The third one put me over the edge!

Updated--Denise has Maggie and e-mailed me some photos in the middle of the night. You can see them all here and read about it here (have tissues). She is SO beautiful! Denise said she is a little sad but amazing. Here is one (okay, two) to hold you over until you click away....

Maggie is saying "Mama" here at the prompting of her nanny. How sweet is that?

Asleep in her Mama's arms.



I am sitting here waiting for Denise to get her loving hands on Maggie Mae in China (like she is going to call and tell me all about it or something). I started thinking that Maggie will be their fifth child! I am in awe! Let me begin by saying that I love my children dearly and would not trade any of them for anything. Let me also say that I think ALL Mommies work very hard. It is hard to have one child or 21 children. It is hard to stay at home or to go to work. However, I can pinpoint when my life turned into a 3 ring circus.

Back in the day when I had two children, my house was immaculate (and I do mean immaculate). I was the picture of organization. Everything had a place and it was always in its place. I took the kids to the library each week, we did crafts (sometimes), I cooked lovely meals. The houseboy and I even had a date every week. The laundry did not pile up and everything was ironed. I was room parent and I was darned good at it too. I was even the president of a local charity in my spare time. I NEVER lost things. Then it all changed. When, you ask? When I became the Mom of 3 kids!

Most of my friends have 3 or 4 kids. I didn't plan it that way. They just do. I remember when I was waiting for Kate and my life was clean and easy and organized with just two kids. My friends with three children would often say, "That third one just really makes it hard" or "Just wait, Kim, that third one really puts you over the edge." I knew they were just warning me but inside it hurt because I wanted my third one (Kate) so badly and the wait was SO long. But now I know what they meant.

I don't think it is the actual third child that is difficult. Kate Emerson is actually a rather easy child (especially considering what she has been through). I just think three kids pushed me over the legal limit of sanity. My house is a MESS and I do mean mess! I am very disorganized and I lose things all the time. Just this week, I lost my keys. And I did not lose them for a few hours. They have been gone for a week! I am still room parent but I am not a very good one. We rarely got to the library anymore and I am the picture of disorganization. I keep thinking that the old Kim will reappear and I will pull it together but I am not sure. I just might have morphed into one of those Moms with 3 kids (who calls them all by the wrong name). Oh and sometimes I look at these families with like four and five and seven kids and I think---How do they do it? I really want to know. How do y'all do it?

Please tell me.

I love how Kate is just watching her brothers here.

Oh, she is pure sweetness. Look at those adorable lips!


P.S. Denise "might" e-mail me a picture of her Gotcha tonight! That is why I am really sitting here at my computer. I am so excited! Please pray that it all goes well for her.

Safari Park

We had a GREAT time at the Safari Park. I mentioned in my last post that I do not like this place. Perhaps I should explain.... You drive through this huge park and feed HUGE animals from the car. The feed and animal snot and spit get everywhere! I have taken the boys four times and thay LOVE it! We do have fun but I feel like both me and my car need a thorough detailing afterwards. Have I mentioned that I am a bit of a clean freak? Plus, it is really hard to drive, feed, take photos, pass the feed and protect the peanuts all at the same time (not to mention avoid running over a stubborn Llama!) Nonetheless, I put on my happy attitude and we had a BLAST! Kate was not phased at all by the Bison or the other various beasts in her face. She loved the animals. We drove through twice and then went to an old fashioned diner for milkshakes and rootbeer floats. Ssshhh--- don't tell anyone! We're not supposed to eat those!

Thankful Thursday

Many people have asked me if I really missed blogging during Lent. I honestly did not miss it that much. There were times I would think of something that I wanted to write but it felt good to be disciplined and to sacrifice something for Lent. I did really miss posting Thankful Thursdays though. I did take time each Thursday to count my blessings but there is something about writing them down each week that helps me keep a healthy perspective. So, here is my Thankful Thursday list. I am posting it tonight because I get to take the peanuts here tomorrow!! Woohoo! ( I do NOT like this place at all but the boy peanuts LOVE it).


I am thankful...


~that Lily is safe in her Mom's arms in China. I have loved reading about their journey and I look forward to Kate's new friend coming home soon.


