hear while in the womb and I know they recognize our voice but the fact that I had been away from him for 12 hours and then his reaction was such an amazing thing. Thank you again Lord.
The next several days were one long week.... I felt like we were there forever. While we could go and look at our son most anytime we wanted too, we were only able to hold him at certain times of the day... 12, 4, and 8 round the clock. Most nights I skipped the late night and early morning times just to sleep. I pumped and got the milk supply going while the baby was on IV. Within 2 days, I was able to start feeding him straight from the factory, but that was limited so that we could make sure he was getting the calories he needed. The outlook for his homecoming looked like it was going to be the same day as me, until the night before the last night... the step down NICU area was cold where he was and he would not hold his temp up... We were heartbroken since we could tell it was cold right there and it really wasn't "his" fault. The nurses/doctors should have had it warmer in there! Gggrrrr. Anyway, they fixed the temp and after mom and dad had to sleep at home alone one night, he was ready to come home the next day. Whew.

On hold...

So, after my post about my family and this new blessing growing in me, my world was put on hold. You see a friend's 19 year old son went missing. It was all I thought about for 2 solid weeks and then some.
The details came in pieces to me and at each turn I hurt. I never asked my friend the "what happened" question, I knew it didn't really matter, what she needed was me on my knees. As I thought about the question, my flesh really wanted to ask for details. Out of curiosity, out of my mystery solving skills acquired from the plethora of tv shows on the matter, or out of compassion... I did not know the source truly so I chose to just help the best I could, on my knees and on FB.
I am realistic about this blog, I know I only have friends and family that read it so you all knew about the situation already. I just realized that I have a couple hundred "friends" that may be able to help so I posted his pic at least once a day on fb. Usually, many times a day and I prayed...
Well the nightmare of unknowns is almost over, the young man's body was found, 18 days after he was last seen. He was only a few miles from his last known location. How exactly he died is being investigated.
Oh my heart broke and the tears flowed. I hurt for the loss of a young man I had known for years. I hurt his mother, my friend, the anguish of identifying her son's body; the pain of his last hours on earth trying to get to her; the pain only she will feel. I hurt for his grandmother, another friend of mine, that buried her husband a year ago, and has had to endure this 18 days of misery. I hurt for his brothers and sister, who have unknown pain they will have to walk through. I hurt for this family as I know so many of them, aunt, cousins, his dad. I hurt and I cry and I mourn and I pray some more.

And he shall be called...

Ok, so we don't have a full name yet, but we have been using this name for a couple of weeks now.

Since this is the first real post about Spohr clone #4, let me tell you about him and what he is putting his momma through.
First he is the most active Spohr as far as I can tell. (Now the fact that I have no memory of anything past 24 hours ago makes no difference) He has been causing me to have the hair stand up on the back of my neck for weeks now, just from his punches and kicks! As far as the ultrasounds go he is just fine, now we do not do any kind of screening or testing for issues, so we will leave that to God to reveal at delivery, if anything is there. He has me laughing and "ouching" all the time, just from watching and feeling him move so much. The kids love it too. It makes them laugh. Elias and Joy will talk to him sometimes but Reign feels silly I think, so she has not. They have all felt him kick and move so they are getting excited as well.

