Various Pictures Post

Demi Roo before cheerleading performance....Nikaya is honorary member! They are all glittered out!
















Kai Ceus.....he is so cool he MUST wear shades...even at night!





















Daddy on the trampoline with Kai, Nikaya and Demi Roo...who says white men can't jump??hehe


















Nikaya at Chuch-E-Cheese. Girl threw the ski ball and it went 1 foot. Tried again with the same result. She climbed up the machine, checked out the plasitc cover on the machine and figured out how to cheat....She got high score!!! Bells went off and tickets shot out hehehe
Kids that were standing nearby came and did the same thing...pure mayhem....I am so proud!!! ;-) Future criminal mastermind I see...










Fun with chalk. We chalked the driveway, the sidewalk and mommy, now lets chalk ourselves!!!

Easter

This was the kids first Easter at home. They were surprised to received outfits from Hawaii from Mammy and Pappy and candy as well (gotta love the chocolate!!!). We didn't get to have an egg hunt due to bad weather...wind and rain....I guess that good Lord is washing and blowing away all the sin. :-)

We visited Curt's family and had dinner. Great to see his Grandma Nolan alive and doing well at the wonderful age of 94...she is going strong and it seems that she will have another 94 years ahead of her.

All the kids played and got along fine. No real big fights over toys (nothing more than a toddler squabble every now and again). The Mommy and Daddy Easter Bunny got the kids an outfit each as well, along with a chocolate candy bar. The kids want to wear the outfits that they got from us and mammy and pappy right now, but they are short outfits and it hasn't been nice enough.

Kai is excited to go to the store and get a pair of sandals. With tax money in, we plan on clothes shopping a little for the kids and ourselves...something we do only if needed because they have clothes that don't fit anymore or something is worn out. Clothes for Curt and I have been a long time coming!!! Kai keeps asking me about going to the shoe store
"ok mama....ale go shoes now?"
"Soon Kai Ceus, soon."
"No, now mama, now...."
You would think the kids is related to Emelda Marcos or something. hehe

Tonight we get the task of setting up a new stand and turtle tank for Rocco. His digs are going from 10 gallon to 20 gallon, plenty of space for him to sun and swim....I KNOW Rocco is excited...

I need to do Demi Roo's hair tonight since she has a game to cheer for tomorrow at 9am. I HATE having to be somewhere BY 9am.....I even hate having to be functioning that early in the morning. At least with the kids up and around, I can at least be in jammies and fohawk hair and they don't care. hehe

Well, off to get things done.

Nothing Much Here But A Flower In The Wall

Nothing really new to report on our front.

I do ask for prayers for a couple of friends though. My friend Amy is leaving Saturday to pick up her daughter Kerline. Kerline is almost 15 and will be flying and coming to the US for the first time ever....pray for Amy's safety in Haiti and for Kerline's calmness in the storm of adopted life and coming home. Kerline has lived at the Orphanage since the age of 4 years old. She is leaving everyone she has ever known to go with her new 'mama blanc' (white mother) to live in this vast place called America. I know for a fact that she will experience fear, happiness, immense grief and an overwhelming feeling of lack of control. I pray that the Lord Will be with her as she begins her much anticipated journey home.

Also pray for my friend Angela. Angela is traveling to Haiti for the first time ever to meet the 5...YES, I SAID 5, kids she will be adopting. Angela needs prayers for safety, to be free from medical issues and to enjoy meeting her kids in Haiti.

Haiti can be a VERY overwhelming place. I have had families land and get back on an airplane to go home before ever leaving the airport. I have had families go to Haiti and call me in tears because they are so overwhelmed by the poverty and violence they see. I have had families tell me that they will make one trip and NEVER return to the island again....they cannot do it. Then you have people like myself, Amy, Ange, Abby and a few others, who will go back until they throw us out. (OK...they would only throw ME out and tried that once already...I returned..nice try. :-P )

I was very excited when we went to Haiti to get Kai and Nikaya. Curtis had never been to Haiti and was anxious, excited, frightened, worried all rolled into one person. I know the first little bit of our trip he would shake his head at night in sheer desperation to return home to Hunter and Demi Roo, but to not leave me Kai and Nikaya there without him. He saw the UN tanks, the machine gun toting police, the gunshots that put you to sleep at night, the poverty and the sadness...he also saw the beauty.

One night we were at the guest house playing volleyball with Dr. Bernard and staff. During a water break I noticed Curtis taking a picture of the wall that surrounds the guest house. I know that this is something everyone takes a picture of, I did it, I have seen photos from other families, it is just a presence to be seen and photographed. You see, the wall is about 10 feet high and the top has about 2 feet of razor wire on top of it. I know this fence well, and see many like it all over Haiti. What I did not see is what my hubby saw. Out of that big menacing fence was a little plant with a flower growing out of it....in the MIDDLE of the cement fence.
When Curtis showed me he said something I found very profound "this flower reminds me of Haiti...all the difficulties yet this beautiful living thing is growing from it."
He saw the beauty that I have seen, the strength, the desire for more, the desire to live in spite of the situation and death all around them....they are stronger than many I know and I would hope for their strength had I been born 600 miles from the US with no where to go. Curtis said he would go back with me someday, and for that I am soooo thankful!!!

Once again, I ask for prayers for Amy, Kerline and Angela as their Easter is one of happiness, sadness and a feeling of overwhelming loss and joy.

Before They Call I Will Answer...

I have always adored the story below....enjoy

Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call, I will answer"
This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa ..One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool tha t the baby would be wrapped in.Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways."All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say,"Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The o nly way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost fo ur years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out bri ghtly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."

Growing

Curtis and I measured the kids today.

Since they have been home, Kai Ceus has grown over 2 1/2 inches in height.

Nikaya has grown 2 inches.

