Trying to maintain perspective

When irritated at the company that does my billing being VERY slow over the past month I'm trying to be thankful that I have a job that pays the bills at all. When overwhelmed with the idea of starting home school with 3 kindergartners in 3 weeks with special needs I'm trying to be thankful for the blessings of a full quiver. When frustrated that I can't figure out how to get wireless internet hooked up to the kids' school computer that I have been installing their school work on for 2 days I'm trying to be thankful that I can even have a "school" computer aside from "my" computer-and that I can even have internet at all (or get to home school them, or have a house to do it in, or have health to be able to teach, etc). When I look at my house that looks like tornado hit it and I don't even know where to start to organize it I'm trying to be thankful that a tornado did not, in fact, hit it. When I try to figure out what to feed Grace to make her gain weight since she is getting taller but has not even gained 1 lb in 1 year I'm trying to be thankful that we are even in America and have many, many food options or even a diagnosis! When my back hurts every day and I think of how long it has been since it has not hurt (over 2 years) and 'm trying to be thankful that I'm not in a wheelchair and can realistically still live life even if it is less productive (in my opinion). Monday My husband and I rejoiced that after 3 months of kids on antibiotics and nebulizers we were med free...and after 5 days off of the antibiotics Jonathan has been getting increasingly congested again and today spiked a 104 fever...again...I am feeling like the last straw has landed... I know it could be worse. I'm thankful to be in America and have medicine to help him. I am thankful that he doesn't (to our knowledge) have some chronic illness like Grace's aunt who struggles every day with Cystic Fibrosis. He is not struggling just to live and therefore it should not be so frustrating. I'm SOOOOO thankful to just have him and he is such a blessing to our lives. But today...I'm having a hard time keeping perspective in front of me. So, today I'm just clinging to the Cross and trusting in the depth of His love, that He has a plan, and reminding myself that one day when I see Him face to face.. all will be perfect:)

vacation...and a new direction

We went on vacation to my parents home last week. We happened to be there for our 16th wedding anniversary. Here we are (along with my parents) sitting on the steps where we got married...our family has changed lol!

On our anniversary my husband and I went out to eat. My mother got us this cake to celebrate after she watched all of the kids for us!!!
My brother came over. Buddy always as a blast with his uncle!!
On the way to a family wedding we stopped at my Dad's house and got to ride his 4-wheeler and visit a bit:)
The weather was very, very hot and humid so we only got to go to the park one day while we were there. We had lots of fun playing in their game room though...we greatly appreciate their big house:)

We have been undergoing several opportunities to learn and grow and be stretched lately. Having children with "history" is a daunting task and one that requires being on our knees and being very intentional about parenting. I am saddened by a recent statistic that I heard that people spend more time grooming than with their children. Sad...

I am learning a lot about parenting children with "history" from my class from Texas Christian University. I have taken 2 of the 5 required modules/tests and then have the 40 hour class in September. Our parenting is being transformed by this information...while at the same time we are sad that we did not know this information 4 years ago. God is putting on my heart to share about what I am learning in the hopes that other parents who want to adopt or have adopted will know that there are resources out there to help when "history" plays out in the present. I will attempt to blog more often and I will be more intentional about the blog topics. If any of you want to view the DVD's of the lectures please let me know!

So, enjoy our vacation pictures...and I'll post soon about what I'm learning on this journey:)

Treading Water

The kids at the park:)
Beautiful pitching in her softball tournament - they won. She hit 2 home runs!
JJ was crawling around on the grass for the first time. He pulled the bottles out of the diaper bag and then picked one up and stood up! it was the first time he stood up without pulling himself up! I can't believe I was sitting there with a camera when he did it lol! The other cute thing about this picture is that he is 10 1/2 months old wearing the 0-3 month outfit that we bought him in UT as his coming home from the hospital outfit - he finally fits in it!!!! He hasn't gained even an oz in 2 weeks, coming in at 16 lbs 14 oz at the moment.


We had a fun day at the park with a picnic and playtime. JJ loved being wore (well, he always loves being worn!) He is quite the snuggler:)

We have found foods that Grace can eat. There aren't many - pretty much meat and veggies. Since she doesn't like those much she is limiting herself. We've got 3 veggies she'll eat and about 6 meats. I found an oatmeal/applesauce cookie recipe so made her a batch that she gets one a day. We found out she is not gluten intolerant! That was good news:)

JJ had a sinus infection from all of the allergies resulting in congestion. He got 80% better on the first antibiotic but it came back again along with 5 days of fever. So, we are on the 2nd one. Unfortunately that one gave him diarrhea so we had to stop it yesterday. Already by today he is more congested and is running a fever again:( Tomorrow I'll have to call the Doc and get another one:( I am giving him lots of probiotics to counteract negative effects...or we'll end up with a situation like we have with Grace again...

I even got sick with a fever and terrible body aches and chills for about 24 hours. I couldn't understand why the house was cooling so well. I kept turning up the temp in the house and yet I was freezing. The rest of the family, including the baby, was sweating. Finally I realized it was me. The ibuprofen did nothing to help so finally I took an Aleve Cold and Sinus as I thought maybe the sore throat was due to allergies. It made it much better. 12 hours later though when it wore off I was in the same boat. Thankfully 12 hours after that I was better (except for the sore throat so I am gargling Colodial Silver). I was hunkered down in flannel pj's with 2 down comforters and 2 denim quilts - my family thought I was crazy lol!

Hope you are all staying cool! It sure is hot!!