Now we have a miniature house with soon to be 6 people in it. That has made me stressed and nesting has taken a whole new meaning. Really, where am I going to put another body in here? God has that under control, I know, but in our human nature we try to figure all this out right? We think adding on to our house is the right thing but God is gonna have to provide that in a major way! He has already moved a huge mountain but I will tell you about that in a minute. So back to nesting, I have rearranged and moved crazy things around here. I brought in the huge farm table that for the past 5 years we have lived here, I thought would be way to huge for my kitchen. Well it is huge in there, but it works and we love it. Also, dear friends of ours gave us an oak entertainment center, again huge, but it also works in our living room... who knew? Then I started in on the boy's room and making a way to change diapers in there... Started being the key word there. His room is so tiny, I am not sure anything more than a twin bed will fit in there, much less 2 young boys (Father provide). I moved Elias' clothes from the changing table (that is currently a tv stand and dresser) to a dresser in the closet, hey I told you it was a tiny room. Baby boy's clothes are in the girls' room in the armoire as his closet. Baby boys' everyday stuff like onesies and gowns and "I will get this dirty in a minute" stuff is all in the changing table. We are figuring the baby will be in our room for several months so the room arangement is not being worked out right now (praying for that addition).
But, oh, I must tell you how Father has come through big time for us... As soon as we found out we were about to have clone #4, we started praying about a new vehicle. We have a Blazer that fits 5 compactly. I have worried over this for years now but God has protected our family in our sardine can and he will continue. Anyway, we knew we would have to have something bigger or have to take 2 cars to church and other places. John starts telling his friends at work that he is looking for a van or something to transport our growing family. John finds out he ha a coworker that had a van sitting in her driveway that wasn't working, they have since replaced this vehicle isn their family, so it is just sitting there, housing wasps. John goes to look at it and they make a barter arrangement, he does some electrical for her and she lets him have the broken down van. Sweet, if it were running, but really it was a God thing. The price on a van of that year in running condition would be $3 -4 thousand and we just got one for free?!? Ok, so it wasn't running but it was free so to speak. So John hauls it home, gives it some tlc and as of today it is running!!!! Seriously we have not put much money into it and we will have a van for our family by the time clone #4 arrives!!!! We still have to get tires, probably the most expensive one time cost so far, but hey I can't complain. Is God good or what? He has so provided! When I found out about number 4, I gave it all to God and decided that He had a lot of work to do because to there was so many obstacles in the way. He is moving them. I can't wait to see what else he is going to do. He has an addition to build :)

While you may have enjoyed my little bit of info about my big God and the things He is doing, you really want to know the baby's name don't you? Hehe, that will have to wait because this is to be continued... I still have to tell you about the havoc this boy is making on his ole momma... and maybe have a middle name by then, maybe! Come back soon!

An update on Victoria

Oh that sweet doll... Here is an update from Carrington's Courage Blog:

Latest on Victoria

I had a chance to speak with Catherine this evening and she sure sounded exhausted. She was overjoyed at the meals, snacks, items, and volunteers that have come forward to help her and her family. Little Victoria is sitting with Tiffany tonight getting lots of lovins as Mommy went home to try and get some rest.
As of yesterday the doctors still were not addressing Catherine's concerns about refeeding so we was most adamant about certain things getting done. Her and I shared a lot of information, not that I am a doctor but having just gone through this with a most wonderful medical staff, and we talked about how our little ones coming home from these places are not like their peers here in the U.S.A. and need special consideration. Today the doctors agreed to put in a NG tube this evening to help Victoria with the weight loss she is experiencing. The speech gal is more focused on getting Victoria to drink with a cup, try different textured foods, etc. so Catherine will see if she can get someone else to help her. Victoria's MRI showed that her brain had shrunk do to malnutrition. Carrington also had the same results. This is something that can totally be prevented and should be the very reason we all storm Heaven with our prayers for these people to change their ways of treating special needs children. Also, Victoria is sporting some new hand braces in attempt to help her hands stretch out a bit, The antiobiotics for her double ear infection were started yesterday so Catherine hopes to see some improvement real soon.
Right now Catherine has asked me to thank each and everyone of you who have offered your prayers, meals, child care, donations and just love to sweet little Victoria and the rest of the family. She still says she cannot believe that they are receiving such kindness. Does anyone in the area have a carrier maybe called an ERGO? that she would be able to carry Francesca in? She is sensing that Francsca is struggling to bond so she is hoping this may help. It does need to have padding in it. She would be happy to borrow it if that would be okay.
Tomorrow Catherine is going to try and send some pictures so you all can see what a sweet angel you all are helping and praying for.