Since January Hunter has grown 1 inch and Demi Roo has grown another 1/2 inch as well......I think they are growing to fast and need to stop it! :-P

I am excited for shorts season for Demi Roo....her pants are all now high waters and it is time to stock up on Capri pants to wear as well as shorts. I stock up on the Capri's and she can wear them with socks thru out the winter when it is mild, that way she doesn't look like she is waiting for a flood. hehe

Hunter is looking in to playing football ( I am nervous for my first baby, but he needs to get a little more outdoor play). I am not sure how I feel about tackle games, but he will have pads. I try to remember all the times he fought Muay Thai and how that compares...he will be fine!

Demi Roo is continuing with cheer leading. She has cheered at 2 Mayor's games and one other youth game in the last few weeks. She is doing well and has learned to master cartwheels and round off's quite well. She is now teaching Kai and Nikaya on the trampoline.

Kai is anxious for school to start. He is looking forward to riding the school bus and going to AWANA church (as he calls it). He has spent so much time on the trampoline with Demi and Nikaya that I swear they will wear it out. He is sleeping better now that he is being kept busy and getting the energy out of his little body.

Nikaya is anxious for AWANA church as well. She will turn 3 in May and when it starts up again this next September she will be old enough to be a Cubbie. She is excited to go and learn and play with the other kids. She has mastered the front somersault on the trampoline and is trying to do the tricks all the big kids do. Wont take her long. I am glad we have a net all the way around the trampoline. This allows even Nikaya to jump and not fall off.

Both Kia and Nikaya got used to Mammy and Pappy's dogs Sassy (Dingo Healer mix) and Sweetie (Golden Retriever). Sassy and Sweetie were here for 15 days while M & P enjoyed their Anniversary trip to Hawaii. While they tanned and enjoyed the ocean and sun, we sat here with mild weather and dog farts....NOT a fair trade if you ask me. I will post pic's of the kids giving Sassy and Sweetie a tea party.....the dogs looked THRILLED. hehe

Getting Better

Well so far I feel like I might get back to my old self sometime in the future. I will continue taking my Lunesta to help me sleep and work on trying to not let things get to me so much....read...try not to be such a perfectionist with the stupid stuff. hehe

I know I need to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the kids for who and what they are, my beautiful blessings. I need to TRY not to worry about the house not being picture perfect and if someone comes and there are toys on the floor they can always step over them or choose not to visit. I will have SOME extra help as Curtis will be done with school for a while and will be able to help out a little more when he is home instead of doing homework non stop. He can also bring work home to catch up on it and earn some over time pay as well.

I have felt a tremendous frustration with the office I work with in Haiti. The communication has been almost non existent lately and I am frustrated for my families. Things move at the speed of sap in the winter, but when you are hearing nothing about your babies it can be an overwhelming feeling. I will be calling AGAIN this week to see if I can jar any info. out of them that I can for the families that are waiting. I have several that should either be traveling soon, getting out of IBESR (Haitian Social Services) or getting referrals (always a fun time...like the stork for me!!)

My 10 Year Olds Question

For those of you that have never met my almost 10 year old son Hunter, I wanted to post to you a question he asked me this evening.He is extremely bright and floors us with the things he says and does, here is his question...

Mom, will global warming make us vegetarians?

WHAT? Maybe I need more Lunesta!!!

What is Going On

Lets see. Kai has lost ANOTHER tooth, his second in the same number of weeks! Yeah for the tooth fairy, the kid will be loaning me money soon!

Went to the Muay Thai fights last night as Medic again. Pretty good, a couple of our Sidekick fighters won some big matches. I butterfly bandaged several eye cuts etc. Most interesting of the night was a guy that broke his cheek bone and it dislodged his eyeball....yes folks, his eyeball was somewhat gouged out....EEWW Anyway, we sent him to the hospital to have it put back in. Hopefully he will not have to have to much surgery etc...pray for the poor fella will ya?!

Curtis is finishing up this block of schooling. I think he is going to take a break for a while. He is feeling in a rut and that he is missing out on time with us fun people we call family!

Got the kids social security cards in the mail...now we can add them to our taxes as our children, that is always good. hehe

My Assistant Amy is officially/unofficially gone from Heritage now. I like my new assistant, but she isn't Amy. I got her a card to send and hope it gets to her before she leaves for Spain apartment hunting...she and I found some awesome places on the internet...mansions..hehehe. I feel like I am losing a limb. I like that her number will stay a US number and she and I can email, but I will miss her just the same.

I am going to the Dr. tomorrow to see how I am doing, well, to discuss how I am doing. As you may be able to see, I am posting this at 11:49pm Mountain time...I have taken Lunesta and I am STILL awake. I am hoping to get a couple more 'normal' weeks in and see where I am at then. I will update more after my appointment.

Better go to bed for tonight....6:30am comes early here!

A Lost Tooth

Kai got to experience his first ever loose tooth!
I told him Thursday that his tooth was loose and would be coming out soon. Low and behold, he and Hunter, Demi Roo and Nikaya and friends were jumping on the trampoline and Hunter went to kick and hit Kai right in the smoocher. OUT flew Kai's tooth and blood began to run down his lip. At first everyone was a little freaked out by the blood, but once I calmed them down and showed Kai the hole in his mouth he thought it was pretty cool. We went back to the trampoline to find the tooth...could not find it anywhere. All of a sudden, Hunter says "oh, here it is...on my pant leg". There was Kai's tooth stuck to the leg of Hunter's jeans. hehe

Thursday night the tooth fairy came to visit and Kai got his first ever tooth fairy money. That kid would go NO WHERE without his tooth fairy money. When I tried to convince him to leave it at home, he swore someone would take it. I finally convinced him to leave it for our Birthday swim party on Friday....thank goodness....and when he came home it was right where he left it just as I had promised! ;-)

A big first for our little guy....now we will work on bike riding....

