Back In The Saddle

Our wonderful therapeutic riding program started back up recently after a time of reorganization and relocation. Jen and her staff are wonderful. I love it when God provides therapists who appreciate the value of treating the whole person.

Kloey has been asking almost weekly when she can start riding again. Finally I was able to surprise her and say, "How would you like to go tomorrow?"

I will never forget the first time we went to the therapeutic riding program with Kloey. She didn't say a word all the way there. There was a time a few years ago that Kloey was not where she is today. Her constant grief and trauma overshadowed everything in her life, her relationships, her behavior, her self-care, her development. After riding, she talked all the way home. It was like God came down and flipped a switch.

Something amazing happens when you are one with an animal. For a kid like Kloey, it meant she was empowered. A girl, who for five years had absolutely no control over the things that happened to her, was given control. The warmth, the movement, the ability to direct "someone" else at will, these all contribute to feelings of self-worth so important to a child.

 Guess who else got to give it a try?

Sound familiar? Someone else who has had no 

control over the things that have happened to him?

Does that smile speak volumes or what?

As I was filling out paperwork and watching the kids ride,  I realized that this was "exercise" that Joshua could actually do. It is fairly non-aerobic, yet he can move and stretch and feel empowered all at the same time. It has been a challenge to think about what he can do physically to have fun yet not feel left out or have his heart stressed by activity.

Because here is the thing. This is the best he will ever be. So we will treasure every moment, accomplishment, and experience. 

And we thank God for the privilege of loving and raising His children.

PS. Pictures taken by Whit Haynes who graciously shared them with me.

More Firsts

First, a little of this and that.

Who doesn't like a good sale? 

Micah has a pair of jammies that he has almost outgrown. We keep stuffing him in because he is so darn cute and we like to call him
"skin 'n bones."

When the girls and I came across the 75% off rack, these were a must have. Joshua said, "I am so happy."  Bonus: They glow in the dark.

I never got around to publishing my fair pictures. But I was reminded today that I paid $5 to let the kids ride ponies at the fair. I have NEVER done that before. Even when we owned horses, they begged me to buy them pony rides. No way was I paying $5 for twice around the circle! Today, Joshua got to go riding again. Hope to have a post up soon about that.

We went party hopping on Sunday. At the second party was a foreign exchange student who was pretty happy to see Joshua and wanted his picture taken with him. Joshua, however, wanted nothing to do with him or speaking Mandarin. The student came from the same area in China so I know Joshua could understand him.

This week we are participating with 52 other homeschoolers in a week long production of a musical. What these talented performers can get kids to do in one week with about 4 hours per day is remarkable. I signed up Joshua hoping he would participate as he has given me signs that he is ready to be part of the crowd.

 He is having a great time. Here he is lining up in height order. Bless his heart, he got stuck with the four year old girls. He got the part of a farmer with a bunch of eight year old girls, though!

  
This surprised me. When the big kids lined up, my kids landed next to each other. Come on guys. You have 52 other kids to mingle with.

 Hopefully, I will have pictures at the end of the week of a successful play. Rehearsals have been a struggle as we have a virus going through our house. Quick moving but still, 5 of us have succumbed. So far.

Out of the Mouth of the 18 Year Old Babe

SETTING THE SCENE:

I needed to take some of my kids south for doctor visits. 

AND

The girls informed me that it was TIME for the inevitable shopping trip to get our first "unmentionables."

Erik informed me early on in the trip what the proper language was to save him any more embarrassment than necessary as he tagged along.

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures but suffice it to say, we had a good time!

AND

We also needed to buy stretch-boy some pants because you can only wear floods so long before it becomes a-w-k-w-a-r-d!

In order to maximize our time, we waited until Jerrod got home from school and politely asked him to watch the three little boys while we were gone, at least until Dad got home. He happily complied as we had already negotiated movie time.

Oh yes, The black box. And "Power Rangers" was on the menu. In Mandarin no less. 

LATER: 

Everyone survived: Fed, watered, warm, and dry.

Checking in with the 18 year old, 

I...GOT...THIS:

"Mom, I don't think you should let the boys watch Power Rangers. They get violent!"

Fireworks went off in my mind. 

A warm glow went from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.

My incredulous response: "This.......from you?"

You see my oldest son is my (if we let him) video game/tv/movie/computer game/hard core music ADDICTED child. 

