Adoption Update

We are still waiting for a referral, but are actively trying to round up things around the house and from anyone who would like to donate items for our garage sale that we have set for September, 26. We are hoping to have a successful sale. I have contacted all the Sonics in the area, and am still waiting to hear back from them as to wether they will be able to donate any fundraiser cards. Also waiting to hear if we will be able to have a fundraiser car wash in the parking lot by our Wal-Mart. I have contacted the owner of Ferguson's furniture, and he has asked me to call him back tomorrow after he receives his water bill. If I have to pay $100.00 for the water for the wash then we will be unable to have the car wash, because I have no idea how much a car wash will bring in and wether that would be worth it after paying for the water for the wash. We will have to wait and see. I am thinking about making some hairbows and headbands to take to a store in Sheridan; my mom says they don't take very much of the commission. She has taken lots of things she has made in the past there, and has done very well.

On the layout are some bigger items that I have posted on Craig's List if anyone is interested. Please pray for us as we try to find ways to raise money for our adoption.

Papa and Logan

Logan getting ready to go back to

Papa and Nana's house. He was so

excited about riding in Papa's truck.

So, the kids are staying at Papa and Nana's house this weekend. My dad came over before lunch today to bring a free bed that I had him pick up. I found it on Craig's List and thought I could sell it in my fundraiser yard sale. When they got here I told Logan he needed to go to the bathroom before he left. He wouldn't let Papa out of his sight. He kept telling Papa, "No leave me." He made Papa take him to the bathroom because he thought Papa was going to leave without him. Papa and Logan were up at 6:30 this morning and outside washing the camper by 8:00. All three kids have ridden Papa's mower so much that he had to go get more gas. Logan worked all morning outside with Papa. He has been Papa's shadow this weekend. He told Papa at naptime to stay in the house until he was up from his nap.

Olivia, on the other hand, went outside rode the mower, started to rake the grass, then said,"I am getting sweaty. I am going inside." She and Nana made cookies and did things around the house.

Carson emptied a box of Kleenexes for Nana. I think he has been pretty good for the most part. if Kleenexes is all he gets into at her house then we are doing good.

Kids are having a blast at Papa and Nana's.

Smoothies

So, we had smoothies today after lunch. We needed to finish off the homemade ice cream that was in the freezer, some strawberries that were seeing their last day, and some bananas, some even sent to the freezer. The kids loved them, as you can tell from the pictures. Carson, as usual, finished his up before everyone else and was grunting for more.

One of these days I hoped to get all these pictures digitally scrapbooked. It will happen. I get a few pages done every once in a while. I need a full week by myself to make a dent in all the pictures I have.

So, we went to the library Tuesday afternoon and checked some new movies out. I think Olivia is obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles. Who would have thought? I mean, I liked it as a child too, but that is all she wants to watch. She has watched it over and over. And, of coarse, Logan has no interest in it. Carson will watch whatever is playing.

Our early morning baby escape stopped this morning, because momma got smarter than the baby. He tried, but was unsuccessful. I out a dining room chair up against the opening, tied it with bakers towels, then stuffed the little hole that he was sliding in with stuffed animals and blankets. IT WORKED! He couldn't get out.

Adoption Update

We are still waiting for our referral. We are planning our fundraiser garage sale for September 26, so if you would like to donate something for the sale we would appreciate it so much. I have called all three Sonics in our local area and have asked if they would be willing to donate fundraiser coupon cards. I am waiting to hear back from their general managers. Hopefully they will. They did for our last adoption, and it was a successful fundraiser. We are wanting to have a fundraiser car wash as well. For you locals, I have asked Dr. Rosnermanz if I can have it in his office parking lot. Mr. Ferguson owns that. I called him today, and he asked me to call him next Tuesday after he receives this month's water bill. He allowed two different organizations to hold two last month, and that it usually raises the bill around 100.00 per car wash. Hopefully, he will allow us to have one. If not, I guess we will not have one. I don't know of another area that gets a lot of traffic where I know any of the lot owners. So, we shall see. So far, we have had several items donated from friends at church. Hopefully the sale will bring in some money. If anyone has any ideas for any other fundraisers please let me know. I thought about baking fresh homemade cinnamon rolls for the garage sale as well. We will see. His Hands is now outnumbered with boys, 4 boys to 3 girls. Maybe they will be getting some little girls soon. I pray for our referral, but then think how if I get a referral then there is a mother losing something wonderful, even if it is the best choice she can make. Something to ponder, as with anything in this life. Always some sadness somewhere. But one day there will be NO TEARS.

