handsful

6 months today! Seems like yesterday, and forever at the same time.

He’s been in the pressure sock one week (tomorrow), so he has one more week to go. His incision is healing nicely, and he’s not as squirmy about me touching it. The sock doesn’t bother him in the least…I never thought it would. He’s a very “roll with it” kinda kid. Usually.

As he’s become more comfortable with us, he’s developing some not-so-great habits, too. A little bit of whining, especially first thing in the morning. And, he can get upset easily. But, he snaps out of it really quickly with a lot of eye contact and reassuring words. Pretty soon, he’s giggling again…he holds no grudges.

We’re having some eating issues again, too. He’s SUCH a light eater, we still have to encourage him to eat his meals and they’re not big meals. Tonight, we had some success by having him race Payton. He loved that. We tell him he’ll get big and strong, and that seems to motivate him. He’s STILL 27lbs. Exactly. I plan on talking to our agency for some advice.

But, all in all, he’s such a sweet and happy kid. We’re blessed by him everyday!

As you can see, he’s got a new toy. His walker is a new favorite thing. Our sweet friends, the Gambil’s, are letting us borrow it for as long as he needs it. Their daughter, Hollyn, has had her leg for a few years and rarely uses it anymore, so they insisted we take it. It has helped immensely with keeping him up off the floor and he loves the independence it gives him.

Another bit of news: we had our 6 month post adoption visit from our social worker this week. China requires 2 reports, including current photos, at the 6 mo and 1 year mark. We mentioned that we’d not gone through the re-adoption process with either Lainey or Dylan and she assured us it’s quite easy in NC. We looked into it for Lainey while in FL, but it was a very confusing procedure and using a lawyer was going to be $$$. She told us she’d walk us through it at our next report appointment. This is such a relief to know that we can get state-side birth certificates for them and it won’t cost us a fortune!

Happy 6 months!

having parents that will take time to watch the littles, so we could take the bigs with us.  their willingness to bring  those littles back to us later, so they could enjoy some of the conference with us.

listening to God-gifted speakers, as they share what’s on their hearts for all us homeschool moms and dads, and teens.  being encouraged to continue doing what we do, always with God’s grace.

having a husband get just as excited as I do, as we plan our next year’s schooling.

finding a way to cart around all those book fair finds.

and, having fun filling it up.

running into lots of old friends, some we’ve not seen in years.

seeing new friends that we’ve made this past year.  last year at conference, we didn’t know a soul.

watching our kids (well, at least some of them) find new books to read this summer.

taking time to find some fun things for them, as well.  (the slingshot, survival knife, and rainbow light are still up in the sleeping kids bedrooms!)

receiving a handful of brochures that Abbey collected at the college fair.  buying SAT practice manual.  three years to go.

realizing I didn’t get to see or buy all the things we need for next year, because we spent too much time talking to friends.  not regretting that in the least.  being thankful for internet shopping.

letting the bigs go out to dinner with their cousins.  all by themselves.  taking the littles to meet Tony and Dee Dee for dinner….enjoying the food, conversation and laughter.  that glass of wine was nice, too.

somehow timing it just right to avoid the huge downpouring of rain as we walked to the restaurant.

sleeping in the van on the way home.

Randy, Lainey, Dylan, and I hit the road this morning, headed for…

Today was the day for Dylan’s cast removal!  It’s been four weeks, and we were all very ready.

This wasn’t Dylan’s first time at the rodeo….he remembered that the cast-cutter tickles.

He giggled the whole time.

The cutter isn’t actually cutting, per say.  It’s a pretty dull semi-circle blade that vibrates at a high speed.  So, there’s no way to actually cut the skin underneath.  But, it LOOKS like it is!

All the cutting is done, so time for the clamp to open it…she let Dylan help out with this part.

They cracked it open like a walnut and, voila….

After the cast was removed, we all looked at it and commented on how good it looked.  Dylan was quiet, just looking.  No mention of anything missing…we wondered what his reaction would be.  Then, the nurse began to wash his leg with a soapy rag and she must have bumped the stitches.  He got really upset and cried.  I’m sure they are tender, and he was hesitant to have us touch them again.