~that my dear friend, Denise is leaving tomorrow morning for China! I met Denise in October and we became fast friends. She is a kind, giving, spiritual woman and I cannot wait to see her at the airport in just 2 weeks with Maggie (I am the unofficial photographer). You can follow her journey here (it is different than her regular blog).


~for all of the absolutely beautiful quilt squares I am receiving each day. My camera was at the shop being cleaned last week so I was behind in posting them but I caught up now. I still need more squares so it is not too late to send yours;)


~for the sweet e-mails I get from people everyday who for whatever reason prefer not to comment here. One such long time reader sent me some photos this week that she worked on in Photoshop. It was very kind of her. Thank you Anne. This is one she worked on

~that Judy Blume sent our family a personalized and signed copy of her latest book. We are so grateful!

~for the sweet gift Connie sent with her quilt square. After seeing that photo of me a few posts ago, she knew I needed some pampering and she sent some lovely lotions and cozy socks. Thank you Connie. You made my day:)

~for all of the sweet comments I get here everyday. I have learned so much from this amazing community of people. I appreciate all of the feedback, advice, and prayers that come my way. Now, I am off to bed so that I can fend off the wild animals tomorrow!

A year ago....

Kate Emerson Ru

One year ago my brave and loving husband and my adventurous and caring son took the journey of a lifetime to bring our Kate Emerson home to our family. I will be forever grateful to them. They met Kate Emerson Ru on this day one year ago. My husband wrote the best post that has ever been on this blog about that day. Please take a moment to go read it here.


I will never forget sitting in my living room that Sunday night in March (the 25th) and talking to another waiting Mom (Snickerdoodle) and wondering if Dave had Kate yet. Then, the phone rang and it was Dave and Will calling from China. I got to listen to the whole thing thanks to some VERY generous and kind people in our travel group. Then about an hour or two later, Dave called from Skype in the hotel and I got to see Kate on the computer and talk to her. It was amazing. Our lives changed that day. God has blessed our family beyond measure.



We really celebrate our Forever Family Day on April 4th since that is when Kate came home and was with our whole family. I hope to have a very special homecoming video completed for that day but here is a small "teaser" of the footage of the day that Dave and Will welcomed Kate into our family. It is only raw footage as I am saving the music etc. for the longer video. I have never shared this before and I only watched it for the first time a few months ago. It feels very personal. Anyway, here is a little stroll down memory lane:

I'd like to thank, Jim, who is a friend of this sweet family. He traveled to China to help them but he was a big help to everyone. Jim recorded this special moment for us. Also, thank you to Teri-Lynn and Steve for allowing me to hear this moment by phone!!! That was priceless.

Will and Dave waiting to get Kate. They both look so excited.

Within the first day, Will had his sister smiling and laughing!

A few people have asked about Kate and how she is doing. Kate is finally back. That horrible Tamiflu stole her from us for about 10 full days. I cannot stress enough how dangerous that drug was for her. I even filed an offical report with the FDA. I received many e-mails from other people recounting severe psychiatric reactions to this drug in both adults and children. We are in the process of scheduling an EEG to find out more about Kate's seizure episodes. One of the seizure type episodes was before Kate got the flu so they seem to be unrelated to the illness or the Tamiflu. I will let you know more as I know more. Thank for your prayers.

I was wrong

It doesn't happen often (LOL) but I was wrong on two counts. First, I thought today was the one year anniversary of when Dave and Will met Kate. Heather, whose family was in our travel group, kindly reminded me that the date was actually the 26th. In the US, it was the 25th and that is where I was at the time. So, you can understand my confusion. Anyway, I will post about that special anniversary tomorrow. In our family, we plan to celebrate Forever Family Day on April the 4th because that is the day Kate came home and was with our whole family for the first time. We are lucky to have so many extra days to reminisce and celebrate.

The other thing I was wrong about was that I said I would post last night. I am sorry if you checked back. Not that I think you were sitting at your computer waiting (like I am doing for my friend's daughter Lily!) but still--- I said I would do it and I did not. Bad blogger. Between our lovely dinner with friends, cleaning silver, crystal and china (still not all done and put away), putting 3 peanuts to bed and catching up with her on the phone....I just could not get to it.

