Today came sooner than I was expecting.

After spending 5 days in the hospital with Mia I felt like we were all ripped off

a week from break and time with one another.

The time off just went WAY too fast for me.

I enjoy having all of my kiddos home, no appointments, no plans,

just time spent with one another.

Days were you sleep in,

stay in your jammies until lunch time

then staying up late watching movies.

The little’s on the other hand enjoy going to school.

They were ready to go back.

And if I had to admit I like routine myself.

I’m already counting down the days until our next break together.

Spring Break seems so far off.

So proud of Mia, Macey and Marcus for working so hard at school

& for making the most of their time there too.

Before long they’ll be back on the bus and on their way HOME again.

Today was Mia’s appointment with her own ophthalmologist, Dr. Scott.

Mia looks great.

Prayers were answered.

After a 5 day hospital stay, IV antibiotics then oral,

the antibiotics did their job of ridding the infection from her eye.

Dr. Scott went over the seriousness of her infection.

The only way to prevent such an issue again is to have surgery.

Both tear ducts need to be probed.

If her eye begins to seep and turn red she needs an antibiotic immediately.

We are praying for wellness and surgery when the time is right.

For now, she is getting ready to return to school after winter break.

I’ll keep you posted when surgery is scheduled.

Continued prayers for our girl appreciated.

I thought it was great when Mia was playing with the Etch-a-Sketch. She began tapping the screen as though it was an iPad. No honey, you have to twist these little white nobs to draw a picture then shake the Etch-a-Sketch up & down to make the picture disappear. The good ol’ days!

Haircuts for the boys in our house

Wayne and the boys waited WAY too long to have their hair cuts.

They use the barber shop downtown & they have been closed for the holidays.

They could not get in the week before due to Mia’s hospital stay.

Wayne and Tanner got their usual flat tops.

Not a cut you can just stop off and have anyone cut.

Marcus is a unique customer himself.

It takes Wayne & I both to hold his hands & comfort him during his cut.

From climbing up in the chair, putting on the cape then hearing the hair clippers turn on, there is NOTHING Marcus likes about a hair cut.

It’s sad but necessary.

It has not been the same since wearing the halo for 6 months.

He is hyper-sensitive when it comes to holding his head, the noise of the clippers and the little hairs that creep down his shirt & itch him all over.

Can you imagine?

We use the same barber & she is understanding to his particular needs.

There is NOTHING that soothes him better than his mommy & daddy holding his hands & feeding him pretzels through the whole ordeal. 

I even sing his favorite songs to keep him distracted.

All hoping the barber would quickly get the necessary cut OVER.

Thankfully we don’t have to go very often, for Marcus’ sake.

But boy is he a handsome young man when it’s over.

See for yourself.

Marcus too is ready to go back to school tomorrow.

He looks so cute if I do say so myself.

Wayne was off today.

Today is the federal holiday for New Year’s.

A paid day off, we’ll take it.

Monday’s are also OT for Marcus & Macey.

Today was our first day back since the holiday’s.

Our plan was to go as a family, all except Taylor.

Taylor had spent the night with Hannah & had planned to spend the entire day with her. Time is passing quickly for those two.

Anyway, we were about 10 minutes from walking out the door when the phone rang. It was Taylor asking for Daddy’s help on behalf of Miss Mary.

They were only a few miles from our house & theirs when Mary’s 12-passenger van filled with 12 people had blown a tire. They were safe but stranded.

(Chris has left yesterday for a quick trip to UA to take care of business)

Fortunately, we had not left so Wayne & Tanner where on their way to help.

Mary had pulled over in a Burger King parking lot by no mistake.

Wayne worked hard to get them back on the road as soon as possible.

They were headed up the turnpike, a 2 hour drive, to meet Mary’s brother & his children for a visit. This put them behind about 2 hours.

After all was said and done, Wayne fixed their tire while I took the 3 little’s to OT myself, Mary & the kids got back on the highway as planned & we were able to meet Wayne & Tanner just in time for lunch at McDonald’s.

A detour, YES!

Another opportunity to be used to serve one another, definitely.

We were just glad we were able to help.

It won’t be long before we won’t be the ones to be called on. Sniff! Sniff!

For such a time as this…

Sid the Science Kid aka Tanner

Tanner has really enjoyed Science this year.