A New Experience

Today Kai and Nikaya got to enjoy a new experience.....a movie in a theater.
I took Demi Roo, Kai and Nikaya to 'Happy Feet' at the dollar theater....well, actually $2.00 theater, but who is counting..
We had popcorn and a lemonade and enjoyed the show...the kids LOVED the music and dancing in the movie and sat well for it, especially for their first time. Hunter and Curt went to see '300' a big epic picture that we knew the littler kids would not enjoy. Good thing, Curt said the movie was good, but really graphic violence and some sexual content. Hunter loved the battle scenes, but spent some time with his eyes closed during the scenes he shouldn't see. All in all, everyone had fun and we met at home and must now make dinner.....a mommies job is never done!

Struggling

As of lately I have been struggling health wise. Starting in Novemeber 2006, I had emergency gallbladder surgery. One month to the day we arrived in Haiti for 10 days....lifting kids and traveling international when I had not gotten clearance to go anywhere. January was pretty good for all of us, than February hit. February has been wrought with colds, flu, back pain and stress for me. Curtis is going to school and is not as readily able to help in the child care area as we had hoped. I know that struggling health wise has caused my mental faculties to suffer as well. I am not being the mommy I had hoped to be. I am crabby, snappy and all around a big boob to be around sometimes. I have talked to other families who have had some of the same symptoms and have pretty much figured out that I have Post Adoption Depression Syndrome. PADS is alot like Post Partum Depression....but for the adopter as opposed to the birther....make sense? I know, no one had better go Scientologist on me and tell me I could make myself better with some colonic or something...hehe
Anywhoo...I have an appointment with my Dr. on Monday to have him evaluate me and get my med's adjusted. As someone who suffers from depression and Fibromyalgia anyways, it should not surprise me that I have this .

I am just struggling with the stigma that goes along with it. While I am moody and whiny and weepy, I have friends that do not understand. I usually hear "well, YOU are the one who went out and adopted the kids" or "You WANTED to add more kids to your family..." DUH...I know that, but it doesn't change hormones, mental issues etc...that can come along with a major life change. Makes me want to tell the ones that say that to stick it where the sun doesn't shine!!!
I am so happy to have the kids home, I would NOT change that for the world. What I cannot change and must deal with is that I have doubled my children and not the number of hours in the day, I did not grow another two arms to help out in the extra work, and I sure didn't get any extra brain cells to help me with their coming home issues etc. Don't get me wrong, the kids have bonded well and couldn't be better....they are needy, but I can deal with that. All I can say is that I am not the mommy I want to be right now.
I will post more once I go to the Dr. and can figure it all out. Until then, prayers would greatly be appreciated!!!

Picture Post

Here is a picture post from the last little bit.
1. Kai with Skittles...he loves that cat now
2. Kai in Hunter's sparring gear
3. Nikaya in sparring gear
4. Hunter ski night...boy learned how to snowboard
5. Kai, Demi Roo and Nikaya at Bball practice
6. Hunter and Coach Tony doing some drills

A Large Family?

It appears that Curt and I have entered the 'large family' category as far as most of society is concerned. I am not sure how many children puts you in this area, but we have qualified.
Now, most of the time I go places, I have Annie and Zach, my friend Tracey's 2 kids......no, they don't live here, but they might as well. :-P

Last week I took the kids all to Carl's Jr. for dinner before basketball practice. I ordered 6 kids meals and thought the guy behind the counter was going to pass out for the mere thought of it. I explained that only 4 of the kids were actually mine, the other two were not. He replied "only FOUR??? re you one of those Mormons?" "Um...no I replied, I just have 4 kids....I am Baptist"...like I really needed to explain, but I was caught off guard.
I emailed several of my friends who I consider to have large families (6 kids or more) and asked them how they handle it. We obviously have entered the crazy person stage as far as most are concerned and I don't know how I feel about that (more on that in a minute)... Most of the families state that maybe my family gets that attention because all the children are black...maybe a family with 4 white kids would not get noticed as much. Others feel that most believe that anyone with more than the standard 1.5 kids is bizarre...maybe I do belong to the weirdo club then.??!!
Either way, I am not sure how I feel about being branded a weirdo for the number of children I have. I know it is not the typical family size, I know they are all a different color, I know they are all adopted (which comes into play with the "how much did it cost you to adopt all of them?" question (also considered rude by most standards...)but still.....why do people need to act so exasperated when they see me??
I guess maybe I just needed to vent, to try and figure out how to fix peoples perception of family....I will never fix it so I might as well smile and live with it! ;-P

First Basket and Rodeos

At Saturdays game Hunter finally did it....

The game was close, the kids on the other team were all over our team like flies. Hunter was open and his teammate threw him the ball.....Hunter, knowing he had a shot, tossed the ball to the basket for a 3 pointer!!! SWISH....that sucker went right in, like he had done it a million times before...Curt, Me, Friends, coaches and teammates came off the seats to yell...Hunter had made his first basket during a game!!! His team, the Wizards, lost the game anyway, but Hunter had made his basket....that is ALL that mattered to us!

Afterwards, Hunter went to his friend Tyler's house. Curt and the kids and I went home for rest. That evening I ventured out with the kids to see Tyler's brother Michael ride Bulls in a local rodeo. Kai and Nikaya, and Hunter and Demi for that matter, saw their first rodeo. Typically we don't go since they are so expensive and I usually side with the animal (hehe) but with this being a small local rodeo it was much cheaper.

