Lists

Perhaps I can blame myself for Anna's recent love of "lists." She'll carry around any piece of paper, game instructions, index cards, you name it. "What's that, Anna?" "It's my 'ist!"

At any rate, for lack of a better place to put this (why is it my desk never stays clean?), I'm making this for myself right here.

Things I Want to Get Done Over Christmas Break:
1. Clear desk (again!)
2. Catch up on blogging (July-Dec. I bother since it's our family's memory album).
3. Trim goat hooves
4. Gather milking supplies
5. Clean out Sunday School room
6. Paint Sunday School room w/ girls
7. Organize church library
8. Update sidebars on adoption blog
9. Adjust 2nd semester lesson plan schedule as needed.
10. Write, send, and mail Christmas letters

Me thinks I'm being a tad unrealistic. *sigh* How much can one still dreadfully sick mom with three dreadfully sick children accomplish? Lately it's been an accomplishment just to keep up with laundry...

Christmas Celebrations!

I'm not up to tons of blogging today...we've all been sick as dogs since Christmas. Yup. I'm pretty sure it's thanks to the stress/trauma we were under the week before.

But if you want some pics of what we were up to on Christmas Eve, head over to my sister's blog...pictures of the kids' Christmas Eve program and some of the festivities following are over there!

Introducing...

...the three newest additions here at Faith Mountain Farm!!!

Butterscotch was due on Christmas Day, and she delivered on the 26th! She is a most cooperative goat...waiting till after the holiday, on a Saturday while Mark was home, going into labor late morning, and delivering mid-afternoon while Anna was napping. It doesn't get much more convenient than that!

Here are her three darling daughters...in the order in which they were born!


























The boys were both very helpful during the delivery. After the first one was born, Andrew kept rubbing her to get her warm and dry while I helped Butter deliver the 2nd one...for which Jacob kept feeding out the paper towels for me. After a while we thought we were just waiting for the afterbirth to deliver, so the boys went off to play, and then Butter presented the third one! The boys were happy to come back and hold the first two while we got the newest one cleaned up, and then of course to hold the youngest, too!

























All in all, it was only about a 3 hour ordeal from start to clean up (of course, we're not Butterscotch, I know)!
I went back out tonight to check on how everyone was doing, and this was the scene:






















All the babies were curled up in the straw sleeping, and Butter was in the other stall eating. As soon as she heard me come in, she peeked around the corner to check on the situation. She has been such a good momma so far. I couldn't resist picking up the lone white one to put her in the adorable sleeping pile with her two sisters, which woke them all up and then they were all hungry! Butter was probably thinking "Thanks, lady. I finally got those babies to sleep, and now they're up and hungry again." Butter had done so well in getting them all cleaned up and letting them nurse already. But I felt better having seen them all nurse again.



























All three of them are marked so differently! In this last grouping, the bottom left picture, you can see how strikingly similar the youngest (far right of the 3 kids) is to Butterscotch, with the same spots and all. We think they are all just adorable! The oldest looks most like sire Stinky Pete. (I just went to link to a post about him, and in doing so I realized I have never posted a picture of him, just have posted our shenanigans in moving the stinky boy away from the rest of us. I'll try to rectify that shortly).

But, we're having trouble with coming up with names! I greatly admire cleverness. I want clever names for these kids. But in the past week, we've been through a horrible accident, medical ordeals pertaining to said accident, Christmas craziness, and of course all 5 of us managed to be sick for Christmas, from which we haven't yet recovered.

All that to say this: Cleverness is in short supply these days.

That's where you come in! I don't know if I should tell you our ideas or not, and just wait to see what you come up with? No, then it might seem like we're trying to get out of sending you your prize if you come up with the same thing! (No, I don't know what the prize is yet. Like I said, we're short on cleverness around here right now. If nothing else, you could have your choice etched permanently into the history books of our farm-I know, I know-try to contain your excitement).