He has insisted through the years that none of that affects him........

You should have seen his face.

Busted to the Nth degree.

Connecting the dots now?

I will maintain this warm fuzzy feeling for quite some time.

I confess.....

I like to win.

Let's Play / Joshua Update

We are incredibly pleased with the care that Joshua is receiving as he makes the rounds seeing lots of doctors at our small city medical center.

Last week was a trip to the pediatric cardiologist who upped some meds and said come back in 6 months unless we have problems over the winter. He thought Joshua looked like he was breathing better and was pleased with where he is at right now. Good news!

We also saw a pediatric surgeon for the malrotation issue which is commonly found in people with dextrocardia. The surgeon is taking a harder look at the upper GI and is uncertain whether Joshua will need surgery. Prayers would be appreciated for the path to be clear for 1) whether he actually has a case of malrotation AND 2) the decision to perform surgery.

Near many of the specialists we see is a children's museum. We bought a family pass and with all the doctor's visits adding up, I think when our membership is over we will average less than $5 a visit for eight of us. Family passes rock.

Since we all go together to most of the appointments, the promise of the "indoor playground" ( as Joshua understands it) is a big incentive for the long car ride and sitting in waiting rooms. This past week we learned that seeing specialists is a minimum of an hour even though our appointment is scheduled for a 15 minute block. One doctor was delayed in surgery. After an hour with the second doctor, we realized we were the last patient of the day and he was taking his time with us making sure we understood everything.

Anyway, the indoor playground is a big hit. The little boys LOVE all the make believe pretending to be firemen, policemen, grocery store clerks, and boat drivers. The big girls LOVE it, too. They are in between growing up and being little girls and it is a blessing to watch them still play!

My guys make good looking firemen!

I am so proud of the diversity 

represented at this station. :)

When you are a kid, dressing up 

transports you into another world.

Everyone tried the pole!

Joshua wasn't so sure about that first step.

Not sure at all!

He mustered his courage and conquered the pole, twice!

Cora milked the cow!

And the dress up bin was discovered!

We will be back soon!

We are making an appointment with yet another specialist for Joshua's liver that likes to throw out funky numbers on those blood tests.

We are looking forward to getting our China man patched up and stabilized pretty soon.

He is scheduled for surgery on his teeth (lots and lots of decay) to fix 10 things on November 23. It will be an interesting first Thanksgiving for Joshua.

Noodle Mania

Our China boy has a favorite! 

Morning, noon, or night, 

this new food group will help anything that ails you.

Must have noodles.

With chopsticks.

And it's rubbing off.

  Baby trainer chopsticks.

Thank you, Sandra, again!

What isn't on Amazon?

Noodles are cheap!

And an easy lunch.

I'm all about pleasing the masses.

  Although the technique has yet to be perfected.

 As long as it looks like a noodle and tastes like a noodle, 

Joshua is happy.

The spicier the better.

Global Soccer - All In a Day

 Contrary to what you may have heard, 

being at home all day is NOT boring.

 Haven't they ever seen.....

 a boom truck in the driveway.....

 operated by a guy with a very long ponytail?

The globe has been liberated from its prison.

 For some rolling action.

 Global soccer could be the new kitchen sport.

 Or how about takin' it for a spin?

 

 Big brother's shoes provide silliness!

 Cabbage was on sale for 29 cents/pound and I thought I would try Sandra's cabbage rolls. My mom used to make them many moons ago. Except Sandra forgot to tell me how to get the cabbage leaves off the cabbage. Thanks to the power of the internet, because my brain is fried at this point, I went with boiling water to loosen the outer layers.

 Producing beautiful leaves for stuffing.

Of course, we have to triple everything these days. After the tomato sauce was added, these babies went over pretty well with the crowd.

 Thanks to Sandra.

Behind the Scenes - Brownie Surprise

Every so often, we make a pan of these.

Especially when she asks and bats her pretty eyes at me.

"O.k., if you will make them."

Deal.

However, there were helpers involved.

 With some finger stirring

 And whisk licking.

 And sampling.

 'Cause you got to make sure it tastes good.

 I used to have raw egg phobia. 

I got over it 6 kids ago.

 Have you ever done this before, sweet boy?

Because he is three,

Micah went with the full hand dip.

I cannot and will not vouch for the cleanliness 

of these hands, them being little boys and all.

 I won't tell if you don't.

I'm sure they will be yummy.