Several household items we have in the pantry has been used

as some kind of Science experiment.

He has enjoyed learning these techniques on line from Steve Spangler.

So much so, that he asked for Science projects for Christmas.

He has a bubble gum making kit, root beer making kit, the possibility to make snow, gravity goo & his latest fascination is dry ice.

You pick it up from your local grocery store & add water.

Tanner was so good with his little sisters.

They too enjoyed blowing the dry ice.

Tanner was intent on showing the girls how dry ice works

and

“to look with our eyes and not with our hands.”

He was totally in his element

Side note: If you add dish soap to a piece of yarn & slowly drag it across dry ice with water in a bowl, you can watch a bubble form.

Tanner is teaching us all to love Science.

It’s something he is good at and enjoys.

Happy Experimenting!

We were excited to receive “Redemption” just in time for Christmas.

This book is the beautiful adoption story of Derek & Renee’ Loux’s three sons adopted from Ukraine.

We were in the process of adopting Marcus (remember Macey was our bonus when we arrived in UA) when we learned of the Loux family. They were just a few months ahead of us in the adoption process.

I remember reading their blog as they shared their experience of rescuing 3 young boys.

All three boys have special needs.

Derek wrote a post Friday, December 12th, 2008 that has forever impacted the lives of so many.

A message on redemption.

Our family also rescued & redeemed the lives of 3 children just like Jesus rescues & redeems us!

This story is real. It’s personal. This story is meaningful. Beautiful.

Our Mia Grace was happy to take her picture with our copy of “Redemption”.

Today is Sunday.

Today is also a holiday, New Years Day.

Today is the Lord’s Day. A time to gather as a family & fellowship with our church.

I could not think of a better way to start the new year.

I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my dearest friends on the praise team this morning, Alyson Lee. She was here visiting her in-laws for the holiday weekend. It was refreshing to see her as we exchanged smiles & later hugs. She has been so precious to me in recent years. She continues to be such an encouragement & a wonderful support to me & my family. I have greatly missed her since she & her family moved to Texas, over a year ago. We keep in touch through phone calls, Facebook and a weekend scrapbooking retreat twice a year. Seeing Alyson was a blessing I didn’t know I needed until today.

God is good like that.

As Chris Malone led worship & Mary too on the praise team IT hit me with a stream of emotions.

Our family is only weeks away from saying good-bye to our dearest friends.

Friends we’ve known for over 10 years.

Friends we’ve grown to love and value.

Our children’s best friends & mine too.

Through the births of children, the news of Down syndrome, walks at the YMCA, the adoptions of SEVEN children with Down syndrome from Ukraine, garage sales, hour long phone chats, birthday parties, sleep overs, surgeries, numerous church activities, date nights, stiches, broken bones & ER visits, play dates at the wooden park, road trip to Dallas, Women of Faith Conferences, adoption trip to Ukraine, a child locked in the car (in the driveway), trips to the zoo, Christmas parties, home school field trips, swimming at the Moore Pool (we look like we own a day care) a shoulder to cry on, a non-judge mental ear to listen, many prayers said on one another’s behalf & laughing so hard I could pee my pants.

The list goes on & on.

What I will miss most is TIME together.

So excited for the call God has on the Malone’s lives. Proud of them for giving their YES.

None the less, they will be missed. No other family can relate to ours quite like they can.

Not making resolutions this year.

I do have a list I will keep to myself of things I would like to accomplish, do better at or more of.

We were given an opportunity right away to serve another family.

We were able to bring dinner to another dear family, the Bessert’s.

They have been so good to us when arriving home with new little ones from Ukraine, preparing meals for our family & making hospital visits with a Diet Coke in hand.

Wayne & I were grateful there was a need we could fulfill, dinner.

How often do we have the opportunity to give back?

How can you repay someone for their thoughtfulness & time, by doing the same.

I am a giver by nature. It is hard for me to ask for help or receive. I am learning with the course of the past couple of years there is no way we can do the calling God has on our lives alone.

God has placed generous, kind people in our paths who ask for nothing in return. True servants!

I pray this year I can be a better giver of my time, gifts & talents.

This message is about genuine friendship. Heartfelt & real.

I pray I can be a blessing to those who continue to give so freely to our family.

We are depending on the Lord as our provider of all things & our strength in all things.

To God be the glory!

Happy New Year 2012