Question

Okay, which is cuter? (imagine singing/yelling)

"And Dansas her day is the name of her dar!"
Or
"And Kansas she says is the name of her star."

Would someone please tell Nick to stop teaching him correct annunciation!

Winter Blues

Sammy was in the hospital a few weeks ago. We went to the ER at 11pm Sat. nite and he was admitted at 6 am. I really didn't expect him to be admitted, I figured that they would just give him a shot of steroids and that would do it. But they kept him until Monday night. He was so pitiful on Sunday, it was horrible. His whole chest and back would collapse for every breath he took. I am not quite clear on why it took so long and so many shots of steroids to clear up.

Only a nut would take a picture of her kid in the emergency room, but I had my camera in my purse and those little tiny hospital gowns are so cute! I had never seen one before. So...

He needed a gown because he threw up 6 times. All. over. the. place. Including my car and the parking lot. Good Times.

Anyway, once the steroids finally kicked in, the only bad part of the stay was that he was on a restricted diet. And actually, it was the quietest, most relaxing two days I have had in a long time!

So that was a few weeks ago. Now he is on breathing treatments as a preventative measure, except they didn't work because he is sick again. All three of my kids have a cold and a sore throat, but of course Sammy's went right to his chest. He woke up the other morning with a temp. of 104.6 and really struggling to breath. I gave him a treatment and motrin and just held him. If they didn't do the trick I was going to the hospital. But they did, so I called the Dr. and brought both boys in.

Johnley has a cold, just needs Dimetapp. Sammy has a double ear infection. He is on antibiotics, steroids, allegra, singulair, and breathing treatments every four hours. Winter, winter blues.

We have been unable to play in the snow or go anywhere all weekend. I feel like the germs are just multiplying in the house and I keep wiping everything I can touch with antibacterial wipes.

The routine is the boys have a fever and are quiet and still and miserable. Then the motrin kicks in and they run around like lunatics and drive me crazy. And the the temp goes up and they.......

Winter, winter blues....

Two days in a row, I got up with Nick at the crack of dawn. Of course Sammy got up right after I did because he's got mommy radar. The first morning Johnley woke up a little early and said, Hey, where is everyone?

The next morning he came out to the family room soon after us and said, "Why do you guys keep leaving me?"

It is too early for them to be up so we all traipse back to bed. Johnley points to Nick's shoes at the bottom of the bed and says, "See, this is what I'm talking about. These shoes shouldn't be here!"

I say while trying to keep a straight face, "Well, this is Daddy's bedroom." Johnley says, "I could trip over them and hurt myself! Is that what you want?"

Now, mind you, we are still all half asleep at this point. I can't hold it in any longer and I start laughing hysterically. Johnley starts getting mad because he thinks I am laughing at him. I explain that I am laughing because he is so funny and I think he is adorable. "I am?" he says. "Yes, you are." "Well then why don't you throw Sammy up in the sky and just cuddle with me?"

Winter Blues....

Matilda Fiona Vanduyne

Our sweet Grandma will be missed. She passed away last night. Nick had been with her all day. He has been able to spend alot of time with her in these past few weeks and is extremely grateful for that. She was at peace with going and being with those that have gone before her. They spent many hours praying together, and that memory has helped Nick immensely.

The kids are very upset, understandably. Sammy especially has a million questions and cried himself to sleep last night. Because Taishauna has known all along she has had more time to get used to the idea. We have spent some time talking about all our good memories and have been able to smile through the tears.

I'm not sure how to handle the upcoming days. I had assumed the boys would not come to most of the services, but now I think maybe Sammy will need more closure than I thought. He keeps saying, "How do you know she is dead, maybe she is just sleeping." So we will have to figure this one out.

Goodbye Mattie, you will be missed, but alive forever in our memories.

Home Schooling

Okay, I know I owe my loyal viewers lots of holiday pictures and updates, not to mention info about Sammy's hospital stay. And that is all coming, I swear. But first, for your entertainment:

Yesterday Sammy's uncle said, "Hey Sam, I want to see if your mother is teaching you anything. What is 1+1?"

Sammy didn't know.

Actually, Sammy might have been asked, "Does your mother teach you anything?"

And Sammy told me later, "I lied, and said yes!"

(You see, Sammy and the rest of the ill-informed public believes that you can only learn by doing stupid worksheets.)

