This is seriously my favorite time of day when we gather on our bed and read scriptures and talk about our day. I just love it – probably because I love the people I’m with!
My Sammi left to go to Houston. I miss her, but she seems like she’s having a great time!
Jessi and Jason went to see Civil War - they loved it!
Sleeping pictures cause they are cute
Lizzy went to Girl’s Camp with church. I didn’t go this year We decided that the kids need too much Mama right now. Hopefully in the future again!
Packing and getting ready..
Our ward
As part of her behavioral plan, Joy can earn French Fries. I’m not a fan of soda, but occasionally she gets some. I just thought this was the cutest picture with her hugging her soda as she went to sleep! Becca says Joy should be a commercial for McDonalds or “Onalds” as she calls it.
When I was checking on Joy, I was also checking on Bella – who was supposed to be sound asleep by now!
Jessi ended up babysitting quite a bit this week!
Kathie and her crew stopped in for about an hour on their way through town. It was great to see them – the kids have grown so much!
Joy and I :) Fun at therapy
We are working on helping Joy accept girl babies. She is determined that Becca is having a boy baby. Whenever we talk about Ellie, which is all the time, she says, “No, boy!”
Saturday we checked out a different swimming pool – this one is indoors. We had a lot of fun!
And she’s home! And hyper and full of stories!
Becca and I got all crafty and decorated Ellie’s name – I’m never crafty! This is amazing for my craft ability level. Can’t wait – 98 more days till her due date!
Sweet Jason – he has centered his life around us. In Priesthood today they were talking about friends and socialization. Reality check – Daddy with seven kiddos, four of whom have special needs don’t get a lot of socialization time. They dedicate their lives to their families. Jason loves us – and we are so grateful!! We love you Jas!
Pancakes (made by Sammi and Lizzy) An adorable gift from Brother
We love you Jason!
Joy singing with the other Primary children for their Daddies – she loved it up there!
The smallness, the closeness, the feelings that are so, so strong as you cuddle this little teeny tiny person near, close your eyes, and pour your love into another living human.
I dream of teaching, exploring, and discovering together with a little amazing person. Getting wet in streams, marveling at how seeds grow, all of it! I just want it all!
But Jason and I are about six years post vasectomy reversal – and nothing. We aren’t having any more babies. My doctor said at this point it would be very expensive, IVF with ICSI technically. And we have seven beautiful children. It seems irresponsible. Adopt again then? It is so hard – emotionally so hard, really. Truly. I hoped and hoped that someone would just “happen” upon us and realize we were the perfect family for their baby to grow up with. Without the prize in sight, I don’t think I could go through that again. It’s hard.
So I think we are done. And my heart is so, so sad.
I am not a creative person. I don’t do crafts. I don’t make things. Pinterest means nothing to me. Craft night just isn’t my thing.
But I do love to create – people, lives. I LOVE being a mother! I love helping these precious souls become the very best human they can be! This is my creative power being expressed – my children.
And I don’t want it to end – ever.
But life changes. The Earth spins. Time passes. And I think I’m entering another phase of my life – grandma phase.
You are forewarned Miss Ellie. I have big plans for you and I! We are going to discover this beautiful world together – it’s going to be awesome!!
“That was fun and now we’re done!” Where is the beautiful yellow bus??
Just kidding, not really. My girls miss school.
So what have we been up to? A bit!
Artichokes – yum, it has been three years since we had any. We each had one (even Becca) – so yummy!!
Bella had her recital
She loved it! I hate how big and grown up she looks!! :(
She LOVED watching the other acts – she tried to copy every one!
Jessi and Daddy cupcake date
Some awesome food around here:
Some extra pictures from Crusade: (Everywhere we went I heard, “Bella!” She is loved!)
A cool rainbow Jason and I saw above Slugger Field after Bella’s performance.
Alex’s first day of school during the summer enrichment – he LOVES his school!
Joy being silly after a doctor’s appointment and a picture to document her current obsession with hotdogs!
My poor son in law was in a car accident! How very, very grateful we are for seat belts! He’s fine, but his car was totalled. We are so thankful you are safe!
Hanging out – the first thing I do when I get home from work is to change!! Who wants to be in a dress all day?
Of course, therapy is going strong.
Brother scared us to death – he would stop what he was doing and winced up his face in pain. Real crocodile tears would roll down his face. It would go on for about 15 minutes. Nothing would comfort him. Nothing. He would wake up in the middle of the night. During the day. Anytime. At school. At home. At church. So we grabbed a friend from our old ward and gave Brother a blessing and then headed into the hospital.
Good news – his shunt is working
Bad news – we have no idea what is wrong. His pedi said we may never know. How I wish he could talk!!
The good thing is it lasted about a week and a half and seems to have stopped. Crazy!
Dental work is going full strength around here. We finally found someone we like (yes, we have been here almost 2 years) and now we have some serious catch up work to do in their mouths
We went to the ophthalmologist this week for Brother. It’s our yearly torture session. I see no point. It was really quick – have you seen any changes – nope. ok. We didn’t dilate. But we filled in the all important paper from the Commonwealth of Kentucky that details his visual impairment. They need it for school purposes. But he did tell me one thing I hadn’t thought about. The next time he is under sedation, he wants to do a thorough eye exam. He bangs his head a lot. I mean A LOT. Like, a lot. I stopped worrying about it after his last MRI showed it wasn’t doing any damage – how it isn’t is beyond me. But he said that the trauma of those blows could detach his retina, and then we would lose the teeny bit of vision we do have. Awesome! Something to add back to my worry list!
They are doing some construction work on the office next door and he loved checking out the fan!
Because I think he’s adorable when he sleeps!
Shared this on Facebook this week:
I love Brother's cane! Not only does it help him move through his environment, but it lets others in his world know he's blind. I am always apologizing, "Sorry, he's blind" as he runs into them or grabs someone's leg. Now that we are using the cane all the time, he is even more confident, people look but understand if he touches them by accident and they get out of the way. My constant verbal stream of directions makes sense too, "that's a window, the door is to your right, now there is carpet, there's a doorway to your left, now we need to go to the right." Not to mention my last reason, he's just so cute!!
My Joy! Feeding her baby
Sammi discovered Lane Bryant – she LOVES it there! I told her she had better have money when she gts older
Summertime – fancy nails, Starfall and hot dogs, taking naps on the couch, and playing in the water. Plus some summer flowers I thought were pretty!
Bella’s trophy from Ballet class – she is so sad it is over!
and one more big thing we did this summer is join the YMCA. We are working out and going swimming. It’s fun!