You know, I wonder what Kai and Nikaya think sometimes. Here they are in a family now. That has to be cool. But now that family goes to this BIG market and buys food, more food than 1 person could eat, more food than they have seen at one time...money just seems to appear ( I wish). We go watch our friends ride 'Gwo Bef" (Big Cows) and watch them tumble off and people cheer. Holidays this year we celebrated at our Matant and Tonton (Aunt and Uncles) house, and they have animal heads on the walls. (Side note, Curtis' Uncle is an avid Hunter and has bear, deer and elk heads and hides proudly displayed). The only people in Haiti who might have animal heads up and around are more than likely Voodoo Priests....."What kind of family did I get adopted into?" Must be there thoughts. he he

Daily Happenings

Tonight is a busy night of basketball and Parent Teacher Conferences. I am somewhat glad that the kids do not have school tomorrow due to the conference schedule, this will allow some down time to have fun. I am planning on taking the kids for a day trip to the YMCA. I am anxious to let them swim, run and play to get the wiggles out....they all need it. If we are at the Y, they are away from me and the boredom of home and will leave me alone. hehe
I do have a question though.....if our house is so boring, why do the neighborhood kids all want to come here? Everyday after school I have no less than 2-3 kids....PLUS the 4 that actually live here. Most days I don't mind it, but there are a few where the house looks like a cyclone hit it and we have no snacks and I have no nerves left when it is over. Those are days when Curt comes home and looks at me like i need to up my medicine. hehe

So, I will post how all of us got along at the Y and hopefully some pic's of the new kids swimming...Their first time at the pool...should be a blast!!

Cat Pee...

Does anyone out there know how to get rid of cat pee smell?
I have been fighting with Macey, our oldest cat that we have had for quite while. She has taken to peeing in our upstairs hallway. I have tried putting 3 different litter boxes out, so she wont have to share, and using different kinds of litter. I took her to the vet and they 'treated' her and charged me $358 and she came home and promptly peed again AARRGGHH!!!
I cannot in my mind pout her to sleep when she is otherwise healthy. I am not 100% sure if it is a dislike for the other cats in the house (we have 3 total). I have taken to letting her live in our large master bath with her own food and water supply and own litter box....she has not peed on the floor in their once in 2 weeks....makes me know for sure she is just being a butt head!!!

I have just tried Urine Gone...use the black light and all....here is to hoping it works. Let me know if any of you have any great ideas...I am open to any of them!!!

Sat. Night Fights

MySpace Glitter Graphics





Once again I sat Ring side Medic for the Ring Warrior Fights. WOW. I enjoy being a little bit of help, but Saturday night was a busy one. I however managed to not be boo'ed as I was in November...YEAH!!!
I did have one man completely knocked out. Man, his eyes were rolled to the back of his melon like no ones business. Took a good 1 1/2 minutes to bring him to. He then proceeded to vomit everywhere and bleed from his nose, mouth etc. You see...he was going to shoot for the legs of the other guy and when he ben to do it the other guy kicked him square in the face...OUCH!!! Needless to say, he took a merry trip to the hospital by ambulance! :-)

Next, I was summoned to the back area that is for fighters and trainers only. I rounded the corner to the sound of horrific cussing.....I see about 2 guys trying to hold a guy to take his gloves off. When I get to him I see his middle finger on his left hand is bloody and bent at an odd angle. As I clean it off I see 'meat' and bone sticking out of his finger. Once I convince the men that there was no way a glove was coming off that hand and that I had to indeed CUT it to remove the glove they all wanted to take photos of the battered finger first...MEN....
I was able to cut, clean and wrap the man's finger and send him off to the hospital for bone reset, stitches and good pain med's....I am sure today he is in pain!

Next I went into the ring to see a guy who had been cut above his right eye. We went to the backroom to work so the next fight could start, I was met by a room full of guys waiting for their fighter to go out. I announced that I was coming in, since it was a mens lockeroom, and was greeted by a guy who felt it necessary to show me his FULL MOON, just for fun...I told him it was the whitest butt I had ever seen and if he had anything I had never seen before I would dedicate him to science! His buddies laughed that I didn't oogle his hairy buttocks and went about my business ....he may never live it down... My patients eye was cute pretty deep and I knew immediatley that he would also require stitches. I cleaned him, butterflied his eye and gave him some ice and instructions for the ride to the hospital. I promised him that chicks really do dig scars and he had quite the war wound.

The rest of the fights were pretty uneventful...Thank the Lord, I had had enough bones, eyes, vomit and hairy butts for the evening. A new friened of mine, Marko, won Amateur Welterweight belt though....proud of the warrior for that! Eric (my brother) and I finally arrived home at 12:30am...LONG NIGHT and FUN had by all!

Updates on Stuff....

I wanted to post some updates on some of the old posts I have done.

My cousin Travis is OUT of Cottonwood Correctional Facility!!! He served 1 year for Aggravated Battery etc. stemming from an accidental shooting at a party a couple of years ago. The guy he shot is alive and well and holds no ill will toward Travis and they have made amends....he even spoke out for Travis at his court hearing. While in Jail Travis found God. He was saved and since release has been attending a church near his home! I am so glad to not only hear him talk the talk, but walk the walk as well!