Have you seen the Chip in???

WOW, with almost a month before it ends 89% of what a few blogger friends wanted to do for this family is in the bank! I just gush thinking about the love of Christ floating through cyberville to help a family they may not even know personally... (like me). Thank you friends who have helped. Your reward is in heaven.

A celebration....

I am thrilled to say I have followed along as some of these little ones were united with their families.... SO.Very.Amazing! May you have many more in the next 5 years Reece's Rainbow!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Prayers needed...

Oh please friends, please pray for this little girl. Her name is Victoria and she came home from an Eastern Europe orphanage and upon landing she went straight to the Children's Hospital in Atlanta. She suffers from arthrogryposis but her main problems right now is she is malnurished and dehydrated.

This has happened before to another little sweetheart coming home... Carrington. She was able to get the food and hydration she needed and is happy at home with her family. Please pray that Victoria will get what she needs. Carrington's Courage is trying to get people to help this family in the Atlanta area. She is at the hospital with all her children to make sure Victoria get the help she needs. She could use some baby sitting and meals if you or someone you know are in the Atlanta area. Details are on that blog.

Many people are asking for your prayers, we know that prayer is powerful and this sweet girl needs yours.

Also, you can help them with this chip in:

But mostly just pray for this precious girl...

I have been thinking about this little guy that I am advocating for here on this ole bloggy.... Bennett. Let me tell you a story about why I want to help him...
I have been dreaming of adopting an orphan for my whole life, I think. Like some girls dream of having children, I dreamed of adopting children. I always wanted children, just not the regular way ;) Well life happened and God, in his mercy and amazing plan decided different. I am mother to 3.5 amazing kids, .5 is the one in the oven often kicking me while I blog. I have had them all the regular way...biologically. As a matter of fact, in August of 2010, I found RR through a friend of a friend that had a yard/bake sale to bring a precious daughter home. I just knew God was about to send us on a road toward adoption... Um, no... God had a different plan and I ended up pregnant. Ok, God, your will, not mine. But it still did not change that I loved these sweet children and soon I was following a handful of blogs. One sweet girl that caught my eye early on was "Lesia", oh in her referral picture she had these cute "pumpkin eyes" like my oldest and I was drawn to her, I found out she had a family and I started following that blog to see her get a family. That led to another blog and another.
Now, move forward to a few weeks ago.This is where my advocacy comes in... I saw on a blog that a couple was in Eastern Europe going through the process to get their daughter. They went to her orphanage and found out she had a best friend, an orphan boy and they had been together most of their life. They decided to see what they could do about adopting him as well. Read their blog here for all the amazing details. They start to talk about bringing him home as well and pray. They knew it would cost more for all the things they needed to do to get him home, tickets, documents, court fees, just stuff that costs money. Anyway, in their journey to bring him home, they looked at his grant fund and in it was just the amount of money they would need to cover all the extra costs. Did you read that? All the money that they would need to cover his costs was in his account at Reece's Rainbow. There, waiting for him to find a family, waiting for his family to use, waiting for this miracle. Now a precious little boy gets to go home to a family with his friend. He gets to stay with his best friend and continue to live as brother and sister... forever. A forever family.
So that is why I have taken on the challenge to be Bennett's warrior. Because someone may feel their heart called to him, they may see his need for a family, and there in his account at RR may be just what they need to help bring him home, to a family.

Now here it is again... my big button! Click it and donate to Bennett's fund... A little gift for his mom and dad... I am praying for them too, that they will find him soon. Whoever they are, where ever they are. God knows and I am praying!

Grab This!

Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

I got a button!

Grab This!

Be sure to right click on the box below and then select all.

See my pretty button? I am a Warrior and I got the button to prove it! Hehe... But more than anything... Help me help him... Isn't he the cutest?

I Am A Warrior...

For this sweet little boy on the Reece's Rainbow site.