We had a very nice Easter. We went to the 8 am Mass so there was no time for photos before church. In fact, I never got a chance on Easter Day to get all of the peanuts lined up for a picture. After Mass, we cooked (me and Dave) and relaxed (the kids) around the house. Kate loved playing outside with the sidewalk chalk that the Easter Bunny brought her (in the slideshow). In the afternoon, two families that we are friends with came over for an egg hunt and Easter dinner. Harry said a beautiful blessing. We had a great day. Here are some of my favorite images from the day.... And then there is a long slideshow below.

Eveley Joy and her Daddy

Look at those gorgeous eye lashes!

I LOVE this picture. There is a lot of meaning behind it. My friend, Lauren is holding her daughter, Eveley's hand and the charm on her bracelet says Robbie, who is her beautiful son in heaven. This picture was completley spontaneous but seems so symbolic especially on Easter.

This is the day before Easter. Kate got into the Easter basket paper and had a ball "playing" (spreading it over every inch of the kitchen) with it.

Will on Easter Day.

If you move your mouse (or click) over an image in the slideshow, there are captions.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Easter dinner is at our house and there is a lot of cooking to be done!

I will post later tonight.

My friend, Rachel is in China right now and will meet her daughter, Lily tonight. Click here if you would like to follow their journey. Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of Kate being placed in Dave's loving arms!

So great is His love.

Psalm 103:11

Same story, different characters

First, let me apologize if this post looks suspiciously like the last one but our week was more of the same. There was a lot of drama at our house this week. Seriously, I have important stuff at the bottom of this post...so don't skip the end!

Our leading man....

Roles played:
The boy who missed school ALL week!
The Fever.
The Flu.
The Cougher.

Our leading lady...

Roles played:
Pyschotic toddler (so not kidding--see below)
Girl with lingering, antibiotic-resistant ear infection
Girl who loved soup (Soup courtesy of most wonderful friend, Tessa)


The handsome hero...

Roles played:
Only healthy one in the family for 2 weeks!
Excellent Destination ImagiNation team competitor!

Way to go Willie--we are so proud of all of your hard work! You were a natural leader yesterday!



(Destination ImagiNation is a program where kids work all year on teams for creative probem solving and critical thinking. Then they compete in instant challenges and other problem solving tasks where they are judged for creativity and teamwork and problem solving. It is a great progam and something more kids probably ought to be doing. I think it builds excellent leadership skills. Will's competition was yesterday and he did GREAT!)

The Mom...

Roles played:
Stir Crazy caretaker
Sick Mommy

(Yes, this IS how I look after a week of a stomach virus followed by a week of a sinus infection and two weeks taking care of sick kids. I am skinny and wrinkly and I have DARK circles under my eyes. But at least I have some bling!)

The houseboy....

Roles played:
Rescuer at 5:30 p.m.
Night time bather and bedtime routine man
Sick Daddy

Isn't Dave cute when he is sick?

And now a word from our sponsors....

In all seriousness, we are an organic, natural remedy, homeopathic kind of family. But this week with soaring, endless fevers and other symptoms I will spare you from hearing about, we pulled out the big guns. One day I looked at this cast of characters on my kitchen counter and laughed out loud. I had to take a picture. For those who are interested in some of our favorite and very effective homeopathic and natural remedies, I will do a whole post on them after Easter.


Okay--here is the very serious part---

Sweet Miss Katie Ru had a severe neuropsychotic reaction to Tamiflu this week and last. I will not go into all of the details but she tried to hurt herself and me. She lost her words completely for 5-6 days. She would not hug or kiss us. She was not our child. She was angry, violent, and confused. She would walk up to the coffee table and bang her head against it on purpose. Dave thought she had permanent brain damage. She is slowly but surely coming back to us and we are so grateful. The day Kate was prescribed Tamiflu was the day I was at the ER getting IV fluids. So, we just gave it to her like the doctor told us to. I was so sick that I did not think about reading inserts and had not heard anything negative about this drug. No one warned us about these possible side effects. My friend, Diana mentioned hearing something on the news and days later when I Googled it, I found out that kids in Japan were very affected by this drug. So, after consulting with a few doctors and a chemist who develops drugs, I have learned that is is very possible that Asian kids metabolize this drug differently than other kids. Seeing what I saw this week, I would NEVER give Tamiflu to anyone. I am not a doctor but I would never want a parent to go through what we have been through this week.

