Sunday Sharp!

Break through week!

Last week was Shakira's break through week. Praise God!!! She has learned so much since she has come home...both the easy way & the hard way...but mostly the hard way :o( A couple weeks ago she decided she had enough of us telling her what to do. She would be openly defiant & have periods of "shut down" when she didn't want to do what we asked. Her & I were at a stand off. I prayed & tried to remain calm. One day last week she woke up & as if she verbally said, "Mom, I know that you are wanting me to do these things because they are for my good & that you love me. I know that we are good for each other." It was then that I realized it too...that we were good for each other...even though it's sometimes hard & painful. It was a break through for the both of us.

When I stop & think about all the things she can do now...things she couldn't do when she came home almost 11 weeks ago...I am amazed. I can truly see the hand of God working in all of our lives. I know that she still has a long road ahead of her but now I can clearly see the vision of the end result that God gave me when she first came home.

Shakira can now sit at the table with a plate of food in front of her & not touch it until she is told to. She uses her eating utensils properly most of the time. She can dress herself head to toe with minimal assistance. Her attention span has increased from practically none to being able to sit & watch TV or dvd for a few minutes, look at a book from cover to cover, sit fairly still in church, stay dry during the day for 2-3 days at at time & today she woke up dry for the first time! She can wash her body during bath time, say more words in English, swims like a fish with a life jacket on, & is now learning how to ride a bike. Her hitting, biting, & throwing have decreased dramatically since she first came home & she now says, "Sorry" when she has wronged someone & "forgive you" when she has been wronged.

Other news...I had a wonderful get away weekend by myself a couple of weekends ago. It was much needed...and it's interesting that our breakthrough week came after that weekend. Phoebe has enjoyed her summer but is ready to go back to school. Samara is working on her ABC's & 1,2,3's in English as well as her English comprehension. She does get into trouble once in awhile but most of the time she is our laid back, follow the rules child...thank you Lord for giving us one of them! :o) Caleb's middle name has been changed to "pout." He is intermittently going potty on the potty chair & wants to help do everything.

Randy continues to lose weight & work out. He's looking pretty buff :o) I however, feel like a big bowl of jelly but really don't have the time to obsess over it :o) We are on a count down to our cruise next week. We can't wait! My mother has been having severe back pain & will be having a MRI of her back done this Friday. Please pray for her. Please pray for my Grandma as well, as she really is unable to care for herself but refuses to let anyone help her. She fell down the other day by her mailbox which is near a very busy highway. Randy's parents are doing well.

Here are a few pictures over the past couple of weeks.

Two years ago today...

Randy & I met our 3 Haitian beauties for the first time. I can't believe it's been two years since that first trip. It was a whirlwind trip as we met the 3, had our DHS appt. & met all 3 birthmothers, & did a lot of work at the O.

It's been almost 10 weeks since they came home & we're finally starting to get into a "normal groove"...if there is such a thing :o) I am not going to do anymore weekly updates but will update as I feel led. The kids are looking healthy & doing very well. Phoebe & Samara are starting to spat like sisters. Shakira is rebelling somewhat as we are requiring her to do more & more things like dress herself, put on her shoes, toliet herself...I know it sounds funny but it's a medical term, feed herself (she got quite use to the nannies doing it for her), picking out a book or toy & then looking at the book or playing with the toy for a certain amount of time, & repeating words or phrases to increase her voculabury. Caleb is a cute "mess." He goes from pouting to throwing horrific temper tantrums to being cute as a button with a smile that won't quit. His latest thing is going on the toliet from time to time as well as saying, "Mom...What's that?" with a funky deep intonation on the "that". Not sure what brought that on :o)

School starts in less than a month so Monday we started our school routine of up at 6am & to bed at 8pm. I have all of Phoebe's school supplies. We're still waiting for Shakira to be evaulated by Special Ed. Coop & we will get Samara's supply list about a week before preschool starts...yes, preschool even has a supply list...isn't that nuts?

