Merry Christmas!!!!! (don't worry, I'll try to add a Happy New Year soon!! haha)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!

Looks like I might be on the road to recovery now... I called my doc and had him call me in a zpack for this crazy "whatever it is" that I have. I've not been this sick in years! The cough late at night is enough to make me insane. I think I've pulled a muscle in my stomach and broken a rib from coughing so much! eek...

I got my new glasses in the mail yesterday too... I got a pair of those progressive lens bifocals and wow! how long does it take to get used to these things???? I'm not sure if they're not prescribed right or if I just have to retrain my eyes to see through them. I can read print better, but its like I have to really focus my eyes on the print or its blurry. hmmm.... well I'll give it a few days to see what happens.

Short school week. Yeah!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Why do I always manage to get sick this time of year? Went to the doctor today and he says it's just that time of year when everyone comes down with something. Of course, no meds were prescribed... hmpf. I was really hoping for a z pack or something to help it go away faster :-) All I got was a recommendation for mucinex.

On the bright side, we talked about the prescription he gave me a month ago for the fibromyalgia. It has really seemed to help. Soooo... he was kind enough to give me a 3 month supply and then I'll go back and see if things are still working well with it.

anyway, I stand here looking out the window watching the snow blow sideways. I don't like that direction. It's ok if the snow has really big flakes that fall gently on the ground and then melt immediately. But when you have snow flying sideways, that means there's wind too, and cold, and well, I've had enough of it already. I just know it's going to be a looonnnggg winter :-(

*stay warm*

For those of you that make coffee at home...

Acme's ad has a Proctor Silex 12 cup coffee maker for only $7.99 (save $7.00 with your Acme card). Good through Friday Nov 21st. You just never know when the coffee maker you have on your kitchen counter will decide to just up and quit (like my $99.99 coffee maker did after a year). Makes sense to get one just to have on hand in case you go through caffeine withdrawal :-)

Also makes a good gift for someone who needs one!!

*smile*

well... before the month of November slips away from me, I'd better write something on this blog. I can't believe how little I've been able to keep up on this. I was doing so well before!

...Before two more household members, anyway! I used to feel sorry for moms that had 6 kids. I used to think "wow! they must be insane to want that many kids today!" well, here I find myself in that very same situation (well, actually if you count the ones that don't live here, we're up to 8!).

I must be insane, too! But, I'm finding it's a good insane. I'm so busy that most days I don't even get to sit down for 5 minutes at a time. I straighten up one room and three others get messed up (and that's usually from just Makayla!!) Then, the babies need to eat, or get changed, or lay down for nap, or want to play :-). Not to mention the multitude of appointments I have to take the kids to; like doctors, dentists, visitation, wic appointments, counseling, etc. Why were there only 24 hours put in a day?! I could use just a few more.

----------------------------

I do have a praise to share. About two weeks before we got the new placement from CSB, I had finally made a doctor appointment for myself. I was soooooo tired of not feeling good and hurting all over and not sleeping at night. I wasn't very happy with the doc that I'd been seeing for the past, um, lot of years. So, I looked up a new guy on our insurance plan. He diagnosed me with fibromyalgia and prescribed a medicine for me.

I had been taking that medicine for almost two weeks when we got the new placement and believe it or not, I've not felt so good in a very long time. I believe that God's hand was in my finally deciding to see the doctor and in which doctor I went to see. I believe that God can heal this problem, but if he chooses not to, I believe that he provides us with comfort through the wisdom he gives to doctors.

Well, it's going to be another busy day. So I'll just leave on this note: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I am so thankful for the strength he gives each day.

Enjoy!

I've been busy and haven't had much time to write. School's been busy, the kids have been on the sick side and I also took a mini trip to West Virginia to let mom take care of some much needed business.

As far as sick kids goes... The baby had tonsillitis and Brendan has a virus that looks a lot like measles, but the doc says its a viral infection that has a rash accompany it... Symptoms were pretty much the same as measles (high fever, aches, sore throat, red pin head dots in cluster on his body)... Of course, there's no medicine to give him, he just has to wait it out... Poor thing is getting sores inside his mouth and that is painful! Sam's had the infamous "changing of the weather" sore throat and blah feeling. The only one that hasn't been complaining is Maki. Hopefully that blessing will last :-)

Let's see, aside from all that, the trip to WV was pretty. It was good driving weather and we didn't get any rain while away. The trees were just starting to change colors, so the majority of the scenery was still green. I bet it's just beautiful now.