Please keep Kate in your prayers as she has also had 2 seizure type episodes (she did not have a fever for either). One was just prior to the medication and the flu so we are not sure what is causing them. We will likely do an EEG in a few weeks. We are just waiting for everyone to get a bit healthier.

Then just when I thought this week could not get ANY worse, I find THIS.....

What is THIS, you ask? Well, THIS my friends, is my First. Gray. Hair. Ever. It was a brazen lil guy. I looked in the mirror (that was my first mistake) before going out of the house yesterday afternooon. I saw this thing sticking straight up at my part. It was as though it was taunting me. I screamed, ran downstairs and asked the houseboy for confimation. At first, he did not see it (nice houseboy). But then after searching...he did indeeed confirm it. I guess I should not be surprised. Most of my peers have had these for years but I felt like it was some small accomplishment that I had not had one yet. What does one do? I get highlights but now will I need to color my hair too? I know what caused this evil critter...the past few weeks!

Here is a funny little story for all you ladybug lovers. We live in an area where they did some ladybug experiment several years ago and so every year we get completely invaded by these lovely creatures. They cover houses and get inside by the dozens. I never kill them and just let them roam around. Last night as I am brushing my teeth, I feel a little bump on my toothbrush. I figured it is a bit of hardened toothpaste and keep brushing diligently (Dr. B would be so proud). Then as I spit....I notice a foamy little ladybug in my sink with her legs moving like crazy!!! Apparently, she was hanging out on my toothbrush (didn't notice-too tired) and I brushed her all around! YUCK!

Another little piece of ladybug info... I used to see them inside our house motionless for days and think they were dead. One day when I was about to vacuum them up, Harry said, "Mom, they are not dead. They are just sleeping." I thought that was very sweet but I wanted the dead ladybugs out of my house. Then Harry said, "watch Mom, if I yell at them, they wake up." So, to demonstrate his point, he got down on all fours and shouted at the ladybugs. Sure enough....they "woke up" and waddled a few inches. Since then I have let the ladybugs hang around. When the weather gets warm enough, they disappear.

Now for some shopping tips.... I have been cooped up in the house for 2 weeks straight and so I am starting to think (fantasize) about summer. I want to share my good finds...

I got these terry cloth cover-ups (not the dots one) for $9.99 at Target and then took them to the Monogram shop to have them monogrammed. I am so excited. They look so cute and I know Kate will live in them this summer at the pool and the beach. The dots cover-up is from Boden. And while it is not necessarily a cheap find, it is awfully cute and could be worn as a tunic top as well! I also got an adorable pink seersucker dress at Target for $9.99 and am having it monogrammed in lime green. Can you say bargain shopper? Thanks to this great shopper for the heads up on the seersucker dress below.

Now, go check out the GREAT quilt squares I got this week on Kate's quilt blog. They are truly awesome. I have recieved about 25 so I just need 75 more!!!! Come on, send us a square. Everybody's doing it.

Finally, thank you Elissa for the Starbucks deliveries this week. Thank you Colleen for the cough medicine and the postal service. Tessa, thank you for the miracle soup. Staci and Debbie and Denise and Nikki ( and any anyone else that would listen) thank you for letting me whine to you this week.

I am very behind on answering e-mails and reading blogs. There just has not been time. I apologize. I'll get there someday.

Denise sent these beautiful flowers on one particularly tough day.

Thank you!

Oh, I just realized that next week is EASTER!

I'll be back to my regular blogging:)

Our week in numbers

Okay, I have updated this a few times.... Kate's picture is on Judy Blume's blog (see below). I added a quirky meme below this post and I want to thank Debbie for making this incredible slidehow of our weekend. You can see it on her blog by clicking here. She is a gifted photographer and she did a beautiful job on the slideshow. Thanks Debbie.

Sorry folks, this post is not too exciting. It was a tough week in our house....

6=number of days I was unable to keep anything at all in my system due to illness.

2= liters of IV fluids I needed due to severe dehydration.

104= degrees of Kate's fever from having the flu.

4=days after being diagnosed with the flu, Kate is also diagnosed with a raging ear infection!

