Cardboard testimony

Today at church we did a thing called Cardboard Testimony. People wrote just a few words or a phrase saying what was and with God's help what is. I think the fact that it was such a succinct testimony or story it was so very touching and effective.

One of the most touching was a 17 yr. old who wrote - left - Abandoned on one side and In a better place on the other. He is a good friend of our son and our friend's foster son. Now, he is a PCA for our kids - several of whom will be able to relate well to his story. It is awesome to see him thriving and so humbling to see him as a confident follower of Christ.

I hope that is the testimony of several of our children as well - simply In a Better Place. As for myself - I know that I'm most definitely In a Better Place - forever as a Child of God.

Callie's 9!

Callie girl turned 9 yesterday, but we will be celebrating today. It was an incredibly windy day yesterday which is Callie's least favorite weather, but she stayed pretty calm. Her beloved Julie was available last night, so we decided to celebrate a day late.

Chad and I will go scour Unique - my favorite used store - for deals and then pick out some presents for Callie. She loves Pet Shop toys and Polly Pockets - which are just too small. They are in the lego category of small sized toys - the kind that you are likely to step on as you're rushing to a child's room in the middle of the night and then accidentally stomping on them and hopping on one foot and holding the other while saying - I'm coming sweety $&@, mommy will be right there #$&. Ya, that kind.

Last night on the news they had a child development expert talking about how important the first year of development is - how children learn to trust that someone will be there when they need them. This, Callie did not get as she spent it abandoned in the Intensive Care unit. In spite of all that - she chooses to trust us much of the time and for that we are forever grateful. Thank you Lord for preserving such a fascinating little person - we look forward to what the next year will bring.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR SWEET CALLIE-GIRL!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE VERY LOVED!!!!!!!!

Do Do Do - Another one bites the dust!

Well, it's been a week of sick kiddos at home. Only the third week of school and everyone's sick - except Shannon, thank you Lord. Christian and Jacob have been out all week, Callie missed 2 days, Ella has missed 2 and Chad has been so so sick. By some miracle of miracles Mark, Chris and I have somehow stayed healthy. It seemed as if we were just starting to hit some kind of stride with everyone in school for the first time in 29 years, but just a reminder that this family just keeps us a jumping.

It's funny how when they're really sick it's not so bad - they're just down, sleeping and lying around. Now that they feel better they're getting on each other's nerves and they're starting to step on my last nerve, if you know what I mean.

Mark and I had planned to paint our family room then rip up the carpet and he was going to install hardwood flooring this week. Sometimes it is discouraging how long it takes us to accomplish things due to interruptions of all kinds. I know it's part of the deal, but discouraging non the less.

The good news is the windows are open and it's beautiful outside. Now if I could just convince them that that's where they should be.

Mom of Many: Finding Joy Amidst Frustration

Mom of Many: Finding Joy Amidst Frustration

Finding Joy Amidst Frustration

At our house there are lots of birthdays.  We're are coming into the season where from Aug. 10 to Oct. 4 we have 7 birthdays.  That's a lot of celebrating.  I turned 54 yesterday and Chad turns 35 tomorrow - we adopted him at 8 yrs. old and thought we'd be successful if we could keep him home till he was 16 yrs. old - well he's still here.  He was such a wild cat when he came we just thought we'd never make it.  What you are able to handle as a parent grows as your experience grows.  At least it has for us.

The other day we had several days of Callie really acting out. Jumping all over the furniture, squirting hair lotion, shampoo etc. on the carpet etc. We thought it was because her beloved Julie was gone for a few days and she missed her or that summer school was over, so her routine really was messed up until...... she came into the kitchen looking like a vampire with a tooth in her hand and her mouth dripping with blood.  She obviously had had some tooth pain for several days, but was unable to communicate that to us or even decipher what the pain meant to herself.

On Sun. Ella had a friend over and the two of them went into the girl's room locking the door and Callie and the boys out.  Mark discovered Callie - again - spilling lotion all over the carpet right outside the locked door.  Again, she was obviously mad, but unable to verbalize and therefore acted out.  So, now we'll have to see if we can get ahead of those behaviors by helping her identify and express her feelings.  

I realize what an awful superpower reading minds would be, but sometimes I think it'd really be helpful when trying to figure Callie out.  How frustrating it must be to have these emotions bubbling inside you can't express and probably can't even identify. How very much Callie has to teach me about patience and finding joy amid a world that must just baffle her at every corner.

Our Bridge

Our Christopher - Superman - our middle child - our bridge - graduated June 5.  He is the only child we have who lived with all of the 11 siblings.  When I received a call from my friend Maggie, his biological mother's social worker and our Chad's worker, to consider having Chris come home from the hospital as his bio mom tried to see if she would be able to parent I said yes - without consulting my beloved husband.  He was much less then thrilled - mostly as he was afraid we would be attached to this beautiful little boy and then lose him.   But - that is not - blessedly - what happened. 

 He loves and adores his younger siblings - some more then others, of course.  He was able to tube-feed Shannon when he was 8 and he is able to watch all the younger sibs - with all their needs - and get them into bed if we are able to get out at night.  We are very happy that he will still live home for the next two years at least while attending technical college and so won't lost that ability to spontaneously sneak out of the house at night occasionally.  

When I put together his photo albums - as I have for all our graduates - I had a hard time finding many pictures of just Christopher.  He was always hugging on his siblings or jumping into pictures with them.  The younger kids call him "Boss" - I think because the first time we left him in charge we said he'd be the boss when we were gone.  It stuck - and I think he loves it.

Although I truly believe that God put us on her mind when she was looking for a family for Christopher's placement - I thanked Maggie for calling us that day.  What would we do without our "boss" - we love you Christopher!

Mother's Day Miracle 2009

The word miracle is sometimes used pretty flippantly, I think, and yet there is such a thing as an "everyday" miracle. What happened yesterday is becoming more and more of an everyday miracle to us. Our Callie was given the name Myrikle - yes that is how it was spelled by her birth mother. We thought the name would be a burden, the spelling alone for a kid with developmental delays, and just a bit pretentious. But as the years have passed we realize our Callie's original name may very well have been divinely given to her and a glimpse into what we would experience as time has moved on.

Yesterday morning my beloved husband let me sleep in, a rare experience around here for sure. As he was rushing around to get the various breakfast orders filled he noticed Callie eyeballing Jacob's new art kit enviously. He coaxed Jacob to share some paper with her and he graciously did - wait that may be the second miracle of the day. Anyway, he went out into the kitchen and when he returned Callie proudly showed him a mother's day card - Happy Mother's Day Love Callie Reeves and on the back it says - to mom. Mark couldn't wait for me to receive it, he just had to tell me.

"Did you ever think you'd see the day?" he asked. No we sure never did. Our beautiful girl was pretty damaged merchandise when we got her. No eye contact, couldn't stand to be held - pretty much a RAD (reactive attachment disorder) kid from the get-go. She wasn't walking, talking, she didn't even make a sound as she'd learned that crying didn't get you any attention anyway, so why bother. She had what is called a "flat affect" which basically means no expression.

Today she danced in front of our church, as she does every week, singing praise songs to the Lord and pretending to hold a microphone singing along with the worship team. It just never ceases to amaze me to see this joyous child jubilantly dancing. Sometimes we wonder if it annoys other people, as she usually at least once bolts and trys to get up on the stage. As of now, I can't imagine a time every stifling her spirit. She nearly had it snuffed out her first 2 1/2 years. For whatever purpose, God didn't allow that to happen. Because of that, I believe,  she most certainly is a divine miracle, no everyday miracle either,  no matter how you spell it.