The new kids are bonding well to all of us. Hunter and Demi Roo are learning more Creole and Kai and Nikaya are learning more English...good for everyone involved. Of course, I have learned more Creole being immersed all day in it, but have been known to make a mistake or two.
About a week after the kids came home I was calming down Nik before dinner. I wanted to tell them "sit here, mama is going to make dinner" In Creole I should have said "Chita la, Mama fe manje" BUT instead I said " Chita la, Mama fe bagay" SO, I actually told my children "Sit here, mama is going to have sex" NICE!!!! If the world wont corrupt them, I will! ;-)
Kai, our 5.5 year old giggled and quickly corrected me "Mama, manjay, manjay!" Yes, MANJAY!! Glad to know I can't get anything past him! ;-P

Tomorrow is a big day for Hunter. Hunter is going in to get braces! He is in need of braces on his top 4 teeth as well as a few in the back. The front ones will help with his 'open bite', 'pulling his canine up where it should be', and the back are to help 'pull his 6 year molars out of his gums and where they should be'. Nice little gift that should cost about $2100...YIKES! This will include braces, office visits, retainer etc. for his first phase. He may need to have a 2nd phase when he is an older teen...we may have to auction him off for yard labor to help pay for it all! ;-P

Demi Roo has been continuing with her cheer leading and doing well...pretty much can do the splits now...OUCH! Hunter is continuing his basketball career (hehe) with 1 loss and 1 win so far. The big draw is to win 2 games in a row so the coach will take them for a milkshake! ;-)

Kai and Nik spend their days torturing me and playing with the toys and getting into things. Much to Hunter's chagrin, Nik insists on breastfeeding his action figures like they are her babies...not what is supposed to happen to a John Cena doll if you ask him. hehe

Curtis has started school again, this will mean that he has this block of classes and the next then he will be a Sophomore.....ooohhhh. 8 more blocks and he will graduate with an Associates Degree in Business. Me, I work from home with Heritage, several families in the process of a new longer process for Haitian children, and watch Kai and Nik run around like little crazies while driving everyone to their activities!!!

Off to check e mail for now....

Whose Activity Are We Going To Now???

Our lives are about to get busier....not that we get to lay around a lot with 4 kids, but soon we will have 3 in activities to go to....Saturday will be Demi Roo's cheerleading at 10am and Hunter has his first Basketball game at 1 pm. He is very excited to PLAY in an ACTUAL game!!! ;-)

I will post some pic's from the game afterwards so you can all see the superstar in action.hehe

Hunter has practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8pm. Games are every Saturday until the season ends. Demi Roo practices every Saturday from 10-11am....forever, since there isn't a cheerleading season with the city. Wednesdays are AWANA's from 6:15-8:15pm. Somewhere in there we fit eating, homework, reading and bathing....I am getting tired just talking about it. We try to reserve Monday and Fridays as nights to just veg...at least for now. ;-P

Starting in late March, Kai will do his first activity...SOCCER! In Haiti they refer to it as football....in Haiti, football is BIG! I notice that in the US soccer isn't the fantastic sport that other countries believe it is...Kai will change all of that. I have watched that kid with a ball, a can, anything he can kick...he has some serious moves!! He is so excited to start he asks me EVERYDAY if it is time for soccer games...I remind him no, not for a couple of more months, and dread the fact that I even told him I was signing him up...stupid mom moment #156.... hehehe

Winter Weather

Our weather has been something else lately. Today we are lucky to have a high of 30* with a low of 4* this morning. Tomorrow we are looking at high of 25* with a low of 0* and have had the wind chill of -10 below.

So, for my parents sake, I dressed for the weather....

HEHEHEHHEHE!! THANKS FOR THE COAT MOM AND DAD!

Outside Play

Hunter the Skater boy

Demi Roo on her bike

Kai and the Scooter

What are you looking at?

My Family

The 4 Amigos showing some attitude!!














Nikaya enjoying the fromage (butter) on her toast...she can sure eat!












Nikaya and he 'machin' with her bud's Demi Roo, Annie and Kai

Kai, Demi Roo and Annie on the horsie...the bucking bronc

Our whole crazy family!!! (minus some of the pets we cannot get to sit still for a photo.)

Our First Complete Family Christmas

I feel bad for saying that this is our first complete Christmas. I do not want to make Hunter and Demi Roo feel like we were not happy with our family until Kai and Nik came home, that was not the case. We all knew that we were not finished yet, and that the Lord was not finished as well. We as a family feel happy with where our family is now. We do not plan on adopting again, but you never know what the good Lord has in store for you as a person or family. Below I wanted to post some pic's of the kids. Some of the new kids that are home smiling so everyone can see that they are happy, adjusting well and living life to the fullest...I will be sending copies to Haiti for the Orphanage and their birth families, we hope they are as happy with the pictures as we are.


Hunter and his cheesy grin!














Nikaya doing what she is usually doing...giggling

Kai and that smile!

Demi Roo is never camera shy...

All the kids having a blast














Demi Roo and her new camera














Nikaya and her new hat...aint it great!















Kai and Nik enjoying their new family

My Thoughts...Kinda Deep. :-)

The story below always hits a spot for me. I am often asked why I work with Haiti, why we adopted from Haiti etc. Below is the only thing I can think of to tell people....My starfish are the children of Haiti.


The Starfish Story -Unknown Author
A well-known author was vacationing on a beautiful coast. One morning, very early, he was walking along the beach. In the distance he saw a long figure dancing.
Fascinated by this celebration of dawn, he moved closer. It was then he realized that the young man was not dancing, but picking objects up from the beach and tossing them out into the sea in one graceful movement.
As he approached the young man, he saw that he was throwing starfish.
"Why in the world are you throwing starfish into the water?" He asked. "If the starfish are still on the beach when the tide goes out and the sun rises higher in the sky, they will die", the young man replied as he continued to toss them out to sea.
"That's ridiculous! There thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish! You can't really believe that what you're doing could possibly make a difference", The observer countered.
The young man picked up another starfish, paused thoughtfully and remarked as he tossed it out into the waves, "It makes a difference to this one!"

Found a wonderful website for those interested in Missionaries in Haiti. www.providenceinhaiti.blogspot.com Amazing work with some stirring pictures and stories. In my next life I will be a full time missionary in Haiti.....

Haitian Proverb:
Lespwa Fe Viv: Hope makes us live.