150= times (at least) I asked myself who is this "she devil" pretending to be my daughter. My sweet, loving and gentle daughter disappeared this week and was replaced by a crazed, crying and angry child. I am sure it was the flu, fever and pain but it still made me CRAZY.

2.5=number of Popsicles (all fruit/no sugar) I forced Kate to eat per day to stay somewhat hydrated.

4= days Kate stayed in her pajamas all day.

1=field trip to Mt. Vernon for Will.

1=diorama due for Harry (what does anyone learn from making a diorama anyway? Please enlighten me.)

3=surge protectors blown during a wind storm.

12=pieces of expensive electronic equipment saved by said surge protectors.

9=beautiful quilt squares and wishes that arrived and brightened each day! Please go see them here.

1=lovely e-mail from THE acclaimed children's author Judy Blume! Harry and I e-mailed her one morning and told her about the picture in the post below. She came to the blog and saw it and e-mailed us back. Harry and I are reading the Fudge series now. We were very excited to hear back from her. She loved the picture that Debbie took. Apparently, Judy Blume liked the picutre of Kate so much, she put it on her blog. Go check it out! Thank you for telling me, Denise!

10=days that I lasted thinking I was going to let my hair grow before I caved in and cut it again! I have NO endurance for such things.

3=boys in our house who went to the Monster Truck Jam! Little boys love that stuff. I am SO glad I got to stay home with Kate:)

Harry and Dave took these with Harry's point and shoot!


In light of our less than stellar week, I also want to post my Thankful Thursday list.

I am thankful:

~for my friend Julie Anne for calling at the exact moment I needed a ride to the hospital. Julie Anne and I do not talk on the phone often but she said something told her to call me at that moment. This was nothing short of a miracle because my doctor had just told me to go to the ER and I was sitting on my kitchen floor crying (with no tears) and too confused to call anyone. Moments later, she was at my door and we were on our way. It was the first time in my life, I went straight to the front of the line. They took one look at me and took me back right away. I have never been so happy to get a needle!

~for my sweet hubby for taking care of all of us and the house and the homework and the meals and everything else.

~for my sweet boys for their prayers and kindness.

~for Will. One night we were snuggled up in my bed watching Wheel of Fortune and he told me I "looked like Vanna White except much younger and without wrinkles." That Will! I know he was just trying to make me feel better because in truth I looked liked death but still---he is sweet! BTW-- I look nothing like Vanna White!

~for the lovely basket of goodies Amber brought--chicken noodle soup, yummy bread, flowers, chocolate and the double "Oscar" issue of People! Now that is a good friend!

~for the cards and food others brought. Jennifer---thank you for the banana bread and soup! Lauren, your meal was delicious and just what we needed on our road to recovery. Clare and Melissa, the fruit basket was perfect.

~for all of the e-mails, calls, favors (thank you Shannon for looking for the muffins) and prayers for us this week.

~that a certain really cool Mom/photographer invited me to read her blog. It went private a few months ago and I have missed it so much. Thank you!

~ for TA for my neighbor, Rachel. She will be traveling to get Lily very soon. They live around the corner from us and we are so excited for their journey. We cannot wait to meet Lily!!

Please pray that Denise receives her TA very soon. She has been waiting way too long! Hang in there sweetie:)

I really did not take many photos this week. I have some "fuzz" in my camera and need to clean the insides (that scares me)... here are a few of the Easter decorations I have managed to put out.

I feel as though I don't really have time to focus on the little details around our house this year. I really miss that. Usually, I am all about the details. I just have my hands so full with the boys' activities and a toddler. I am working on appreciating where I am right now and not worrying about such stuff but it is hard.

Here is a picutre of Kate from a few weeks ago. She was in time out for purposely dropping a camera lens on our slate floor. I snapped it on to see if it was broken and shot this of her in time out! Luckily, the lens was fine. This is also my first meager attemt at using Photoshop. I got it a few weeks ago but I have NO idea how to use it and it is way too time consuming so I doubt I'll be using it much. I simply added a vignette around the edges and popped the color a little. Now, don't start thinking I am going to do this all the time because I am not...it is a lot of work!

I have another new post below. Read if you want to know the quirky side of me!