This week I'm supposed to go to lunch with a couple of friends of mine that I worked with at Little Tikes. It will be good to see old friends.

My mom's birthday is also this week. She's gonna be 77. I hope I'm as beautiful as she is when I'm 77. While in WV in the recent past, I've heard many of the relatives and friends that had stopped by comment on how mom's kids are all such nice kids and have such nice families... What a nice reflection that is on mom. I'm proud of her for all that she did for us kids. I'm also glad that we can be noticed for what a great mom she was and is.

Well... its getting late. I gotta go get some sleep. Hope to chat again soon.

Ahhhh... Friday

Well after a really busy week, it's good to have Brendan done with school a little early today. 2:15. Might be a record. He's been pretty discouraged most of the week having trouble just concentrating. (Isn't hard to get distracted around here :-)

Makayla doesn't have school on Fridays so she's home all day making all kinds of ruckus.

I did treat the kids to Little Caesar's pizza on my way back from picking up the baby from his visit with his mom. I think their pizza is really good for $5.

Looks like we are gonna try to close up the pool this weekend. Sad. It's been a lot of fun for the kids. I hate to see the colder weather blowing in.

Well, I'll get back to work. Since I'm not "needed" as teacher at the moment, I need to put on my "house cleaner" hat!

Have a great day!

Oh my, its been busy in Mama's House!

Well we've been extremely busy with Brendan beginning ecot at home.

Wow.

Why didn't I expect it to be this time consuming?

We are finally getting into a rhythm, but it's still taking him from sun up to sun down to get everything completed each day. Yesterday was his first day getting all his assignments complete before 5:00 (and he started around 8 in the morning).

I get to teach basic skills of keeping on task and completing things in a timely manner. If not, I'll be bald before Thanksgiving!

What I see is a little fella who's spent the last 3 grades wiggling, complaining, whining and not concentrating on what he's doing. I am so sad for him.

His grades were not terrible from 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, but homework time was always excruciating. It would take hours and he was so needy and clingy to me for help to understand what I'm sure the teacher had explained throughout the days, but he just never grasped it.

One thing I can say is that this decision to school him from home was the right decision. I can't see how a teacher with 30+ kids, each wiggling, complaining, and whining can possibly succeed with them all.

So we will forge ahead and by the end of the year my hope is that he'll just turn on his computer, read his assignments and complete his work with minimal help from me :-) *am I assuming too much?*

Okay, so my advice to mom's with really young kids is... teach them to pay attention and work independently as soon as you can! I am already scared to think how Makayla will be able to pay attention and work independently as she gets older... but then, she's a whole different ball game altogether so we'll pray that she gets better at it too!!

Oh yeah... while I was at a meeting last night at CSB, I was told that we are being considered for another infant placement. Woo hoo! more babies, yeah!! Soooo if that happens, it'll get even more crazy around here :-)

Happy Labor Day

Although we probably won't get to enjoy the picnic planned today at church, I wanted to tell you all that I hope you have an enjoyable day with your families and friends.

Our day will be action packed with cleaning out and organizing the garage (a much needed task to complete), shoveling through the "mountain" of laundry we've ignored this week, raging war against the dust bunnies, and applying a little color to our upright structures (painting) if there's any time left :-)

*sigh*

I will need tomorrow to rest.

School starts this week

Well, its that time of year again where we get all excited about school starting up again! Samantha's a senior (duh, can tell that from the senior pics, right?), Brendan's a 4th grader and Makayla's making her way through her 2nd year of preschool.

Samantha and Brendan are both going to attend eCOT this year (you know, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow... online public school, basically.) Sammie has come along really well with it and I enjoy the fact that I get to observe what she learns much closer than with the traditional public schools.