Have some photos sent to me from another adoption agency in Utah. WOW. They are pictures from Africa. If you are interested in them and can look outside your bubble of wealth and life, let me know and I will send them to you!




God Bless

Tagging.....

Ok. I have never been tagged until now. I am not sure what I supposed to do. I guess, if you read this, copy and past in an email or your blog and let me know and we can get to know each other better!!!
Thanks Ange... :-)



A - Available or Taken: TAKEN
B - Best Friend: TRACEY...RESERVE EXTRA SPECIAL SPACES FOR FAR AWAY FRIENDS
LIKE ANGE, KARLA, JANA AND AMY
C - Cake or Pie: GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE
D - Drink of Choice: ICE TEA
E-Essential Item You Use Everyday: ANTIBACTERIAL HAND SOAP
F - Favorite Color: SEVERAL...BLUE, GREEN...DEPENDS ON MY MOOD
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: NEITHER..THEY GROSS ME OUT
H - Hometown: CALDWELL, IDAHO
I - Indulgence: CHOCOLATE
J - January or February: JANUARY...I PREFER EARLY JUNE TO BE HONEST
K-Kids and Names: HUNTER JAYMES 9.5, DEMOYA ROOSELANDE 7, KAI CEUS 5.5,
NIKAYA MITCHELLE 2.5
L - Life Incomplete Without: MY LORD AND SAVIOR, MY HUSBAND, AND MY CHILDREN
M - Marriage Date: APRIL 20, 1991
N- Number of Siblings: 1 BROTHER SAME MOM; 1 BROTHER AND 1 SISTER SAME
DAD...NO WE ARE NOT REDNECKS HEHE
O - Oranges or Apples: APPLES
P - Phobias or Fears: DARK (BIGGEST), SNAKES, ANYTHING CREEPY CRAWLY
Q - Favorite Quote: NOT SURE.
R - Reason to Smile: MY FAMILY, MY CALLING AS ADOPTION COORDINATOR AND MY
KIDS ARE HOME FINALLY
S - Season: LATE SPRING EARLY SUMMER
T - Tag 3 People: NOT SURE WHO TO TAG.....
U - Unknown Fact About Me: I WAS AN EMT FOR 10.5 YEARS AND AN INSTRUCTOR FOR
5 OF THOSE YEARS. I NOW SIT RING SIDE MEDIC AT
MIXED MARTIAL ART FIGHTS FOR SIDEKICKS FIGHTERS
AND LOVE IT!!!
V - Veggie You Don't Like: LIMA BEANS
W - Worst Habit: BOREDOM EATER....
X - X-rays: FOOT, CHEST, DO COLONOSCOPIES COUNT?HEHE
Y - Your Favorite Food: ANYTHING WITH CHOCOLATE. OR THE RED ROBIN CHICKEN
BURGER WITH NO BUN!!
Z - Zodiac: SAGITTARIUS

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Just a quick not to everyone out there......

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Curt, the kids and I enjoyed a family movie night watching the Incredibles and eating popcorn....yum!

First family movie night and popcorn for Kai and Nikaya...they seemed to really like it.

Tried to call Dr. B tonight to wish him Happy Birthday, but the lines were not working.....gotta call tomorrow and wish him a belated one.

Tomorrow is the day for taking down the Christmas tree and decorations and putting the house back to normal....whatever normal is...

Some Haiti Pictures

Curtis, Me, Kai, Nikaya with Grace. Grace is a sweety we recently placed with her new family, she is a DOLL!!

Here is us with Dr. Bernard and his wonderful wife Claudette in Haiti.

Same as above, but we added Amy.

Amy is my wonderful friend, loyal Assistant at Heritage and mom to Kerline (Haiti), Eva and Jolie (home).

Here is Kai and his buddy Kerline. Kerline is Amy's 15 year old daughter she is currently adopting....watch out modeling and sports world...girl wears women's size 9 and is drop dead gorgeous...and she is only a teen!

Kai the muscle man and Kerline watching tv at the guest house!

Were Great!!

We are all doing well here. The kids have settled in pretty well and it is starting to feel more like they have been here for a while. Nikaya is saying please, thank you and you're welcome in English.....at least, that is what she is TRYING to say...it is a little muffled with 2 year old speech! hehe

Kai is doing really well with English. He still talks 100 miles an hour in Creole, I know that will change and it makes me sad...I never want them to lose that...

I took the kids to Carl's Jr. last night. Oh my gosh, it was the best time ever!!! Kai finally got up the nerve to go down the slide. Here comes family friend Annie and then Demi Roo with Kai in front of her screaming the whole way like he was going to fall off the edge of the world. Once they hit the end of the slide Kai had a BIG smile on his face and told Demi Roo...AGAIN!!!

I am so glad they are home, and continue to pray for the families that are still waiting. In my job/calling, there will always be families waiting, but it is hard...I know it for a fact!

Good Christmas

Christmas was good for us this year. Not because there was an abundance of gifts under the tree or money was flowing freely, but because we had our children home. To show these little people a Christmas that they have never had was truely amazing.

Both kids are doing well and attaching wonderfully. They sleep thru the night and eat pretty much what you give them....except Kai Ceus, he is a little picky at times...he will learn! ;-)

Today we got to call Robinson, a Lawyer friend of ours from Haiti who I used to work with on adoptions. He is now in Atlanta and married to a wonderful woman....we are so happy for him. Kai was glad to hear his voice, he had made friends with Robinson and had not spoken to him since September....they talked for quite a while.