7 Quirky things

I was tagged by Helen to list seven (maybe it was six but I am so quirky--I did seven) quirky/random/unimportant things about myself. I don't do a lot of memes but since I am super quirky, I decided to do this. Helen, I am sorry that it took me weeks to get to this.


1. I must sit, be, sleep and walk on the right side. I cannot have a conversation with people if I am on the left. I cannot think straight and I will trip. It is some weird balance/inner compass thing I have. What is even weirder is that my older sister has it too and so we walk circles around each other shopping to be on the right side. When I was a professor, I totally taught to one side of the classroom if that makes sense.

2.Speaking of inner compasses, I have a great one. Wherever we go, I can almost always instinctively tell where north is. I have a great sense of direction. I don't get lost. My husband is also good at this and he had a hard time believing that my sense of direction was better. But it is and he even admits it now.

3. I am so brand and product loyal (some might say obsessive). When I find something I love, I stick with it. I have been using the same mascara for about 10 years (Loreal, Lash Out in Blackest Black). Another example of my product loyalty is this sippy cup Will and Harry used that was very unique. We never had trouble figuring out which one was theirs at the park because no one had the same one as us. I love its design and how easy it is to keep clean. As with all great things, they stopped making it. So I went on a mad search to find them for Kate. I found four unopened sets on Ebay and bought them all. I have never seen another child with this cup.

Okay, I added a photo of the sippy cup because a few people asked (and it is Sunday--so I can blog my little heart out). It is not fancy and this one is obviously well loved (read -chewed on). It is probably 10 years old. The beauty of this cup is the design. There are no separate plastic pluggies to get lost in the dishwasher. The lid and plug thing are all connected. So it all goes in the dishwasher in one piece and comes out that way too. The other cool feature is the nubbies that form the grip on the sides. They look dirty in this photo but they are just scratched up. Tactile stimulation and function all in one:)

4. I hate raspberries. I know, people really find this hard to believe (especially my husband--he thinks I secretly like them but just pretend). But I think they are too strong tasting and I don't like the hairy, little seedy texture of them. I do like strawberries and blackberries though.


5. I have never in my entire life drank a coke or pepsi or any soda like that. I have a very, very occasional ginger ale or root beer (like a few a year). We never drank soda growing up and I never acquired a taste for it. I have had an accidental sip of coke (picking up my hubby's cup by mistake) and it made me gag. YUCK! To make it even more weird, I like my iced tea unsweetened (with lemon). Mostly , I drink water.


6. I hardly put any clothes in the dryer. I hang dry almost all of our clothes. That way they don't shrink or fade. I have even been known to bring my drying rack on vacation with us (crazy, huh?). I do dry sheets, towels, the kids pajamas and underwear though.

7. I would love to have my own call-in radio show or magazine column. I would take questions about relationships, communication, marriage, parenting etc. I am not saying I am the best at all of those in my own life but it is my professional background and I am full of advice;) I also have a few books in me dying to get out some day.

A special visit!

The Pixel Fairy Princess and her adorable royal subject, Li Li are visiting us this weekend so there is not a lot of time to post. As you can imagine, LOTS of pictures are being taken. The King of our castle (Dave--who refers to himself as our houseboy) is doing all of the cooking and cleaning (and some childcare) so we can indulge in our passions of photography, shopping, digital scrap booking, talking etc. Here is a little peek at what we've been up to...

As soon as Li Li got here, the teas set came out!

Then, it was bath time.

Li Li loves Harry (she calls him Air-ry)

Saturday we went to visit some friends (and their horses).

Debbie and Kate feeding the horses.

Harry is even getting in on the photography!

Beautiful Ava

Christian and his horse, Patriot.

Li Li and Will doing an early morning puzzle.



Kate decided that she was beyond board books and going to borrow some of Harry's reading!

Li Li found Will and Harry's leapsters and she loves them!


Scout

Tickle fest!

Two blogging friends...



Dave preparing tonight's lasagna! What a guy!!!

I know this seems like a lot of pictures but you have no idea how many we have taken. The above photos are courtesy of Debbie, Kim and the houseboy.

Since the Pixel Fairy Princess did not give up blogging for Lent, I am quite certain she will post some pictures and pretty pages this week.