More victories are happening here, and I'm quite pleased to share.
Today Hannah realized that there was no need to get hysterical if we were working with her. "If it doesn't hurt, you don't need to cry. Mommy is helping you. Does this hurt?" (Stretching her leg.) "No." "Good, no tears." And she didn't cry at all. The whole day. With any excercise we did. We just talked about numbers, letters, named her body parts, and doing some signing. It was our most pleasant day together in a while. I give God all the credit. He's really helped us all.

The past 2 or 3 days I'd left her to play on the trampoline when no one else was outside. She started standing up and walking a few steps at a time before falling. Remember how she is now bending her legs (thanks to having her do squats)? She actually figured out how to bend her legs and jump today! She was so pleased with her discovery that she had to show everyone. We cheered and clapped and she did it some more.

The weather continues to be quite nice, so the kids are out as much as possible. And I'm the broken record that keeps saying, "Shut the door!" However, I now don't need to say it, because Hannah has heard it enough to remind everyone, "shudada." One less thing for me to do.

It was dark out when we went to pick up Catherine from Awana tonight, and sadly, Caleb has not seen the moon enough to know what to look for in the sky. It was so funny watching him move his head around looking at everything BUT the moon. Catherine gets enough time at "A" to play and do her memory work before I pick her up. It's working very nicely, so I think we've found a happy solution. Tonight, she finished a Discovery and started on the next. It feels so good to accomplish things. Samuel also finished one, got a bunch of extra point, AND the boys beat the girsl, so he was pretty pleased himself.

Little Caleb story: He likes to sing Jesus Loves the Little Children before he goes to sleep. But he wants to sing by himself sometimes. One time went like this... "Jesus love a lil childen.... wait, wait, wait. ahem. Jesus love a lil ... wait, wait, wait. ahem." No way to not laugh at this silly boy!

Since Samuel was 4, I believe, he's been a Lego nut. We have Legos in every room of the house, and he knows just where to find the tiniest one in his many pieces. He's decided to add something new to his ATAV's (all terrain assault vehicles) and other Star Wars/City/Miner creations. He made Jesus and some disciples. They fish in a boat, switch hair, and have miracles happen. That's one bit of creative juice I won't shut down. My dad came over yesterday for a bit, since he was helping a friend in a neighborhood nearby. He got to endure the very thorough explainations of features in all Samuel's latest designs. Bless him. He's such a patient man!

I'm also pleased to say that Buddy is almost finished with school. He finishes class time this week, then goes out of town a few day the following week, and it done! This has been a much better round of it, since he's not working an hour away. We see him much more, and he's not as tired.

As for me? I finished Mansfield Park, which I did enjoy. I think it was harder for me to follow because I got sooo interrupted when I started, I kept forgetting who the characters were. I was happy with the ending, which was just as it should've been. Because of the weather changing and my 2 unfinished knitting projects, I need to get buy with that and stop reading for a while. There are days I can do them at the same time, but I'd rather not pull out any rows, if you know what I mean.

Golly, I write little novellas every time I blog. And no pictures! I WILL remedy that soon.

To say the new play area is a hit would be an understatement. The little ones spent at least 2 hours out there in the morning, and the big ones could hardly stay inside to do their school work! It's really been good.
I decided to do some baking, since I had already done the mountains of laundry on Saturday. I made chocolate chip oatmeal cookie/bars. Too much time to scoop them into cookies, and much easier to just make bars. They're almost gone. Then, I felt the courage to try making khachapuri. I had gotten a recipe when I ordered my Survival Georgian book, but never tried it. Of course, nothing close to the right kind of cheese, plus using some white whole wheat flour made it a very different eating experience. Sadly, Hannah didn't show any recognition when I told her what it was. I'm sure I'll try again.
Better get off to school...