Boys Are Suck Little Stinkers...

So, Monday Carson decided at 4am he was going to get out of his bed, for the day. David and I put him back to bed 19 times. Finally I just got up. During the 19 times of putting Carson back to bed, I tried to doze. Apparently I did, because I woke up to Olivia telling me, "Momma, you have to come look at this mess." I walked into the living room where I found a pile of goldfish crackers (and I buy the box at Sam's). So, I clean that up, get the kids' breakfast out and take Carson to the bedroom to change his diaper. I come back to find Logan has climbed up on the barstool at the island and has turned over my storage container that my apple pie is in. Then, when Carson was taking a nap, or not I should say, he tore down the curtain and rod. He did this again this morning and climbed out of his bed multiple times early this morning. He is not getting the picture here. So, yes, these little boys are stinkers.

Legacy of An Adopted Child

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other
One you do not remember
The other you call Mother
Two different lives shaped to make yours one
One became your shining star
The other became your sun
The first gave you life
And the second taught you to live it
The first one gave you a need for love
And the second one was there to give it
One gave you a nationality
The other gave you a name
One gave you the seed of talent
The other gave you an aim
One gave you emotions
The other calmed your fears
One saw your first sweet smile
The other dried your tears
One gave you up
That was all she could do
The other prayed for a child
And God led her straight to you
And now you ask me through your tears
The age old question through the years
Heredity or environment
Which are you a product of?
Neither, my Darling, neither
Just two different kinds of love
-Author Unknown

Monkeying Around Part 2

Olivia after we had the wrench removed from her finger at the hospital.

Logan and Olivia playing with scrap wood, aka "their toys."

Olivia

Logan

Daddy and Pappaw

"Play House Under Construction"

Carson & Mammaw

Monkeying Around

Busy, Busy week. I worked three nights this week......sigh. I was on-call. Will be nice when I get my paycheck; much needed for our adoption. Hopefully it will be enough to pay for our documents to be translated. I don't know how moms with children work full time or work during the day away from the kids. Needless to say, it has been a rough and different week around here.
Saturday the kids got their early birthday present from their grandparents. My parents and David's parents went in together for all of them, and bought them a playhouse/swingset. They are super excited. Their birthdays aren't until this winter, but thought they could be playing with their gift now instead of waiting til their actual birthday and it being too cold.
Pappaw and Mammaw actually went and picked it up. I think the thing must have a thousand parts, or more. The instructions said it would take 6-12 hours to assemble, depending on experience. Right now we are up to about 5.5hours, and we are more than halfway done. the kids keep asking when is it going to be done. Hopefully by next weekend.
The kids ran around outside and played with the boxes and pieces of scrap wood from Olivia's bed, that David is currently building. They had a blast. After dinner last night Olivia was begging her Daddy to let her help him with her swing set. So, he gave her a wrench, and told her to hand it to him when he asked. Well, the little girly girl in her thought it would be a beautiful ring. Apparently her middle finger is latger than a half inch in diameter. She put the wrench on there, and guess what, STUCK! Daddy and Pappaw tried to get it off. By the time she came into the house her finger was swollen. I tried to get it off with butter, pure soap, and then running it under cold water. By this point it wouldn't even turn at all. She was in hysterics, and her finger was a very pretty dark purple. So, out came the ice pack, and Mammaw and I headed to the ER. As soon as the triage nurse saw the color of her finger, we went straight back to a room, and I must say they were very busy. Fastest service I have ever seen in the ER. So, there is some truth that they treat the most severe cases first, not who came in first...lol. A female nurse looked at it with utter shock, she asked a male nurse to come to the room. He grabbed some KY-Jelly and shimmied it right off. I was shocked. I mean a $100.00 copay, and he did something I could have done at home, and he felt terrible that I was going to have to pay. he tried to get around us having to pay, but no luck. He said the ice had done wonders and had helped with the swelling. But really, I am a mom, I wasn't going to look at an eggplant purple finger for long. Only so long before that can turn into some damage. After the wrench was removed Olivia said she needed to use the restroom, I was walking with her to the bathroom andshe tells me, "Momma, i can't walk that fast. You are going to have to slow down because my finger is really swollen." Legs, finger, what??? All Linda and I could do was laugh; she was milking it.
So that was our story of the weekend. More to come this week, I am sure.