I also called Dr. Bernard in Haiti and wished him and Claudette a Merry Christmas. He talked to Kai for while and asked him about his new family and what he thought......we got the thumbs up from Kai and he told Dr. B he loved us and we were nice and he was happy to be home.
After talking to Kai Dr. B asked me again if I was ready for 4 more kids??? I told him he would be the 3rd to know if I was...1st Curtis, 2nd would be my Therapist...hehe :-)
All in good fun, but I think 4 may be my limit. It has not been as hard as I had thought, but it is a stretch to make 4 little people happy when there is only 1 of you. Like I told Curtis though, at least the fights are different....Hunter isn't ALWAYS fighting with Demi Roo, now he has options. hehe

I hope Christmas was good for everyone out there. We pray for the people of Haiti and the Birth families of the children that have been given up and been adopted. We also pray for the adoptive families that still wait for their children to come home as well.

Success...

Well, last night was the first night all kids slept in their own beds since being home! Kai and Nikaya went to their beds well, we had talked them up ALL day long and made it fun to sleep there. Hunter and Demi Roo slept in their beds as well. They were glad to finally have their siblings in their rooms with them, but sad that they could not cuddle with them as they had on the floor. I like that they all had their own space and I think they all liked that they had their own space since they all slept until 8:30am!!! ;-)
Hunter said he awoke to Kai singing in Creole...how cute. Demi Roo woke to Nikaya saying "me, me, me" something she does when she wants something.
A good night for all!

Lots of STUFF

I have so many thoughts going thru my head it makes it hard to sleep...I will pour them out here in no certain order so maybe I can sleep. hehe

Our kids are adjusting well. They are still sleeping in our room...well, they are ALL sleeping in our room...one big happy family of 6 in one bedroom. It is nice to know that when we are broke we only need a one bedroom apartment. :-P

While we were gone our beloved bird Animal passed away. I am not sure of the cause other than he was getting up in years and may have been stressed by different people being in the house for so long.
I will miss the little guy; not cleaning up after him, but his chirp and his following his mirror bird buddy from one end of the cage to the other. I love you Animal...I will miss you!

Having 4 kids is not as hard as I thought, at least not yet. I don't want to say much to jinx myself. I am wondering if it is going well, or if I have lost my mind.

I do find it harder to find time to clean the house to my mind warped ability. Being Obsessive Compulsive in a house with 4 kids is quite difficult. I am to tired to clean and frankly wonder if I even care anymore....is lived in an ok clean?? ;-P

When will my laundry fold itself and out itself away? Probably about the same time the dishes do right?

It looks like we may end up with Christmas Eve at our house again this year. I don't mind, it allows us to invite Curt's Aunt and her hubby Don over for the evening. We don't get to see family enough...and it isn't like we live so far away.

My cousin Travis wont be home for Christmas. He has not been scheduled to leave Cottonwood Detention Center until maybe January. This is sad, he completed all of his required classes and more and is still doomed to sit there and think about how to be bad again. I wish they would let him come back home and live what he has tried to learn. I pray that he keeps his eyes ahead and the same old bad people will stay away from him and he has the ability to pass them by of he sees them on the street. I am praying for you and love you Travis.

I cannot believe that my two are finally home from Haiti....I still look at them at night and cannot believe that I have FOUR (4) kids.....when did that happen??!!

My bio. dad was supposedly sentenced to one year in Blackfoot Mental Institute. I was very happy and sad to hear it. He needs so much help in his Bi Polar brain, and a short stay will not do it for him.

I found out earlier this week that my Bio. Dad may be getting out after only a month at the most....hey, thanks for the help..

Well, tomorrow is my 35th birthday....YEAH! I got what I wanted the most...my kids home!

Love to all...
Me

Our Homecoming Photos

When we first arrived

Mama and Nikaya

Kai is all smiles, even at 11:30pm

HOME!!!!

Hello to all, we are finally home from Haiti with our two newest Haitian Sensations! ;-P

We ended up spending 5 extra days in Haiti than we planned. INS/Dept. of Homeland Security took longer to complete our papers than anticipated and previosuly promised. We had scehduled to meet them Monday Dec. 4th and interview at the US Embassy Wed. to get the kids Visa's. WELL, INS decided to not sign our papers until FRIDAY...so, we had to wait over the weekend and meet the Embassy Monday. Now, they were wonderful and squeezed us in and got stuff done quick for our meeting....it took them forever to get the Visa to us (we waited from 7:30am to 3:30pm) but we left with it in hand.

I will write more in the next couple of days. We just arrived home last night at 11:30pm and I am still dragging hiney!

It is Almost Time!!!

Yes, the time stamp is right...it is 1:20am Mountain time and I am still up. My parents will be here to pick Curtis and I up at 4:45am and I have had no sleep. All I can do is dream about the moment I see my kids faces again, and how much I will miss the ones here at home. I know they will be ok...they are in loving capable hands of Aunt Heather and Uncle Kevin.....but still....they are mine.

I am anxious to see how Curtis reacts to Haiti, to introduce him to our children, to meet birth parents and hug them and thank them for their selflessness.....it will only be a pitance for what they have done, the gift they have given us and their children....a life in America and us 2 more blessings.

I will write more when I am back from Haiti...until then..Bon Nuit...Good Night!

2 More Sleeps, 3 More Sleeps

We officially have 2 more nights before we leave for Miami and 3 nights until we arrive in Haiti to see our kids! This will be the first trip to Haiti for Curt....he has also only seen our kids in pictures. He is so wired he cannot stand himself....I am so wired I cannot stand myself. :-) Do biological children cause this much adrenaline??? When you go to have a planned C-section do you feel all tingly inside knowing that soon you will be holding your child???
Airline tickets are made, hotels are reserved, shopping will be done tomorrow....all I have left is cleaning the house, packing and running around like a chicken with my head cut off from the craziness!
I will write more after we return home and tell everyone about our trip and post new pic's of the kids in Haiti AND HOME!!!

BIG FREAK OUT!!!!!