We had thought of making the kids' names a play on Butterscotch. Like Buttercup. I think it's cute, but it does have it drawbacks, primarily being that Butterscotch is always just shortened to Butter. I'm sure the same thing would happen to Buttercup. Then we would have two Butters, and how confusing would that be?

So our ideas:
1st kid: Buttercup
2nd kid: Reese's (a play on Peanut Butter...my sister Tricia gets credit for that one)!
3rd kid: Butter rum (get it? Butter Scotch...Butter Rum? Also has its drawbacks...might be expected to name one of them Vodka or something, and we're really not drinking people...)

So, please...put your cleverness to work and leave us a comment with your ideas!

And last but not least...Anna meeting the kids!

Andrew and Dr's B and P

In some ways life is starting to feel a little bit back to normal, in other ways-not so much.

We had Andrew back at the Dr. yesterday due to recurring severe headaches. We needed to determine the source, fearing bleeding on the brain (and it wasn't just our fear...we were squeezed into an appt. rather quickly)!

After a thorough neurologic exam, Dr. B really believes he's having tension headaches due to the strain on his neck from whiplash. While there is still a sliver of a chance there's more going on in his brain than that, he didn't feel it was worth exposing him to so much radiation just to have a CT scan done.

Our physical care is handled almost exclusively by our chiropractor, Dr. P. She helps deal with everything from skin problems to nutrition and allergy issues to keeping our bodies adjusted. (I count it a testimony to her care that of the combined lifespan of my children being 15 years, Andrew is the only one who has been on antibiotics...once when we were visiting NY and when he had encephalatis).

However, there are times when you need an MD, so it's nice to finally have found a dr. that we like. We took Andrew back to Dr. B, who had seen us in the ER, as he had been great with Andrew, and he is actually the dr. who did mine and Mark's adoption physicals and paperwork.

It was just so refreshing to hear a Dr. say that he would not recommend risking radiation exposure when his exam didn't seem to indicate it...we've all heard of or been to Dr.'s who will run every diagnostic just because. And his recommendations for treatment for Andrew's headaches? Neck stretches, heat, and an anti-inflammatory...and if the natural pain-relief supplements we have been using have an anti-inflammatory, then they should be fine to continue using. Can you believe it? An MD who says it's fine to use a natural supplement. A Dr. who didn't just recommend a bunch of medication. That has been very rare in our experience, and we're grateful to finally have a Dr. that works well with our care mind-set and with the recommendations of our chiropractor.

Thank you...

The outpouring of love and concern about our accident has been both encouraging and humbling...we so appreciate all of your prayers, and we've loved all your comments!

We're making progress, slowly but surely. It never ceases to amaze me how God provides for us through gracious friends and family.

On Thursday, my parents came down for the day...dad was entertainer extraordinaire, and mom did lots of laundry and made dinner for us!

On Friday, I had to head to Anchorage (a trip I had already planned for other things, primarily food to feed my family)...thankfully Kindra had to head to Anchorage for an appointment anyway, and was willing to cart us along and have a much longer, harder day than she would have had otherwise. Despite being tired and sore, I felt like I had to get new car it seats sooner than later. More about that on another post, but that mission is accomplished. Kindra was such a trooper...hauling everything for me from chicken feed to Christmas presents. (No, the chickens don't get presents). I was so grateful to have her with me...by 2 p.m. I had hit the figurative wall, and it was touch and go and pain and waning energy from there.

While we were traipsing around Anchorage, my friend Mel and her daughters were at my house watching Jacob and Anna (Andrew was with me), and Mel was a virtual house-cleaning fairy! More laundry done, and floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped! She headed home after lunch when Ben and Rosella arrived for the afternoon shift, and they were continuing work on another major project for me (more about that in another post, too)!

Today Ben finished cleaning out his van and putting on the snow tires (I think we've kept those two busier since Wed. than they've been in a while!), and delivered the van to us this afternoon...we have wheels again.

All in all, things are looking up...we feel incredibly blessed.