10/10/10 is a pretty cool thing! I didn't realize what the date was til part way through the day. Anywho.
What have we been up to? The fair was fabulous fun for the whole family. Buddy got to go with us for a bit, which was a huge help, especially the petting zoo area. Hannah wouldn't have been able to see very well had he not held her. (pardon all the alliteration!) She got to pet a goat, which she really enjoyed. There was so much to see! Caleb saw how other children were using the little shovels that were tied to the fencing to feed the goats. Since I hadn't purchased any feed and there were saw dust chips all over the floor, he figured that was what they would eat. He kept trying, but they knew the difference, and didn't want anything to do with it. We did find some feed, and he got such a kick out them eating!
The best parts of the fair for the kids were getting a yard stick and the play area where there were blocks, a huge sand box, little cars, bubbles with giant wands, a jungle gym/ball pit kind of thing, and science stuff. They big boys of CC made a city, which got partially destroyed by a cute little girl, and then the boys finished it off. Sad moment after all their hard work. I do have pictues, but don't see my cord.
Mom came to pick up the little ones so they could have naps, and we could keep going. We hit the big expo buildings and saw all the booths. It was fun, but after 5.5 hours, I was done for. So happy to come home and just sit down with the kids. We watched Knights of the Round Table to go with our history, (or maybe just because it kept everyone occupied while I made dinner.) 1954 had some good effects! I liked them seeing the story while avoiding all the bloody images a 2010 movie would have shown them.
Yesterday was dance, a nap with Caleb, who wanted to "snuggle on your belly," and hanging out at home. The kids made up some cute skits, with a store in the trampoline. The sweater I made this year was for sale for $15!!! I felt a little cheated after all the time and effort I put in, but I got over it.
Catherine has a way of getting the little ones to do what she wants, so yesterday afternoon, she had the littles racing around the back yard. Of course, H was a little slower, but if her face was any indication, she was going like the wind! Earlier, she and Caleb played by themselves outside and were on the trampoline, went down the slide, played on the teeter-totter, and she even tried to sit in the swing. Right now, she doesn't like being swung much, so that was huge. It was the most independent and adventurous I've seen her. Very fun to watch unawares!
It was also a big day for Samuel. We've been working with a different math curriculum, which I see the beauty of, but have only experienced the drudgery of so far. However, Samuel made a turn around yesterday! He did 400 math problems in less than 18 minutes, with only 1 mistake! I was so pleased with his progress. He's dreaded it, complained about it, avoided it, and now he's almost conquored it! The goal he has right now is to do all 400 correctly in less than 20 minutes without mistakes. (100 of each math function.) Catherine caught on that division was reverse multiplication, and she has begun to do division. I had her do it one day just to try it. We did about 15 problems together, but then she was ready to go on her own, and has done it every day since! She had been struggling with subtraction and has made a huge turn around there!
Hannah today, for the first time, said, "drink, please!" We've been working since I got her to ask for things with a please. Most of the time, it's just been the thing she wants, with no please. Fabulous moment! We made such a big deal out of it. We were later out in our new play area and Caleb had a bag of carrots. Hannah would say, "carrot." So, Catherine would ask Caleb for carrots, with a please, and he'd give them to her. Lights clicking on, I guess, and she would then ask right. We had to keep repeating the process, but I think she's got it. Well, with carrots, at least, and maybe drinks. ;) We were driving around yesterday, and Caleb had the first words book we'd used in the past to teach her some signs. She saw the pictures of table and chair and told me what they were. I see her catching things and it's really neat to watch.
One thing that we have to be dilligent about, and I was given some great info earlier in our journey by one of my readers, was how important consistancy in stretching and exercise is for Hannah. I'm seeing that more and more. She's gained a lot of strength over these almost 3 months. However, she really doesn't enjoy most of the things that make her work. She cries a lot, and loudly. If we don't work with her, she'll lose her independence and abilities, which I know she'd probably not like. So, almost every day we do exercises. We have skipped a few days and felt it the next day. She particularily doesn't enjoy us stretching her toes or legs. Remember how she couldn't wiggle her toes at first and then gained that ability? Well, we stopped stretching her toes and feet because she cried so much. This morning, I asked her to wiggle her toes, and they barely moved. Guess what it was time for? If we didn't love her, we'd leave her to herself and let her go, but we can't. We see her potential and know that if we help her now, she'll be so much farther ahead. It doesn't take long to do, and we can see how it's helping her. If we can keep her talking and distracted, she does much better, but if I'm by myself, it's a lot harder. In comes Catherine, again! Hannah actually bends her legs now when she walks. Before, it was like she was on stilts, but now I see her moving her legs at her knees. She's more stable when she walks, she can stand on the trampoline for longer without falling over, she can grip my fingers and pull herself up when she couldn't even squeeze my fingers before.
Our new play area is in our garage. We have a small house, 4 kids, and we homeschool. It's so easy to get things messy! Today we decided to move some things around in the garage and set up a play area. We have a salon, a kitchen, a tool box, table and chairs, coloring books and crayons. We did it during nap time, so they were thrilled to come out and find their new spot. This will keep them out of older siblings' things, and help them keep their rooms neater. It's nice weather now, so it works. When it gets cooler, we'll use our portable heater, and see how things go. I'm pleased, and I think everyone else is, too. Their rooms look a lot better! 3 have 3 bags to go to GoodWill tomorrow. :)
Ok, time to hop off the computer and get back to Mansfield Park.