I got an email today stating that our Birth Parent interview has been scheduled for Dec. 4th at 11am. In that same email I got a request to appear before INS to sign papers as well. WHAT? You do that afterwards...I mean hey, I do these adoptions for a living (meager one at that) and I should know how things work right?! Anyway, with USCIS being the governmental agency that they are, they have decided to change the rules on us and Curtis and I must appear before them Monday December 4th 11am to sign the Immigration forms requested in order for our birth parents to meet INS. SO, Curtis and I are leaving for on SATURDAY!!!
Our flights look something like this:

United Airlines Boise to Miami Sat. Dec. 2nd
American Airlines Miami to Port-au-Prince, Haiti Sunday Dec. 3rd

Birth parent interview Monday Dec. 4th

Leave Port-au-Prince Friday Dec. 8th for Miami
Leave Miami Saturday Dec. 9th and arrive in Boise!!

Our kiddos will be home for Christmas!!!

Macey's Home

I am happy to report that my Macey kittie is home from the vet.
They said it appears that she has some infection possibly in her bladder. Of course, they told me to begin with that she didn't and that she had a fatty liver, feline anorexia (WHAT?? my cat is a supermodel! hehe)

Anyway, she is home now and seems to be feeling ok. Of course, the bill was a wonderful $318...YIKES! I am luckily going to be making payments. I told them that as much as I love her, they were either going to have to take payments or keep the cat as collateral..I think Curtis would have preferred they kept her!:-P

When I was at the vet they told me that Macey was so loving and sweet. She was a dream to work with. This is good considering when I went to pick up Skittles from them they told me she was mean and quite possibly the cat version of Cujo..hehe I told them it was nice that I had a good cat since they weren't to fond of my other one. When they wanted to know who my other cat was and I said "skittles" the two vet techs shook their heads and said they remembered her. hehehe

Well, off to feed Neurotic Norman, Cujo Skittle and Sweet Macey!

Ah, Thanksgiving!!

We had a wonderful time and meal at my parents house. Attending were my brother Eric, his wife Lyndsay, his kids Addisyn and Ariya. My Granny and Papa, and my parents and us of course. ;-P

Every year my parents make a gluten free holiday meal with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, and all the fixin's. This is something I wait for all year...gluten free Thanksgiving dinner. If I had nothing else to be thankful for, that would be enough.
Gluten free is free of all wheat, rye, oats, barley, malt etc. and anything that came in contact with those things to cause contamination. If I eat them I become extremely ill and it causes damage to the intestines. The fact that they take on this feat is something else...but at least I get a regular thanksgiving meal!!! ;-)

Anywhoo...I was SUPPOSED to go shopping at 4:15am today. WELL, we got home from Curt's parents house at 12:30am and by the time we got the kids in bed and ourselves in bed it was 1 am. Now, 2.5 hours is better than nothing, so I set my alarm and tried to rest. A little later my little Skittles kittie climbed up on me and purred...I pettted her and reached up to look at my alarm clock....5:15 am.....WHAT??? I had missed my alarm, or it never went off (more my idea becuase it wasn't blinking like I snoozed it 500 times). I felt so bad because Tracey was not going to go but we decieded to because there was a couple of gifts I wanted for the kids there....so she sat outside my house for 1/2 an hour waiting for me to come out...I slept. I called her this morning and apologized. She had some satisfaciton that after I woke up at 5:15 I was unable to go back to sleep due to GUILT! ;-P

Curt and I went to Boise with the kids while I bought a few things for my mom to give the kids since she wasn't going to be here for the shopping day. Toys R Us was a NIGHTMARE! We ordered what I wanted to get the kids from Ebay and saved A LOT of money. It was amazing that God gave me that llittle bit of oversleeping to save us some money huh? At least, that is my story and I am sticking to it!!

Passports

As of today we have Kai AND Nikaya's passports in hand in Haiti!!! I have contacted the US Embassy to let them know that we will have our papers to them soon, they said they would do them as quickly as possible as soon as birth parent interviews are completed. Now, off to make Birth parent interviews with USCIS (Immigration)!!! It is actually going to happen, our kids could really be home by CHRISTMAS!!!

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!

Dinner Out and Sleepovers...

Well, last night was a wonderful night out with family.
Curt's Aunt Peggy and Uncle Don took us to dinner for chinese food....yummy! A good meal, especially when you have leftovers! ;-P
Thank you so much for the great meal and wonderful conversation, we love you guys so much!

Demi Roo had a princess sleepover with the neighbor girls... a lot of fun there. She came home about noon today tired, but happy after all the fun. Hunter had a sleepover here with his friend Marcos. Marcos is new in the school and his family doesn't speak much English. They are a wonderful family, and seem to really like Hunter as well. The family was surprised when they saw me for the first time....I would like to think it is because I am so stunningly good looking, but I think it was because I was white. hehe
Marcos' mother had to ask me if Hunter was mine or was I his step mother. I explained that Hunter and his sister and upcoming siblings are all adopted. She laughed a little, I am not sure if she completly 'got' what I was saying, but she seemed ok with the answer I guess. :-)
Regardless, they all had a lot of fun and our weekend was spent with friends and family. I would not have it any other way!

Passport Progress!

I got the word from Haiti today that we have Kai's passport in hand. Nikaya's did not come in yet, but they were told it would be early this next week, Monday or Tuesday. Once the passports are in hand, the dossier goes to the US Embassy for checking over...hoping we can make this go faster by speaking to the the Embassy ourselves. With the US Embassy being a United States entity it is possible to have Senator's help out etc. and we have a little leeway where we do not with Haitian governments!!
So, hoping that all will go well with passports for Nikaya and we can get the Embassy to speed us thru so we can get a birth parent interview soon and have the kids by Christmas.
Pray for us as we are coming up on black out dates for flying due to holidays!!