This morning, before 9am, here are a smattering of questions Sammy asked me.

"Mom, what are white blood cells?"
"What is bacteria?"
"Why do grownups have hair on their privates?"
"Why don't men have boobs?"
"Does everyone have nipples?"
"Can poop come out of your penis?"
"When you drink water, does it immediately come out as pee?"
"Do white blood cells have mouths?"
"How can you bend if you have bones?"
"Do you have hair on your legs?"
"What if you and Dad die and we are still little kids?"
"How come it seems warm in here now, but earlier this room seemed cold? How does that work?"


Yeah, poor kid, not learning anything.

(And we won't even mention the complete joy his father and I felt about him being quizzed like that!)

Yes Sammy, there really is a Santa Claus

Sammy doesn't believe in Santa. Actually, his exact words, "Mommy, I have a problem. I don't believe is Jesus or Santa Claus."

Have no idea where this came from. A few weeks ago he was asking questions about how Santa does what he does and I told him that Santa is magic. And Sammy decided that there is no such thing as magic so Santa must not be real. When asked where all the presents come from, he said that everybody just buys them. And when you have an aunt like Teri, I can see how you would think that.

So we schlepped all the way to Macy's in NYC to see the 'real' Santa. We stopped at the mailbox to send our official letters and then went to see the big guy. For someone who doesn't believe, he sure had a list of stuff for Santa to get him. Johnley got shy and then wondered later if Santa knew what he wanted even tho he didn't say anything. I assured him that he would. (While we were writing the letters Johnley said, "I guess I have to tell him that I've been bad every day!" I told him that he has also been good every day so we will just go with that one!)

So if anyone would like to come to my house on Christmas Eve dressed as the big guy and let Sammy catch you, let me know!

Awesome!

Check this out....

Avena's Christmas

Adoption is funny.

It is a matter of fact around here, everyone is adopted. Between taking care of foster children and adopting, we are used to loving other peoples children as our own. Our children are used to accepting other children into their lives as brothers and sisters.

But this one is different. Avena is 14. It may take another year for her to come home. But she is my daughter. I have never met her, but she occupies my thoughts and a piece of my heart. I can't imagine what she is going through. Well, hell, I can't imagine what her life up to this point has been like, but I am now referring to how she feels about us.

So it has been brought to my attention that I can send Avena letters, cards, photos and such. I guess I should have been doing this all along. So we all set out to write her a letter.

What do you say to a girl that you don't know?

Well, if you are Sammy you say this:

Dear Avena,
I'm happy you are coming here and I love my mom and my dad and my brother and my sister and I'm really happy you are coming here. I hope you have a nice Christmas and I hope you have a good time. I am 5 and I like playing baseball with my dad and like going outside and playing on the swing set with my brother and playing games with my family.
Love Sam

Johnley:
Dear Avena,
I'm happy you are going to be my sister. I have to sleep in my own bed. I like my mom and the rest of my family. The pool is closed now but I like to swim in it when it is open.
Love,
Johnley

And dear sweet Taishauna,
Dear Avena
Hey, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I can't wait for you to come. We do all sorts of cool and fun things like ice skating and bowling. I am home schooled and we belong to a club called 4H and we do a whole lot of fun stuff. On December 4th we are having a food drive. The 4H club will collect food and it will be given to people who need it. We have two 5 year old brothers, one is Sammy and the other one is Johnley. He is from fontana Village in Haiti just like you. I don't know if you remember him. It would actually be good if you knew Johnley, this way you wouldn't be totally scared. You shouldn't be scared anyway. We don't bite. I am so glad that I am getting a sister. I am so tired of living with 2 brothers and no sisters. Ive always wanted a sister. I had a foster sister names Destinee a really long time ago before Sammy and Johnley were born. Anyway she was a foster child so she went to live with her Aunt in Texas and I never saw her again it was so sad. I am 15 years old. There are a lot of girls close to our age so you will have a lot of friends including me. I will never leave your side. I will always be there for you. We are going to share the same room. We have a trampoline and a pool and a swing set all in the back yard. Can't wait to see you.

From our sister Taishauna.
P.S. I love you

Cabin fever

What do you do with your kids when they are sick and have been stuck in the house for what seems like forever.....Let them go deep sea diving!

Something to think about

Johnley: "I'm not going back to Haiti cuz Santa Claus doesn't know where Haiti is."