They told us that there are stitches on the inside that will dissolve.  The ones on the outside will fall off, she said in around a week.  There is also quite a bit of scabbing.  It strikes me that the scar looks like a smile.  (especially with those 2 spots that came off in the shower tonight!)

He can have baths, as long as he doesn’t soak too long.  They want him to hold off on swimming until the outside stitches fall off.

After we talked to the physician assistant for a while, we were sent to the braces room for his pressure sock.  He got nervous when we went in the room, knowing the sock would have to touch his leg.  The tech was as nice as can be, and said that momma could do it.  Dylan decided daddy was the better choice.

The sock is more like a pair of pants.  A hole for his long leg to fit through, and a closed-end sock on the other.  Then, the waist band goes up like pants.  It fit well, and even looks comfy to me.  They gave us 6 and we’re to wash/dry them with our other laundry.   He fussed while it was put on, but then was fine.  The thought of it touching was worse than the actual touch.

On the way out, we made our next appt for June 6th.  He’ll have the mold taken for his new leg that day!  Oh my, we’re almost there!

It’s fuzzy, but this was the shot of the two tired children on the way home.  And, Lainey NEVER falls asleep in the car.

The boy totally deserved cake after today!

People ask us all the time, when they find out we homeschool…how will we make up for all the things they’ll miss not going to traditional school?  My question back to them is usually – what will they miss?

Case in point.  Abbey went to her first prom last night.  A prom designed especially for homeschooled kids here in the Lake Norman area.  She decided she wanted to go, not having the usual “prom date” and not even sure whether or not she’d know anyone there.  Were YOU that confident at 15?  I know I wasn’t.  Abbey is.  We’re so very thankful.

Did she see people she knew?  Yes, she did.  Did she meet new friends?  Yep.  Did she have fun.  MOST definitely.  Said it was the best dance yet.  (She’s been to 2 other homeschool dances…so far)

Assuming all of our kids make it to at least 2 of their proms in high school, we’re looking at 10 more proms to go.  At least.  Is there a budget category for that?

Love you, Abbey girl…

Thursday night, our big kids were part of the year end celebration show for…

This was their first year taking part in the Student Council, where they’re learning how to become leaders and servants that glorify God.  It’s been a fabulous year of service projects, instruction, fellowship, and fun.

The show had a little of everything.

Scripture

Dance

Skits….

very funny skits.

and, some very meaningful skits.

the littles were in childcare, so they missed the show.  But, they sure did enjoy the ice cream social afterwards.

Dylan, who usually refuses ice cream, ate the whole cup.

It was a wonderful night, and the kids are already looking forward to the fall, when Leadership Link begins again.

We’re playing around with changing the header on the blog…I love it!  Working on changing colors some, too.  Actually, I should say our amazing techno-guy friend Alan is doing all this.  What WOULD we do without him?

Gotta figure out where “handsful” goes, and what color it should be.  Any ideas?

Oh, and guess what?  You no longer have to REGISTER to comment!  So, as long as you can click a mouse and type, you can comment here.  :)  So, please do!

since we moved from Florida to NC.  We made most of the drive up last May 14th, spent the night, and then drove in on Saturday, the 15th.  A lot has happened since then.

Randy changed jobs (which caused the move in the first place)

Adopted our 6th child, Dylan

Various kids have been in the hospital/ER and we’ve dealt with 4 surgeries.

Our oldest is driving now, in preparation for her permit.  Gulp.

Something that hasn’t changed:  we’re still in our rental home AND our home in Florida is still for sale (though, thankfully, being rented at the moment).  As we heard in church today, God holds all time.

We’ve found a church home, made many amazing friends, and seen God’s hand in this move countless times.

Last year this time, we were expectant that God would bring blessing with this move, but we were also scared out of our wits.  To be honest.  Looking back, it wasn’t always easy – it was downright hard at times.  But, here we are.

And now, since I hate to post without pictures…

Marley convinced me to go out to yard sales yesterday morning.  Even though we had to leave at 11am for a trip to Raleigh and we weren’t exactly ready.  But, we did well and I found this for the littles.

They were asking $10, I offered $8 and he even helped me load it into the van. Came with lots of erasers, chalk, dry erase markers, and magnets.  I love a good deal.

I guess, after today, I can’t say we’re new to NC.  Which is fine with me.