Random musings for the day.



I need a little help with planning things out. See, we have a lot of construction going on in our neck of the woods. I try really hard not to be late to things.... not really early, but just on time. Pull into our chairs as it's starting kind of thing. Only the "thing" that I'm really having trouble with is ballet. We're car pooling, so at least 1/2 the time Catherine is on time. The other half, I have not found a way to get us all out of the house, other to our friends' house, through the traffic that may be down to one lane, may be 2, alternate routes that end up also having construction or traffic back ups. Oh dear! One week, it took 45 minutes instead of the usual 25. Today, we had the privaledge of Buddy coming into town with us, so we went to an appointment, then dinner at Qdoba, and managed to find 2 ways we shouldn't have gone to get 3.5 miles. Only 7 minutes late this time. What a bad mom! Plus, we missed Saturday, since we were in Branson, and will probably miss at least 2 classes when we head North for a cousin's wedding. It's the really good school, so I hate to be starting out so poorly.



Hannah has had a huge improvement in her speech. She had such trouble pronouncing most letters, but "W" was never a problem. Isn't that interesting? We were doing the littles' school work this morning, and I was so pleased to see how well she was doing. She is used to sitting still, and Caleb is used to being on the go. Definitely one of those moments you wish he would pick up on her habits!



I really like fall. Did I mention that? It was 71 degrees in our house this morning, which is chilly to us. So, on went the sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt! However, by the afternoon, I was thinking shorts would have been more appropriate. It's the best of both worlds in one day.



I'm looking forward to heading to the fair in 2 days. We went last year with our CC group and saw a baby chick hatch from its egg. What an amazing process! I really wanted to help the little guy out, it seemed so painfully difficult! This year, I think Buddy will join us for a bit, then take the littles home so Grandma can watch while the big ones and I explore a little further. The last time I really enjoyed the fair was when I was 6 months pregnant with Catherine. Time to see some more!



Calebisms:

My eyes were a little blood shot one day, and Caleb asked me if we needed to go to the store and buy some new ones.
He told Grandma I got married the other day, but daddy didn't.
God made the lizzard, but the lizzard can't eat God.
God has good plans for me, but He doesn't give me treats.
Sorry if those are repeats. I keep meaning to write them down and forget.

Have a rest of the week.

