Frogs

We have a new obsession at our house!  It's watching the frogs on the front door every night.  I know what you are thinking....and yes, we do have better things to do...but, it is really quite a sight. We have watched these frogs for a couple of years now... I really don't even like frogs, but, these have grown on me..I don't think I would even touch them.  Anyways, just wanted to share my frogs.  Maybe everyone has these on the front door of their house?  I am left to wonder when the frogs will go to bed for the winter...anyone have an aquarium I can borrow?  Just kidding!

Sitting on the door ledge..every night!

An escapee..didn't like the camera!

The worst part about these frogs on my front door is the "frog poo" that I have to clean off the window the next day..that is quite a sight too!

Seven Girls

If you have ever thought about older child adoption, this is worth reading.  It is a glimpse of what is happening in Ethiopia- It is a brief story about 7 girls that are now too old to find forever families!  They were moved to a "boarding school,"  this week...so glad that they have each other, but, so sad for them. AAI is the adoption agency that we used to adopt our kids. I believe that they do everything they can and more for the kids in their care...just struggling with the fact that we are eliminating these kids from finding forever families because of their age.
http://aainews.blogspot.com/search/label/Layla%20Girls%20at%20School

Whirlwind of a week

Last week was a crazy one..I actually think maybe it was one of the busiest we have ever had!
We had 6 volleyball games and 7 soccer games!  We have two girls on Varsity Volleyball, 1 on JV and 1 on JH.  We have 1 boy on the 5-6th soccer team and 1 on the 7-8th grade soccer team..we traveled from Foreston, to Farmington and then to Corcoran this week!   
We also started out with our Wednesday night programs at church. Wednesday we had 85, 6-8th graders..We love Junior High! I get to work with the 6th grade girls and Troy is working with the 7th grade boys!
I also had the first "beginning sewing class" at CCS, only 17 more to go!! 
One of the "highlights" of my week was meeting 3 High School girlfriends for supper and laughs!

Another Teenager In The House!

Araya turned 13 today!  We celebrated last night, tonight he had his first soccer game of the season!
He chose Chinese food for his Birthday supper, which was a huge surprise,  I was sure he was going to chose KFC again!!  We celebrated with Grandparents and  our family!  He chose chocolate cake, made with love by Grandma Jane! We have a little joke in the family... anytime I say, "you need to bring/wear your sweatshirt," he wears his orange GAP fleece one....every time!  He claims it is the only one he really likes!  I think it is because it is the warmest.  Well, Araya received two new sweatshirts for his birthday!  To my surprise, when I told him today, "grab a sweatshirt," he grabbed his new old orange one!  I wanted to scream, but didn't...just said, "don't you want to wear your new one?"  "No, " he said, " I am saving it!"  I am not sure for what, but, I just said .."O.K"
It was a fun night..lot's of laughs!  I am so thankful for the "young man" Araya is turning out to be! 

Cute little story..yesterday, he (Araya )walked into my office at school before school started, he asked if he could call Morgan at home.  I asked him why, and he said, I have to ask her something...sure, I said, I dialed the number...this is what I hear.    Hi Morgan.       Are you going anywhere today?      Can you go to Target for me?     I need some glue and a book cover.     yes.     yes.  Thank you Morgan.  I love you Morgan....
 ...melted my heart.....and sure enough Morgan showed up at school with Target bag in hand! ....He has his sister wrapped around his finger.  (Troy had made a run to the store the night before, but, Araya forgot to tell us that he needed a few things.)

The First Day!

Oh man, my kids are hating the camera these days!  Since it was raining I took pic's at school this year.  Tuesday, the first day of school was relatively uneventful.  We all were up and ready to go at 7:30! The difference this year is mornings will be a little less chaotic in the bathroom.  We have 1 full bath and a 3/4 bath, not a lot of  "bathroom" for 7 to get ready for school.  This year, Morgan get's to sleep in a little later than the rest of us.  She has decided the do full time PSEO through Northwestern College. 
I was able to take pic's of everyone by their locker..you will notice that Araya is sitting at his desk.  I feel the need to explain to you that when we arrived at school Araya informed me that his shoes weren't right.  I looked at them and said, "what's wrong?"  "look at my shoes,"  he said.  I noticed nothing...he said, "look at my laces."  I looked, they were not laced up the exact same way..they are Nike high-tops, it was the first time he has worn them.  So, he was not pleased about the way the laces looked, so he made a decision to re-do the laces while the rest of us went into school..(I had to get into my office.)  I snapped pictures at lockers and then I sent Shelby and Seble out to check on Araya..he was coming in, all pleased with his lace-up job.  So, that is why he is sitting at his desk...school was about to start and I had his sister snap the photo!

Shelby-10th Grade

Seble- 10th Grade

Corbin- 8th Grade

Syfah-7th Grade

Araya-5th Grade

p.s.  This is also the first pair of tennis shoes that Araya has worn that were not velcro!  We graduated to laces this year...I hope it was a good choice!

Any ideas?