A few things to pray for, if you would:
1. Andrew-the majority of the time, he seems completely fine. But, he's started having severe headaches at night. A tad worrisome.
2. Me-I'm not sure which is worse-the fact that I'm still so sore that it hurts to lift Anna, or that I'm feeling either emotionally drained or over-emotional!
3. Insurance-van damage will be assessed on Monday.

Thanks, friends!

Sweet and Sobering

Do you ever have those moments when you just about burst with pride over one of your children? I had one of those with Andrew at the hospital, but it was also coupled with a bit of melancholy sadness that at age 7, he carries so much on his little shoulders.

As Andrew and I were laying on beds next to each other in the hospital room yesterday, I really wanted to get a feel for how he was handling all of the stress. He had been asked a zillion and one times and ways how he was feeling physically. But I felt the need to know how he was doing emotionally. And he was laying there so quiet and serious-looking.

So I simply asked him, "Andrew, is there anything you're worried about?"

Yes, there was.

"Well, mom, how are we going to get a new van?"
"That's why we have insurance, buddy. Mommy and Daddy send the insurance company money every month. If we don't ever need anything, they get rich from it. But if we do need it, the money is there to help us get a new van or whatever we need from an accident."
"Ohhhh. That's good. I was worried that we were going to have to use our money from Karis to get a new van."
"No...we're still going to get Karis. The insurance will take care of a new van for us, don't you worry."
"Okay. I just thought we were going to need to have like 300 more rummage sales to be able to go get her."

Can you believe his sweet little heart? For those of you who may not know, we've named the baby girl we're in the process of adopting "Karis," and the boys have been faithfully praying for all of our funds to come together for the rest of the adoption so we can bring her home from Ethiopia.

Sometimes I worry that he's too mature for his age when it comes to stuff like this, but at the same time I'm grateful that he's already understanding that it's not all about him...Lord, bless my little boy, keep his heart tender towards the things of Your Kingdom, and help him to cast all of his cares upon You...

Accident

And not the potty training kind, either. It's hard to put a title on a day like today. I will just preface this with the fact that all of us are, despite being very sore and bruised, fine.

This is our van as of about noon today.
















The kids and I were headed into town to meet Mark to get some last papers signed and notarized for our dossier, and to get some material at the quilt shop.

On our way south, we pass an old gift shop that has been converted into an office for DOT. Apparently they had just plowed the snow in their driveway/parking space, which left high berms by the road...high enough that the woman pulling out in the pickup truck didn't see us, travelling at about 40 mph, before she pulled out in front of us to try and head north. When she saw us, she tried to stop and turn south, and I tried to go around her on the left...both of which prevented a complete t-bone, which would have been more disastrous, I'm sure. But on ice and with just seconds, it was too late.

Regardless, it was a hard hit. The air bags both deployed, and both Anna and Jacob were screaming in the back (honestly, I'm a little worried about Andrew-I don't think he has cried all day). Thankfully adrenaline takes over at that point, and I hopped right out to try and get the kids out. Anna's side door wouldn't open at all, and I could only open the other side door a crack (one major downfall to power doors). I was opening up the back hatch to try and get to them that way, and the woman driving the truck came and was able to open the side door far enough for the kids to squeeze out. At that point, there didn't seem to be any major injuries. Andrew unbuckled Anna and got her to the door for me, and we hustled into the DOT office to make phone calls, assess injuries, and wait for the troopers and for Mark.
















Jacob and Anna seemed to be crying more from fright than from pain. Jacob had some bruising on his hip area from his seat belt, but didn't have any other complaints. Anna never had a physical complaint unless she was echoing her brothers. Andrew, however, seemed to be almost in shock. He had a huge bump on his forehead from hitting the seat in front of him, and very quickly became nauseous. At first we just planned on driving ourselves to the hospital be checked out, but the EMT who responded first urged us to send Andrew and myself by ambulance (I was having chest pain and shortness of breath, so they had put me on oxygen, along with some serious bruising to my left knee). When they checked Andrew over, he had some pain in his hips as well, so they actually collared and back-boarded him for the trip to the hospital. One neat thing about living in a small town...that's actually Andrew's soccer coach who's carrying the board out to the ambulance. But I have never been more impressed with a child as I was with Andrew today. He was so brave through everything...everyone who worked with him gave him great accolades for his cooperation.
