As you can probably tell, he is blessed with an additional chromosome. You may know it as Down Syndrome. I wish I had more information about him and his current medical condition but I do not.

He is in an orphanage, with many other children. They are often in baby houses and the caregivers spend much time with them. They are able to love them, hold them, let them play. The problem is after about the age of 5yo many are sent to institutions. These places are not known for their loving and nurturing. As a matter of fact, special needs children are often given minimal contact with anyone. They are changed at regimented times. If they are not able to walk, they are often stuck in a crib all day long. Many are able to get around but require such supervision that they are still kept in their cribs for their own safety. They are starved for attention, food is rationed, and they start with self stimulation... like head banging, wringing of hands, biting themselves, anything to feel alive, to feel some kind of touch. All of this just hurts me so. Which is why I want to advocate for this young fellow.

This is a child that needs a mom and dad. As his warrior, I am committed to raise money for his future family. We have considered adoption and the costs are a great weight. I hope to help raise money so that when his parents see him on Reece's Rainbow, they will commit to him without worry or fear of having to come up with all the $ to bring him home. I just want to add a few dollars to his fund to make it all easier. Would you please pray about joining with me?

It's not about me...

I know I haven't blogged about me or my family. I really don't feel worthy. I have an amazing husband, I love him more each and every minute. I have 3 beautiful, healthy, happy children and one little wiggly in my womb. I have no needs, at least not really. I just don't feel like I am that important right now...
But this is what I think is important...
God's Word... James 1:27 Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.
John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Orphans are important to God and they are important to me. My heart aches for those without a family. Can you look at your children and think it is ok for them to grow up in daycare 24/7? Where the caregivers are paid and although they may love and enjoy your children, they still go home and someone else cares for your child. A place where cribs are lined up all over a room and those with special needs like a heart defect are lying beside a special needs child that is lacking stimulation so she bangs her head on her crib all night. Imagine that after the age of 5 your child is no longer eligible to be with a family and must live in those conditions until they are 14 and then they are sent to live as adults on the streets with no instruction on how to survive or work. Worse yet, your child is put into a institution where they are fed a ration of food, it may be enough to survive, it may not. In the case of it may not...you child will die of starvation, albeit very slowly. Could you just sit back and hope someone else helps your child, God's child? Can you? I cannot. I read blogs every day about children that are being redeemed, bought for a price to have freedom and a family. (Sound familiar?) They have someone coming for them, not because they are worthy or able to get to them, but because their rescuers want to give them hope and a future. Adoption is so Biblical that I really cannot see where anyone could say no, but that is me. I am so very glad that Jesus didn't say no, or decide I wasn't worth the possible trials.
I have been drawn to a special site since August of last year. It's called Reece's Rainbow. It is a site full of special needs children needing a family. Most are in countries that do not value life the way Americans act like they do. These children are abandoned because of their disability. Their society thinks different means unable, unworthy of life, not worth the time. They have been around for 5 years and have helped more than 500 Down Syndrome and other special needs children find a family. Amazing! 500+ people are no longer alone in this world. 500+ children are no longer fatherless. Oh praise Jesus for that!

I have a list of blogs I keep up with, it must be a cyber mile long, but I have been praying for so many children to be ransomed and redeemed by families across the country. Right now I have a few that are really on my heart...The Burger Family at It's a Wonderful Life ... They are about to leave to rescue Brian a sweet DS boy in Eastern Europe. They are needing about $3000 for the final part of their operation. I can't give much but even what I can give, I know it helps! How about a little pitch in of $10,$25, $50, even just a mere $5 would help.