Brendan is new to eCOT this year. We decided that he really needs the additional supervision that being at home can give him. For some reason, he has really had a difficult time abiding by the rules that the school has set up. He's also had a difficult time attracting a satisfactory group of children to be friends with and generally would find himself getting into trouble at the result of another child's prompting. We are praying that being schooled at home will be a VERY positive thing happening in his little life. I think our toughest challenge will be helping him be a social butterfly. He'll need some good influences to help him forget the bad ones he was exposed to at the elementary school he went to. Thankfully, he's starting to branch out at church and get to know the kids his age. I'm sure that will be a perfect place to learn how to be a good friend. :-)

Makayla's preschool experience has been an extremely positive presence in her life. Maki has some emotional and behavioral issues that are a result of her bio-mom's use of drugs and alcohol when she was pregnant with Maki. The preschool she goes to is actually through the school system and she's already on an I.E.P. which is why she's eligible for the preschool program. They've given her speech therapy and worked with her on things like her "lack of" attention, defiant behaviors, interrupting others, etc... She's not been officially diagnosed with any acronyms (thankfully), but we're hoping that the early intervention will alleviate the need for excessive intervention later in life.

Sorry for the long update today... It's pretty out of character for me to go on and on... but since I actually had a few minutes of semi-quiet today I thought I'd go all out!

Have a gracious day!

Portrait Innovations...

Just a moment to update the blog...

• Brendan had his birthday on the 18th! He's nine now and oh my! how they grow so fast.
  

• I got my hair cut today. Shocker for me too... it's still shoulder length, but layered. I think I'm gonna like it. Time will tell. At least, for now, it feels much lighter. Maybe the headaches will go away :-)

• Brendan and I got to spend some quality time out together on Wed. We hit the library for a while, shopped at Marcs (had to get some Pepsi on sale 5/$10 ha ha), and then went to A&W for lunch. Brendan had a foot long doggy and I got the popcorn chicken... it was quite a relaxing time for us and we really enjoyed it!

• School starts in less than a week. Makayla is going to be in an afternoon class this year. Yikes! that will be a big transition for her. But I'm actually looking forward to it for some reason. Brendan is joining Samantha in eCOT this year. He's excited and frightened to do something different, but I think it will do him a world of good to be at home for school.
  

Welcome "Haley Paige Miller"!!!!

Haley Paige Miller was born at 9:47 a.m., she weighs 6 lb. 12 oz. and is 20 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing great!!!

Joy, times 2

1) Sammie is home ~ we're all very glad to see her and thankful that she returned safely and had a great time at camp! She has lots to talk about! {or should I say, she has lots "more" to talk about that normal!}

2) My sister's first grandchild is on its way today! My niece Jenifer was taken to the hospital this morning and they will be doing a C-Section so please pray that she'll be okay and the baby, too!

Do I miss her or what?

Yes!

The many faces of Sam

What's a mother to do?

*sigh* Samantha is at teen camp this week. I always struggle with her going away each year to camp with the teens. I want her to have a wonderful time and be with her friends and enjoy the conference time and the activities... but at the same time, I'm a very selfish person (I know, shame on me!). I want her with me all the time.

Okay, here's where I get to brag on my daughter: She's one of the most responsible teenagers I've ever met. She might have her moments around the house where she procrastinates or does something really odd, but for the most part she's what I wish I could've been when I was a teen! Spiritually, she's light years ahead of where I was at her age. She has a sweet spirit about her that everyone has to love (okay, if you personally don't love her sweet spirit, don't comment on my blog... I'll just delete you. Yes, I'm partial to my own opinion!! ha ha)

I pray that she will be safe on her trip and that she'll return soon!!

Finally, our 20th Anniversary Celebrated!!

I finally got the montage built for the time we spent in Millersburg for our 20th Anniversary (celebrated a few months late since we had so much going on back in March!)... enjoy!

We had so much fun when Nicolas came over...

Tis a sad day...

Brendan has been enjoying the presence of his sister, Stephanie, for the past week. Stephanie lives out of state with their mom who is married to a soldier in Iraq right now. He's got about 6 more months of Iraq duty, then will be back in the states. It's really difficult for Brendan to see her leave. He misses her a great deal. Stephanie won't be back to our state again most likely till spring break next year. It'll be a long wait.

I hope you'll be praying for Brendan not to be too sorrowful, and that his sis will have a safe journey back home.

the pool is done.

Well we've installed the pool. We finally got the ladder assembly put together today and the dirt filled in around it last night. The kids have had a lot of fun in the sun today. Samantha got burnt (oops) and Bubby got sun on his face... It is really nice to just get in and float around. (Especially when the kids aren't in it to splash you constantly!)