Hey Friends,
I need some help... I am taking on a new "venture"! Believe it or not, I use to sew, I use to love to sew. One  year I made Easter dresses for my girls...keep in mind the first one (Morgans) barely stayed together for the Easter Service....the second one (Shelbys) was able to be worn a few more times, the third one (Corbins) looked pretty good..they had piping, zippers and pinafores...a little too much work, but I enjoyed it. I have made valances for the windows, PJ's for the girls, quilts and costumes for the family.  I remember staying up late and making poodle skirts for all of us girls (our family attended a 50's dance) anyways you get the picture! 
I haven't taken the time to sew much these days, but,  I have dusted off my sewing machine and have been digging for my "stuff" also known as needles, material, cutting board etc.  in various places around the house!
Starting next week I will be teaching 9-12th graders the basics of sewing.  It will be an elective course, which hopefully means that the students that want to learn how to sew on a button, stitch up a seam, make a fun project or two will sign up for the class! 
This is where I need you!..do you have any ideas, for guys and girls?  Do you have any material sitting around the house? Maybe you have a hidden talent and know how to make something fabulous by hand, or with a machine.  Do you know someone else that would maybe like to share an idea with the class?  Let me know!  I would love to hear from you!
p.s..how do I get myself into these things?   :)

Labor Day Weekend

It has been a weekend of family...it has been great!  Saturday we spent the day at Troy's sister Krisandra's house-It was a day of grilling, wiffle ball and laughing!  Sunday we spent the afternoon at my parents-more grilling, ladder ball and a campfire!  A great way to spend the last weekend before school begins!

Shelby and Auntie Stacie

Team 1

Team 2

The youngest...Hayden

The most mature!  Grandma Teresa

Seble, Cousin Alyssah, Auntie Stacie and Cousin Madison

Crazy Aunt Krisandra

The Winners

Cousin Josh..getting down to business!

Girls at Campfire

Ellie and Seble

The Cousins

Why do we have to keep going to the Dr.?

Tuesday was Dr. Day!  For those of you that follow me, Dr. Day is also known as "date day," for Araya and I.  Well, I have found that the earlier we get in during the day, the shorter the wait to see Dr. Hoyt.  So, we have started to be her, "first patient of the day," which in reality means getting up very early...the ride usually starts out relatively quiet as we are still waking up.  Traffic was absolutely terrible on Tuesday and we were a little worried we would be late...we had lot's of stop and go, which seemed to bring on lot's of questions....like, "why do we have to do this all the time?"  "do we have to do this forever?"  "what if we don't keep going?"  Great questions for a 12 year old that is "getting" the fact that he sees the Dr. more than anyone else in the family.
That is what we talked about..."Araya, we have to do this, so you stay healthy."  "yes Araya, you will have to do this forever."  "If you choose to not go the Dr. that will eventually be your choice, but for now, it is my our choice."  I asked him if he understood what I was saying..."sort of," he said.  I think he is right on, this is hard for me to explain, how can I expect him to understand? 
First of all Dr. Hoyt is AWESOME!  She is awesome with Araya and our family.  The clinic that we see Dr. Hoyt at focuses on the whole family.  Her specialty is Pediatric Infectious Disease (infants-young adults), others in the clinic focus on mothers, fathers etc.  It can be a sad place too, as I sit in the lobby or wait for Araya's labs and realize that everyone is seeing the Dr. for the same reason, they have HIV or are with someone that does.  On this day it was a mother and her one year old daughter that caught my eye.  The little girl was getting her blood drawn and didn't like it one bit!  I was reminded of Araya's first visit ..three of us holding him down, just to get a little blood...I am so glad that we are passed that stage..now he squeezes my hand and we talk about what we are gonna do when we leave the Dr,....usually where he wants to eat!
Dr. Hoyt told Araya and I that she was going to see 6 new patients that week~4 HIV+ kids that were adopted from Russia, 1 from China and 1 from Ethiopia, I am so happy to hear that these kids are getting adopted and getting great care!
Another blessing this week was that Dr. Hoyt was actually able to talk to Araya about some of those questions that he had for me.  She explained it so much better than I!  We did find out that Araya's meds are working great and remains, "undetectable" which is the ultimate goal and the word that I love to hear!  Dr. Hoyt did tell Araya and I that the average med works for 10 years, when meds start to not work, counts and levels in the blood change, then we need to experiment with something bigger and better to fight the bad guys....I am hoping and praying for a cure!
On a little lighter note...Araya and I stopped at Kohl's on the way home to find a couple more pair of jeans.  As we approached the boys section and I went to the Levis, Lee's, etc...Araya announced that he wanted to know where the HUSKY'S were, he thinks HUSKY is a brand name...I laughed to myself..I didn't have the heart to explain to him what the HUSKY really meant but we found a pair in the Levis and the Lee's and he was very excited to find the word HUSKY on the tag.  He smiled all the way to the check out...I wish I was that excited to buy a 1X!!
As we jumped in the car I was so hoping he would want to eat somewhere else besides KFC, I mentioned Chili's, Panera, Chipotle....guess what he said, "KFC."  Off we went for another KFC lunch!  It was a great date with Araya!