Another thing I have learned through my heart yearning to adopt is that there are MANY children that never make it home to their families. Can you imagine? They are chosen, being prepared for.... then the unthinkable message comes that they have lost their battle with whatever their issue was. Many children have heart defects that need surgery ASAP and they still have to wait on their mommy and daddy to get them, bring them to this country and get them healthy enough to have surgery... the one that could save their life. How utterly heart breaking for a child to die an orphan with no mommy or daddy to be beside them. Well there is a place in China, it is a special orphanage, that take those fragile children needing surgery and provide it. It's called New Day Foster Home. They take donations and build the funds for these precious children to have their much needed surgeries. A group of bloggers and adoption advocates have decided to have a little fund raiser all for the New Day foster home. Won't you chip in here as well? Did I mention that all donations up to $5000 will be matched? It will be like you are giving double!

More important that any money is prayer. I know these families and children need the financial help but more than that, they need prayer warriors. Won't you just pray for Brian's family to get him soon, that they will have all the funds needed, and that they will find a favorable condition in their son's country. Pray that the New Day Foster Home would be flooded with the needed funds for these children to get their life saving surgeries before time runs out.

Our Eyes Opened: GOD OF MIRACLES

Praise Jesus!!! Kirill will come home to his family!!! Thank you Father for your blessings!!! We know you love the orphaned and love to see them with a family!! Thank you to all that prayed with me.
Our Eyes Opened: GOD OF MIRACLES

Our Eyes Opened: Going with God

Remember Kirill? The precious boy denied a family JUST because he has Down Syndrome? Well, his mom and dad are going before the supreme court in his country to ask to bring him home. Join me in prayer for them at 6:10AM Central time, tomorrow!
This is Kirill's mom's latest post...
Our Eyes Opened: Going with God

Planning, preparing, purchasing!

It is that time of year... Planning, preparing, purchasing!
Every year I start with the same thing, a list of "likes". All the curricula that I am interested in. I hem and haw until I really have no direction and I end up with 10 different ideas and none really work together.
This year will be different! I have made decisions, when translated it means I have a PLAN! Plans are good and since I wrote down my plan, I will stick to it! I thought through this year: what worked, what we struggled with, what the future holds (a new baby) and I have simplified!
So are you ready? I will go by subject because in my simplicity this year, that will be how we roll!

Math:
DD in 4th grade will be using Teaching Textbooks again, This is her "thang" she has a math friendly mind and I hope that TT will work again. I am considering fast tracking her through TT4 and moving into TT5 asap. As I went through reviews, I have seen that it may be a little behind. That is the last place I want her to be in math, I want to encourage this natural bent.
DD2 in 2nd grade will be using Rod and Staff Math 2. She struggles in math, seriously struggles. We have tried Math U See and it just doesn't stick. So instead of mastering a skill we will be spiraling with R&S Math. She seems to do better with hitting on something over and over vs. hammering same thing over and over. She can do a worksheet and barely notice that the same problem is written 4 times on the page. I will say we are doing speed drills "this summer" and that is helping!
Language Arts:
I am very excited about this one. It will be a complete LA program and did I say I am excited? Drum roll please.... We are using Character Quality Language Arts. We will be using the 2nd-3rd grade level. The program has work for the 2nd grader and then an extended lesson for the 3rd grader, I am using it anyway because I am not happy with my past year's grammar curriculum (or lack there of) and it will be simpler~~~ remember I have simplified. It also is based around a Biblical character trait. I really need this right now. My children are missing the heart behind the "rules" and we need to think about the why we act this way, and not just to stay out of trouble.
Handwriting:
Both will have A Reason For Handwriting, just different levels. DD1 will be on level E and DD2 will be on level C. My reasons for cursive are simple, told I was going simple, I want them to have legible handwriting in the future and I want them to be able to READ the handwriting of their parents and grandparents. The art of handwriting is fleeting, but it is still necessary in my book.
Science:
God's Design for Life. Both girls will be doing the same curriculum here. Hey, it is all about simple~
History:
Mystery of History Volume 1. If you know me or read this here bloggy thing, you know I have been "using" this each year and never really get into it. Well this year I am planning and I found this post about her planning and I am going to follow her lead, dig out the book and prepare, like now :)
Latin:
Prima Latina. We started this last year, loved the prayers and lost sight of the vocabulary so we are off to start again and I am going to prepare!
Hebrew:
This is their "out of house" curriculum. My mom is teaching this and I am so very thankful! It gets them out of the house a few days/hours a week, they are still learning and their little minds soak it up! If we ever minister in Israel, my children will be my interpreters. How cool would that be?