Twas the night before...

It's the night before Makayla's birthday! We went shopping for her gifts today and I'm making toll house cookies for her to share at church tomorrow evening in her 4 & 5 year olds class! We will decorate the back patio and have her cake and ice cream outside tomorrow! (in the midst of chaos with the gas being shut off to repair a line and Papa going to the doctor, and me taking the baby to visit his family in the morning... I'm sure we'll still have a lot of fun!!!!

Zoo time!

This was the best picture out of all the ones we took! The kids enjoyed the zoo, but it was extremely hot! I think we'll go again when the heat drops a little :-)

The Wedding...

Linda and Mike will be wed today at 1:00 at the church with a picnic reception to follow up on the hill. Hopefully, I'll get some good pics to post.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July!! Independence Day!!

There's gonna be a picnic today and fireworks tonight! Should be a blast.

OH WOW... had a gas leak at the meter at the side of the house today... Gas company came and said its not their line that is leaking... we have 10 days to fix it or they will shut off our gas! yikes! We had one of the local gas/electric repair companies come out today, charged us a fee to come and look at it and then said it would be anywhere from $500-1700 to repair it!

Please pray that God will send us a certified repairman that will do the job for a tremendous amount less! We will be asking around to see if anyone knows anyone who knows anyone that can help us out "under the table" if necessary.

Why is it that when you make a decision to spend a good deal of money on something extra for your family's entertainment, you end up getting hammered with something unexpected?

Last night, we took the plunge and decided to buy a professionally installed swimming pool... we are going to be getting the "Mirage", a 21 foot round above ground pool!!! Exciting, isn't it? a week to 10 days...

Day 10 of the 14 day diet.

Today's lunch:

8 in. cheese pizza
lettuce salad
2 pcs. fruit
2 scoops ice cream

Today's Dinner:

8 oz. ham
salad
chocolate pudding cup

this is the best day of the whole diet!!!

Day 9 of the 14 day diet.

Today's lunch:

1 hard boiled egg
3/4 c. salad w/my dressing
1 small can of pineapples

Today's Dinner:

2 hot dogs
3/4 c. boiled cabbage (yuck! had coleslaw instead)
2 pcs. fruit

Did you know that today is the half way point of 2008? 1/2 the year is behind us and 1/2 the year is ahead of us... is that kind of like the glass being 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?

Today, I've taken our foster baby to get his 4 month shots and well check... This baby came to us on April 2. He was born on 3/1/8 and only weighed 3.1 pounds at birth. Today, he weighs 11 lbs. and 8 oz. and he's 23 1/4" tall. He's in very good health and growing well. He is really uncomfortable from the shots and being fussy, so everybody pray for him (and me!).

Meet Makayla!!! She's our "almost" 4 yr old that is full of fire. Makayla was adopted about 2 yrs ago. We are her "forever family" and we love her as if she's been ours from the beginning. Makayla may have more energy than any child should ever be allowed, but she also has more love and affection for us than a puppy would!!!

Meet Bubby (Brendan). He's our grandson. We have the privilege of raising him in our home. He's going to be 9 yrs old soon. Brendan enjoys playing computer games, board games, and cards. He also enjoys watching Spiderman and Ben 10. When Brendan goes to the library, he always talks to the people working there and makes sure to ask them "lots" of questions. If you are looking for someone to talk your ear off, Brendan's your man.

Meet Samantha. She's my wonderful daughter who is my biggest asset. I couldn't do what I do without her. It will be a sad day in my life when she meets the man God has for her.

Oh wanted to say I'm on day 8 of my 14 day diet. So far I've lost 9 lbs. I have no intention of putting my weight on this blog... but I'll keep track of the weight loss (lol)

Today's lunch:

8 oz. grilled veal
1 tomato
2 pcs. fruit

Today's Dinner:

8 oz. turkey breast
a big bowl of salad with homemade sweet n sour dressing (using splenda, of course)
2 pcs. fruit

Hello. Today is the first day of my attempt to write a blog. I've got it set up (I think) and I'll write in it once in a while...

As far as today goes, it's been pretty uneventful. Hopefully, I'll get to write some more exciting material as time goes on.

Not looking for people to post to it or comment on it... was just looking for a way to express myself without injuring someone!