Lifestyles of the blue-collar and moderately well-known in their community.

Our adoption story spread like wild fire once we got to Ukraine. People were coming out of the woodwork to tell us how they heard about us or that they were thinking about adoption. Their minds and hearts had been opened to orphans, to children with special needs, to the world. It's a very surreal feeling to hear that you had anything to do with that at all. Very surreal.

And as much as we'd all love to hate it... Facebook was a big part of that. If I posted a blog for my friends to see, my friends re-posted it for their friends. It was shared with families, co-workers, brother-in-law's second cousin once removed. It was incredible. In the meantime, I got well over 500 friends requests from people who wanted more. More of the story, maybe? I'm not sure. Up until that point, I had always been pretty careful about who I added, but it got so over-whelming. I couldn't keep up with who had sent me messages telling me how they "knew" me/us, so I just started accepting all of them and figured I'd deal with it when I got home.

Blerg.

Now, I have a bajillion friends and don't know half of them. NOT complaining- these new friends got us home, without a doubt. I am more than happy to share our story, educate, give people something to relate to. But having it all on FB opens our family up just a little too much. It's creating problems, unfortunately. Being open to the positive feedback means allowing the negative feedback as well. I'm fine with that on the blog,where I have complete control over what does/does not get published, but it's a little much for my "private" FB page. People think they know us, think they know me... just because we're "friends" on FB.  (Welcome to 2012!). There have been some uncomfortable moments as a result and my children's safety is at risk :/

{Remember that episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8- dont' judge, you know you watched it- where Kate said they would go in public and people would yell their kids' names? And they would answer or be tempted to walk over bc that person must know them, right? Yeah... it's scary. Because we definitely did NOT know them, yet they knew my kids' names. For example. And they didn't introduce themselves to me or explain how they knew us... just started yelling for my kids and waving them over.}

I would love to stay naive enough to think that there aren't creepy people out there, but it's just not true.

I promise it's nothing personal, but I have/had to make some changes. (Whine: it stinks that FB makes you delete people one by one now! It's taking FOREVER. I need a mass delete!). I would love to deactivate my account altogether, but I have two businesses I need to access and it is a great networking tool. Basically, if I wouldn't recognize you at the grocery store- you may not stay on my friends list- with the exception of my RR, DS, and BCS friends from all over the world.  I know FB makes it super convenient, but it's not worth it. I would love for you all to continue to follow our family here, share your experiences/stories with me (but I recognize that following a blog is just too much work for some lol. I get it- your time is important!).

On the flip side, I was SO open for so long that I more or less shut down the last couple of months- only sharing the light stuff for a while. I mentioned before that I was ready to go deeper, and several people have asked some quite personal questions that I think I feel safe answering here. Thank you, FRIENDS- old and new, for the amazing support!

Events and Adventures

This is my 500th post on this blog!

Over 4 years... so I guess that's not all that impressive really.

Last week, we got to have breakfast with the Pat Summitt Foundation... and Pat Summitt :) Well, she didn't eat with us (she spoke)-  but it was her breakfast! Also, Michelle Marciniak- my camp coach for three years :: cough- 15 years ago -cough ::  Weird.

Speaking of awesome people, the blog has a new fan :) 
{Hi, Elizabeth!}

Parents, you have likely heard of the No-Cry Solution parenting books written by Elizabeth Pantley.  If not, check them out- they're great!
She wants to make sure that children with special needs are included in her next project, so make sure to keep an eye on her Facebook page- you might see a familiar face ;) 

Mostly, our days are filled with baseball...

Swimming....

Sleepovers....

Popsicles...

A little kindergarten prep...

A few cupcakes...

And one Terminator.

We are gearing up for our next adventure, but have about a million things to do between now and then. More baseball, swimming, sleepovers, popsicles, kindergarten, and cupcakes first (no plans for another Terminator, but you never know), but also weddings, baby showers, and birthday parties! Soaking in every minute we can!

{I know this post is kind of lame... but 1) I'm stressed and needed a distraction, and 2) There is a heavy post coming, but since it's my 500th and all- I thought it needed to be bright and shiny. It makes sense to me!}

Explanation(s).

About her fevers...  
It's not her teeth :/

She peaked at 104.5  this weekend. She really had no other symptoms (or so we thought), other than not sleeping well and then staying lethargic/cranky throughout the day. She hasn't been eating great and yesterday she vomitted on my shins... from my chest. We decided to take her in to see what's up.

I'll spare you all the gory details, but basically... she has a UTI.

They are going to culture her sample (there was a LOT of bacteria) and then we will likely do ultrasounds of her kidneys and bladder.

She's only been on antibiotics for 24 hours and already she's a different baby! For two weeks, she hadn't been her normally joyful self, so it's great to see some life back in her :)



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Jessie! (Wanna guess what the kids' favorite show is?)

"Jessie" and her mama showed up at my parents' house last week. Both are very sweet, friendly, and happy and both had collars (but no tags). They have looked for owners to no avail. We thought they were drop-offs, but they are clearly not strangers to love so we are wondering if they are lost. We sure don't want to take her away from her owner's, so if you know anyone missing their puppies in the Lee Rd area, let us know! Otherwise, we'll just keep on loving her!

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Sunday was a good day, my spirit was renewed.

Here's the deal:
There are some people in this world that really don't like us. That's okay. We are going to continue to (do our best to) teach our children to do the right thing, to show love to others... ALL others, to be respectful and kind, to show mercy and gratitude. Perfect? Not at all. Like, at all. But God loves us :)

The rest has already been written:

Unfriendly people care only about themselves; they lash out at common sense. Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt. Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook. It is not right to acquit the guilty or deny justice to the innocent. Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips.
Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart. A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things. The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe. The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.