btw, These links are to help you see what I am using, not to promote a certain vendor. I make nothing from this post :)

I awoke today to find out that 128+ people have perished from the tornados that ripped through my state. Please pray for these communities. We are also without power and may be for days. The main lines from the nuke plant need repair and no utilities can receive from it...our main, if not only power source in north alabama.

Blitz for Kirill, and Archie

This is a blitz to get Kirill's family the funds needed to fight for him and bring him home. Before I could help out, the goal was met! Go God! So I chipped in to Archie's goal and wow, what an amazing community of people that love the orphaned as much as I do... They band together to do God's work. I am blessed to be able to help even a little ad I hope you will find this a worthy cause to chip in your $10. Seriously, we drop $10 just from last minutes in the checkout line. Can you not buy that fast food meal, not buy that new shirt, not buy that new pair of shoes, can you sacrifice some new thing today in exchange for bringing a child across the ocean home to their parents? What if it was YOUR child scared and alone in another country... wouldn't you do anything you could to get them home?

The following is from http://thebalsisfamily.blogspot.com/2011/04/7-day-blitz-for-kirill.html

On March 17, 2011, the Davis family sat in a Russian courtroom and listened as the judge rejected their plea to adopt Kirill, an orphan with Down syndrome. "The judge said, “Your application to adopt is rejected.” The basis given was that Kirill was “not socially adaptable” due to his “medical condition” and he was better off in an institution than in a home with a family. As the judge read her ruling, she stated several times that we were a good family, that we met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve our adoption because Kirill has Down syndrome. She told us that we could adopt another child, because legally our application had no problems according to Russian adoption law. She said she would approve our adoption for a “typical” child, but not this child. Why? The only reason? Because he has Down syndrome."

Being an adoptive mother to a Russian orphan with Down syndrome, I could expand on the million-and-one reasons Tesney and Greg's rejected application to adopt has deeply affected me. But that is not what is important.

What is important is that they are appealing the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court of Moscow and they need our help.

The Davis family has been through so much already... and now they have been slammed with astronomical unforeseen financial hurdles in bringing Kirill home. In order to just begin the process of filing their appeal, they had to pay $2,500. They have been told that they should plan to attend the Supreme Court hearing, which is a trip to Russia they never planned to have to make... add $3,000 - $4,000. If the Supreme Court overturns the ruling, they will have to return home and wait for a date to travel to Kirill's region to reappear before the original judge in their case... add $4,000 - $5,000. Assuming everything goes as planned, they will remain in country for the 10 day waiting period and finalization of their adoption... add $3,000 - $3,500.

Update 4/8/11: You guys have met our goal for Kirill in just four days ... eek! The 7 day blitz for Kirill is transitioning into the 4 day blitz for Archie ... click here to read more on the who/why/when/where. Rock it, you guys!

So how can you help? A few adoptive mommy bloggers have put their heads together to create a 7 day blitz for Kirill. (and now Archie)... check it out here.

:::

A special first...

Meet the Hooks, with their newest daughter Evan... The first.child.with Down Syndrome to be adopted from her country. The little boy that went ahead of her and was denied, Kirill, paved the way for their arguments, their tears and ultimately the prayers that went before this day. Praise Him!!! Sweet Evan will be coming home to the US soon...

Now we continue to pray for Baby J and for the Supreme Court decision for Kirill!

All Glory to Him and Him only for mighty is He, unending is His faithfulness and GREAT things he has done!