Ben came and took Jacob and Anna in his car, Andrew and I were in the ambulance, and Mark finished up details with the trooper and getting essentials out of the van before heading down to the hospital.

This is the DOT truck that pulled out in front of us...seems like relatively little damage.















The woman who was driving was so shaken up and apologetic...I can only imagine how she must have felt seeing these three beautiful little kiddos crying and in pain. She apologized countless times, and I hope she can remember later that I did sincerely grasp her hand, look her in the eye, and say "I forgive you. We're all going to be fine." But those are the kinds of things that can get lost in the shuffle of a traumatic moment...I pray she can remember.

We were at the hospital until about 4:30. They did lab work and x-rays head to toe on Andrew, and there are no major injuries. They did lab work and a chest x-ray on me, and all is fine there, too. Jacob's bruising was superficial. Anna seemed fit as a fiddle. Three cheers for 5-pt. harness car seats.

Every time we pull out of the driveway, one of the kids prays for a safe trip while we're out. Andrew prayed before we left...and I wanted to be sure to emphasize with him that it may seem like God didn't keep us safe, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten in an accident. But he did keep us safe through it all...for the damage done to the van, there was no broken glass to get all over everything and in our hair and skin. We all walked away with our bones intact. It could have been much, much worse than it was. But it wasn't, and we're grateful.

Ben and Rosella are letting us borrow their mini-van until we get settled with insurance to get a new van. Our insurance would cover a rental, but rentals never seem to have snow tires on them. So that's one less worry. Pray for Mark as he deals with the insurance details over the next week or so. And rejoice with us for the God who knows the number of hairs on our head!

Resigned

I have resigned myself to several things.
1. Christmas letters are meant to be written after Christmas (and at least before Valentine's Day).
2. Catch up on blogging is meant to be done the week of Christmas break (not to say I won't post some current stuff, but August-November will just wait)!
3. We are not likely to have Karis home by next Christmas. We still need about $2000 to send off our dossier, which takes 2-3 weeks to be reviewed and translated before heading to Ethiopia. Then a 9-11 month referral wait. Then 4-6 weeks of travel arrangements, visas, birth certificate, etc. So it is still possible. But not likely.

Yesterday's post on our adoption blog was more fun, literally!

Progress, Progress

Okay...I will post "after" pics of the basement eventually! I decided to first wait for Mark's construction mess downstairs to be cleaned up, to give you the full effect!

Can I just say that Mark is one exceptionally gifted, hard-working, TIRED guy? Two solid weekends of work, and our staircase project is nearing completion!

The new staircase is now in the entryway, shelves for shoes, boots, and baskets of winter gear are hung. Washer and dryer are both moved to their new location (just a few feet down) and are now hooked up for use (man, have we been in a laundry whirlwind the past two days!), AND the spiral staircase has been removed from the living room, new beams put in where the spiral stairs were, and there's a new section of floor where my piano now sits!!!

I could post pics of the livingroom in it's new look, but blogging supports my perfectionist tendencies-I don't have to show you the results until I've re-hung all the pictures where I want them! (Right now there's a bear rug hanging on the wall behind my piano. Somehow, my nice picture frames and candle-holders that belong on the piano just look sorta out of place in front of a. bear). So, little bits to do here and there...and then on to decorating for Christmas! A bit later than I like to get decorated, but having this project done is worth it!

Questioning the Creator

I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but Eric's post about Jordan's question is prompting me to finally get to it.

Why is it that my boys find any statement to be positively hysterical if it contains the word "bathroom," "underwear," or if it references bodily functions?

Anyone? Is it just my boys? :)

(Okay...off to remove my tongue from my cheek! And anyone that says that boys and girls aren't really that different has never raised both)!