Proverbs 18:1-13

Now, don't make me go all Mama Bear....

Moving on.

Just a snippet.

I never had so much fun watching someone NOT nap :)

She still just not quite better. She has had fevers (between 102-103) off and on since Sunday. Her doctor said it's unrelated to the surgery, so even though her body is doing it's job, it's frustrating not knowing the cause. I have a feeling that the shiny white molar that popped through this week (she now has the molar + the one big Nanny McPhee tooth in front-hilarious) has something to do with it. She isn't sleeping well at all and her tummy is upset :/

I don't know about you, but when I look better, I feel better. One year olds are probably the same, I'm sure ... no? Oh, well. Little girl got herself a haircut.

We said goodbye to the ultimate baby mullet courtesy of orphanage stylists.  Her hair has grown SO much, but the top was still much shorter than the back and it was getting kinds scraggly.

Does she not have the sweetest profile you've ever seen??

She sat so nice and still while her brother and sisters distracted/entertained her- she does NOT like her hair touched at all, but she did great!

We only cut about an inch and a half (all Daddy would let us cut... what is it about men and their little girl's hair?!).

I think she likes it!

For the best daddy in the history of daddies...

16 months and look what I can do...

Anna Gray learned to wave!! Yes, we celebrate even the smallest of accomplishments in this house. She can wave... but so far she only wants to show it off if she's looking in the mirror at herself, and then usually claps wildly at her achievement (umm... because we're all clapping wildly at her achievement!).

(I always forget to video it until she's done it a million times and ready to be done performing. Also, ignore the writing on the bottom of her foot. It's left-over from a failed project.)

She also learned how to give high five!
She weighed in right at 19lbs at the hospital Wednesday- so she hasn't gained much, but I know she's bigger! She's getting longer and leaner, I believe.  She's eating mostly table-food now and starting to wean herself off her bottle. She pulled to a sitting position from a reclining position a few times recently, and can tuck one knee underneath herself if she really wants to get somewhere (even though she doesn't actually go anywhere).

As long as I'm boasting, I might as well brag that Cale had his first real hit (left-handed!) in coach-pitch today!! He's been batting right-handed because "that's what the other boys do", but has had to use the tee everytime. For whatever reason, he decided to switch it up today and did a great job!!

We vacated!

The original plan was for us to go to my family's place in Santa Rosa for a week- a MUCH needed vacation and our first as a family of six! But at the last minute, we decided to go visit family in Amelia Island. It worked out rather well :)

(Although, I would imagine Aunt Angie and Uncle Dave rested quite a bit after we left!)

The nice weather was a little late to the party, but we had an amazing time regardless. Nathan declared it "the best vacation ever".
"Really? We went to Alaska! And Disney!"
"Yeah, those were AWESOME, but we didn't have everybody." and nodded at Anna Gray with a look of confusion that said How do they even compare?

The kids did GREAT on the drive down (11 hours) and the baby never made a sound. The beach wasn't really an option the first couple of days, but the kids did get to spend a lot of time playing with their almost-cousins and bonded quickly!

On Saturday, Uncle Dave took everyone crabbing just like he took all of us 20 years ago :)  Cale and Layla (umm... and Nathan) LOVED it.

AND WE SAW MANATEES! I've never seen them in the wild, so I was just thrilled to pieces.  The sky finally cleared up and we were able to hit the beach for just a little while that afternoon. Anna Gray's first time!!

 That night- low country boil with our catches from earlier in the day.

Brynn was so funny. She would start cracking pieces off and say, "Do I eat this?". Occasionally, we would say no and she had already put it in her mouth. Crunchy.

Sunday- SUNSHINE!

Finally. Happy Wests!

We weren't sure how AG would react to sand/ocean but she is definitely a beach baby! Happy as a clam!

These kids played and played and played. It was Nathan's last day, so we wanted to soak in every minute we could.

I drove Nath to the airport at 4am Monday morning and he was able to go strait to work.

The kids and I spent one last day on the beach and then got in a visit with Ashley's horses, Spring and Summer :)

Natalie is crying because Gigi put her in the water. Anna Gray is crying because I took her out of the water. And apparently, this is a popular swimsuit this year ;)

Tuesday morning, we headed home! I really do enjoy these solo road trips with my littles.  We'll ask them their opinion later, but personally- they are some of my favorite memories. Next one in three weeks!!

Anna Gray's surgery

*Warning- some slightly icky pics ahead...*

We are back from beach trip#1 (post coming) as of Tuesday night and Anna Gray had her eye surgery yesterday. It was a pretty minor surgery to insert stints into her blocked tear ducts.

Ready to go back...

Before I saw her, the doctor came in to say he had a little trouble. In children with DS, the space between their lower eyelid and nose is shorter than normal. In addition to that, she had some malformation and he couldn't really find the passage way to insert the stints. He had to do quite a bit of digging and create the space, which was pretty traumatic for her little nose. He said they may be a little bleeding and discomfort as a result. As soon as I walked into Recovery, I could hear her SCREAMING. Poor baby was terrified. Blood everywhere, tubes and wires coming from every arm and leg, six people standing over her, blood pressure through the roof.

Eventually, we were able to calm her down and stop the bleeding. She drank enough of a bottle to be discharged (we all knew she would feel better at home). By the time we got to the car, her paid meds had kicked in and she was dead weight! She had quite a bit of bleeding throughout the afternoon. She was just pitiful. We put socks on her hands to keep her from scratching her eyes (thus, pulling out the stints and having to have them replaced).

She was feeling much better this a.m. and had minimal bleeding throughout the night! Now the dried blood looks kind of like the nose hairs of an old man. With the help of Tylenol, she is acting mostly like herself :)