If at 2am you are awakened...

know that there is a court hearing in an Eastern European country involving a little Down Syndrome girl and her family.
All before the same judge that thought so little of a Down Syndrome child, she denied Kirill his family. So if you are awake and even before you sleep tonight, pray for these children to have families. Pray for a change in the heart of this judge. Pray that this mountain would fall into the sea. Pray, because for these families, that is their child. Pray as if it were your child unable to come home with you, unable to be with his mommy and daddy because one person saw them as "not socially adaptable" due to his "medical condition". Pray because God can do the impossible!

If you don't know Kirill's story click here.

Praising Jesus for all that I know he will do here. Waiting for the Sonshine,

Shattered Dreams

that is how I feel these days... I had HUGE hopes of taking an orphan into our home and loving them as our own...crash. I was reclaiming my temple and was fighting to reshape it to a more glorious place for Jesus... fail. I thought that the ability to pay off some bills with tax money would signal a year without struggle... crash. I thought that not having a "little" in the house was a calling to another place and mission work... splat. Do you hear those shattered dreams? Oh you bet I did!

I have mourned the child I will not get to rescue from a painful life of not being truly loved. I have mourned the adventure of seeing God move among a group I do not know. I have mourned the calm, easier year we were to have. I have mourned the time at the Y.

"What is it that has shattered your dreams?" you ask? Pregnancy. I know it's a child and once it is here, I will not know what life is like now. But it has been a 10 ton boulder in my world. I am not over the mourning yet, I do not want to have the "clap, clap, it's a baby, let's dream" party yet.

I feel like a deflated balloon everyday around 5pm. I have to add strep to the mix now and realize that part of my nausea is that too but right now I just feel bad. Sick and Ick... I can't function in my own home. I can't wash dishes because my sink smells like day old dishes (or three days by now). I can't enjoy the sun because there is mud all over my children and it stinks. I can't hang out in the house and feel ok because the dog stinks, the laundry stinks (yes clean and dirty), the cat stinks from being outside... I can't puke and feel better because the bathroom is dirty and stinky and the thought of cleaning it makes me more nauseous. I feel like screaming at God and saying IT ALL STINKS!

Read carefully... I am not upset by the fact that I am pregnant, I am upset by the fact that it changes everything. Can you see it? I will rejoice in the gift in my womb soon, but right now I am in an icky, pity party. I feel terrible and really want to get over this stage asap!

Just pray for me, send me hints for morning sickness, and love me. I am not ready to dream again just yet...

Hi Blog

Hi blog, how are you?
I know I haven't been around lately... I really want to talk to you but... well see I have this great desire to do something, something I know God has a heart for but He has not said I could pursue it right now.
It is so hard to know that it is something God would want, He just doesn't want it for me and my family right now.
He has done a lot during the MONTHS I have been dreaming. He has called me closer to Himself. He has given me power to get healthier. He has called me out on some of my attitudes. He has given me more energy. He has also not quenched this dream I have, in fact I think He has strengthened it, while at the same time saying wait.
See sometimes you have ideas when you are a child... like the huge wedding you would have, or the nice house you would live in, or the kind of city you would settle down in. Well, those were not my dreams, mine were different.
Maybe soon He will let us move forward with my great desire, but until then, I dream, I pray, and I wait...On Him.

Davids' Update

Here is a link to the update on Davids. There is a family working on adopting Davids and a way to donate to help with the financial burden of a quick adoption. Continue to pray that the family gets all necessary paperwork in time. In this culture, at age 16 you are an adult and cannot be cared for by the state. Children in orphanages often are not taught how to live on their own, they are just sent away when they age out. How truly sad. Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers for this young man, may he come to know the miracles and mercies of the Father through all this. All glory and praises go to the Father for he does not desire that children be without families.

Davids' Story: URGENT NEED!!!

I Will Be A Carrier: Davids' Story: URGENT NEED!!!
Please Take a minute and read this boy's story... He is in dire need of help. He wants a family, a mom and dad before he becomes homeless, helpless. Maybe you will be the one, maybe.

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