Randy & I haven't had much alone time since the 3 came home and we are looking forward to our upcoming trip at the beginning of August to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. The cats are doing well. Life is good! :o)

Time out...wears me out!

It normally doesn't but this was after coming home from swimming an hour & half & it was close to his nap time.

Shakira live in concert...

Yeah, not "that" one...my Shakira :o)

The numbers are in...

and I must say that I am pretty pleased by them! We weighed the children yesterday & here are the results:
Caleb...when he came home he weighed 24 pounds...he now weighs 28 pounds
Samara...weighed 28 pounds when she came home & now weighs 34 pounds
Shakira...weighed 38 pounds when she came home & now weighs...hold onto your hats! 50.2 pounds! Yeah, she's still skinny but not super stick skinny like before :o)
Phoebe is holding steady which is what the doctor was wanting

Forget it...I'm not telling you how much I weigh :o)

Caleb is wearing 2T shirts & 18 months to 2T pants
Samara is going into size 4T
Shakira was wearing 3T pants when she got home for her waist size although they were way to short...we used regular pants as capri's :o) She is now wearing size 6

Weeks 7 & 8...

I intentionally did not make a post last week about week 7. To put it bluntly...it was a poopy week...literally! Poop in the toilet, poop in pull ups & diapers, poop on the floor, on the walls, smeared on a bed...you get the picture. So this of course...made for poopy attitudes! Although week 7 was VBS week at our church for Phoebe & Samara...and lots of good things happened while they were there...by the end of the week both of them were acting out just to get some attention from me because I had been so involved with poop & the pooper all week. I don't know why Shakira had such a bad week that week but she did. By Friday I was worn out.

We were all suppose to go to a baseball game on that evening but I knew that Shakira just wasn't up to it. I didn't know what to do. I knew that if we brought her with us that it would most likely end up in disaster. I also knew that my chances of finding some one to watch her at the last minute was slim but I had to try. I called my amazing friend Kristina & she said they didn't have any plans that night & that they would be happy to watch Shakira while the rest of us went to the ball game. Half of me was thrilled while the other half was feeling guilty for not taking her. We picked her up after the game & was thrilled that she had such a great time with our friends. I could tell that she was truly happy...something I had not seen all week. Randy's parents came to visit the following day. It was nice to have them here & it was their first opportunity to really see the kids in action. Shakira, Samara, & Caleb got baptized on Sunday. It went really well but unfortunately I don't have any pictures to prove it :o(

Today makes two months since Shakira, Samara, & Caleb came home. I can't believe it's been two months. In some ways it feels like they have been home with us much longer & in some ways it feels like they just came home. I can however, see major progress in all three since they came home. Some days I wish for more...but am very grateful for what we have...as they say, "It could always be worse" which in most cases is very true. I have to remind Phoebe & Samara...as well as myself, of that, from time to time when we get frustrated with Shakira's behavior. I tell them, "I know this is really frustrating right now but if you look at the wide range spectrum of how it could be...she could be banging her head on the wall non stop & screaming at the top of her lungs" so we should be thankful that she doesn't do that.

Week 8 has been a much better week...Thank you Jesus! We all needed a good week. What does a good week look like in our house? Well, right now it consists of no poop smearing, minimal hitting, pinching, or biting, minimal time outs & other discipline, no major illnesses or injuries. It also includes a moderate amount of laughing, playing dress up, reading books, swimming, & children sleeping until at least 6am. Wednesday I took the kids to the zoo & to McDonalds so they thought it was a very good day :o)

Thursday evening we went to another ball game except this time we took Shakira & it included all you can eat food & drink, & fireworks after the game. I was quite leary of how Caleb & Shakira would respond to the fireworks but was pleasantly surprised by their reactions. They both looked at them intently at first & then Caleb decided he had seen enough & just wanted to be held by Mama. Shakira started getting overwhelmed half way through but just looked away & held on tight to Papa. Samara really liked them. She said, "They are loud but they are really pretty. I like them!" Tonight we will be going to a fireworks display at the river not far from our house. Hopefully they will enjoy these as well.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!