Home on the range! Just got back from a quick weekend in Branson with the big kids. I had received an email about a homeschool weekend at SDC, so, of course, I wanted to go. However, Buddy had to do things for work and school, and couldn't get away. I didn't think I was up to taking 4 kids by myself on this adventure, but in stepped my mom to save the day! We decided Thursday night that I could go. We got up early (for me) Saturday am and were out the door by 7. Mom came and watched the little ones while Buddy went to work. We got to see this beautiful sight, something we haven't seen in a long time.One thing we haven't been able to see before is Marvel Cave. It's 450 steps down and 150 up, with many small, uneven areas. We could never take a stroller through, or ask Caleb to walk through. Hannah would not be able to make it at all. So, this was our golden opportunity! First thing we saw was a dead cat that had fallen through the sink hole. It's obviously very dark, so pictures didn't turn out very well, but this was the Liberty Bell, complete with a crack. The rest of the cave was a really neat experience. I'm so glad we went. It was the highlight of our time there, in Samuel's eyes. In fact, he told me the next time we're there, I can take the littles somewhere else, and he and Catherine will take dad in the cave. The park was full of artisans, and we were able to talk with quite a few of them. This gentleman used to paint murals on silos, but worked his way down to little pictures that were 1 inch x 1 inch, in some cases. He drew a butterfly on C's thumb that stayed on for a while, but S's disappeared when he blew on it a bit too moistly, and then accidently rubbed it on his pant leg while he walked. There was another guy, Tom Crain, who had been painting in acrylics for 38 years.

It was a pleasure to get to talk with some of them, learn more about them, and why they chose the field they did.

Oh, the best thing at SDC for me was the square dance! The band played fun country music, and at least 10 couples, none younger than 60's, were out on the dance floor. I had a blast watching them scoot around, some fancy, some more shuffle than dance, but it was thrilling to me. That sounds strong, but really, watching people enjoying their lives and each other, who knows how long they were married, made my day.
We stayed with our friends and had a great time together. Church today, and lunch afterward with another friend. When we got home, Buddy said I looked more refreshed that he felt. That was the goodness of God and the benefit of time with great people.

Hannah was so funny when she saw me, like it was no big deal that I was home. Unlike when daddy comes home. "Hi, Doddy!" in her most animated voice, and when he goes into the garage 2 minutes later and returns, it's the same reaction. However, she did tell "Doddy" I was home and seemed quite excited to tell me all about her time with Grandma, and "side," and "jump, jump." Sweet.

Here's a picture of the 2 good buddies after they discovered one of Catherine's toys...

You can't tell from the picture that well, but Hannah's shirt is inside out, her pants are on backward, and she did it all by herself! I just told her to get dressed, and she picked out her clothes and did it! Way to go!Glad to be home, but the scenery was so beautiful, the weather so perfect, (except I forgot my jacket at home and had to wear Samuel's wind breaker. Yes, it fit me, but was just a little short on my arms.) The leaves were starting to turn in the Ozarks, and it made me smile.

Looking forward to another great week.

Fall is in the air! I really like the colder weather, which is funny, because I don't like to be cold. It's the sweaters and sweatshirts, the cozy fires and the soups, pumpkin spices, etc, that are so much fun. We look forward to getting together with family, even though we get together with them as often as possible. (Also not having a ton of bugs fly in the house when the children repeated fail to hear, "Shut the door!")

Our first taste of it was this weekend. Unfortunately, Samuel was camping with his cub scout pack equipped with shorts, t-shirt, and a rain coat. I was trying to get him ready while I was getting Catherine ready for dance, mixed in with a few errands, and didn't take time to check the weather, since it was so nice outside at the time. Oh, dear. I felt so badly when I got up Sunday morning to temps in the 50's! When he got home, it was time for a hot shower and sweat pants.

He brought a tree lizard home with him. What an education we received at the pet store! Thankfully, my brother had almost a complete set up, and we only need to get a different light. I was hoping for some powdered food we could put in the bowl. Nope. Live crickets that ALSO need to be fed and watered, in their own special habitat. We'll see how long Frenzy makes it...

On the way to church, I told Caleb and Catherine you can't sneeze with you eyes open. To which Caleb responded- "I don't sneeze in my eyes, I sneeze in my nose!"

Thanks to Bobby for an honest comment. "either because of the addition, tiredness, just plain orneriness, or whatever else you can think of" from the previous post referred to ALL the children, not just Hannah. Do we regret our adoption of Hannah? NO! Of course not. Is it true she's going through adjustments and that other family members are going through it, too? Is it true that even with the addition of a baby, life is not always beautiful until you figure each other out? Is it true that at times, after each of my 3 births, I wondered if I was in over my head in responsibility and duty? Yes, yes, yes, and many yesses! Same thing with an adoption. There are things I never imagined, in spite of reading books and adoption education.
If you've been following us for long, you are aware it was 2.5 years of great pains in even getting her here, which was all I could focus on. Kind of like marriage. Planning for the wedding day and not realizing everything that comes after.

Should I pretend it's all beautiful? Maybe I shouldn't mention any not so beautiful moments, but I also think the honesty I read in others' blogs helps me realize what I'm going through is quite normal. To see the progress she's made is great. Is it without pains? No, but we ultimately know it was God's design and leading that brought her to our family and His wisdom and help that will help us smooth the rough places we face. I regret it may come off as wishing things had stayed the same in our family. Definitely not my real feelings. Guess I need to learn a bit more discretion and be slower to share our lives.

So glad for another wonderful day in CC. I'm enjoying hearing the older sharing about their days and being creative together as they plan and discuss different things. It's also fun to hear Hannah and Caleb, especially H, get so excited to see me after just 2 hours apart. I know they're having a great time in their music class and play time. I'm also pleased to see that Hannah is playing with the other kids and being verbal with them. It's refreshing to hear the comments about her progress. She's doing so well, I think we'll be putting her in the morning class with the 3 and 4 years olds! I know she gets bored sitting in my class where she sits still and has to listen. If she was with Caleb, she'd be enjoying all their play and learning time more on her level. She enjoys our school time together at home, so I'm sure it'll be lots of fun for her.

Hannah has found 2 things that she can get for comfort, which is really great. Not the things we brought home with us, but a little afghan my mom made, and a little bear we got the first night we were home.

Well, it's off to make dinner. Thankfully, we have no activities tonight! It's so pleasant to just have a night together where we can relax. I'm rethinking activities and think I've found one solution. We shall see. On one hand, I regret not letting them do fun, learning things, and on the other, if we have to pay for it the next day, it's just not working.

Have a great week!

Some days are not so pretty here, either because of the addition, tireness, just plain orneriness, or whatever else you can think of. However, today was a beautiful day! The weather was nice, children behaved, tried almost their best, and played nicely together.
Hannah is getting more and more mobile and independent, which is great to see. It opens so much more to her. I can still see some tendancies to sit and watch the world go by, but with only a little prompting, she's ready to go outside and jump on the trampoline or play on the little slide. I think this past week was a big turning point for her. We've not had much crying, and much more being part of the family and doing what everyone else is.

Have to share some Caleb'isms before I forget.
I walked out on Sunday morning and he said, "Mom, you've got sprinklers on!" My shirt had sequins.
I told him God had big plans for him, one night. The next day he told me, "God has plans for me, but he doesn't give me treats."

I'll have to think about the others. Some really funny ones.

For my birthday, I got a gift card and some cash. Mom came over yesterday to watch the kids while I shopped. Sadly, I haven't done it in such a long time, I had a hard time finding things I liked or that fit. I did find some really good deals and got a few things and still had money left over! That means I'll get some more practice in sometime soon! I'm really thankful mom has been helping me out. I'm able to get some errands taken care of, and she is a favorite of Hannah's. It's also good to hear what she sees in H's progress. Good to get an outside opinion to help you appreciate changes.

Thanks for the good book suggestions. Agnes Gray came in first, so I'm already partly into it, then Mansfield Park, followed by some Charles Dickens. Fun, fun fun. Also, for fun, one of my fellow CC'ers asked me to parse Ephesians 6:1-8. My goodness! That's some complicated stuff! Good for the brain. I like those kinds of challenges!
Off to another wonderful school day...