The To Do List is Shortening

So, I have this huge To Do list that I want to get done before our baby girl comes home. Slowly, but surely, things are getting done. Today I finsihed going through the entire house, with the exception of the boys closet. Now our garage looks like a bomb hit it. I will tackle that next weekend. I went through our closet, both bathrooms, Olivia's closet and bedroom, the pantry, the laundry room (or in my case, more like closet), kitchen cabinets, basement, and my sheet drawers. We are planning on having our garage sale in September, then I can get my garage back in order.

Hopefully we will start painting the girls' room soon, and get it all decorated. Can't wait to see the finished product. Still trying to figure out what I am going to do with the boys' room. I am thinking I might make their quilts. I have been looking, but cannot find what I have in mind. Katrina has inspired me to make their quilts. Hers are so cute.

Mammaw called this morning and asked if she could take the kids to a movie. They went, as you can tell I got a lot done. They went to see Ice Age in 3D. Olivia and Logan both said it was coming out of the TV. Logan now roars like a dinosaur. They had a "Fun Day," as they call it with Mammaw. Carson stayed home with me, and followed me around while I cleaned everything. He was such a good boy.

After the kids got done napping, we had our usual Saturday swim. I suer am going to miss this when it starts getting cooler.

Now, all is quiet in the house, and I think I will join in the Zzzzzzz as well.

The Blessing of So Many New Friends

The last several months I have made several new friends through the process of our adoption. It has been such a blessing to chat with each and every one of them. I started looking for missionaries in Taiwan, thinking they could help me find some contacts in which to do an independent adoption. You can only do independent adoptions through Non-Hauge countries. When I was doing this research I called, I think every church I could find that had missionaries in Taiwan. I finally got a hold of a lady by the name of Mary Agnes Minnich. Her family lives in Taiwan and does mission work there. She gave me the contact information from His Hands. I then joined a message board for people adopting independently from Taiwan. From there I found Lisa Wellman, of which we later discovered got their acceptance letter the same day we received ours. We started emailing and talking on the phone. His Hands gave me contact information for Gretchen Twogood. The Twogoods arrived home with their handsome Jack in May. She has been so helpful with everything and so supportive. Then just recently I joined His Hands on Facebook and have met so many wonderful people. It is so encouraging to talk with others who are going through the same things. All of us are just networking together. I have been chatting lots with Gina, who is mommy to Mylee for those who are following the His Hands babies. It has been so much fun. Hopefully when we all have our babies home we can get together somewhere centrally and really meet.
So, to all my new His Hands friends, you are a blessing to me and my family. Love you all and praying for you all.

Still Waiting......

We pray that you will pray for us as we wait for the referral of our baby girl. We are anxiously awaiting. David, who was the one that said it would be okay for it to take 18 months to a year, told me the other night that he is really ready to get our referral too. Logan has finally come around, and says that h is getting a baby sister, whereas a couple months ago he would tell you no. Olivia prays every night that her sister will come home safe and very very soon. Thanks.

Saturdays Are Supposed To Be Fun

Carson just walked around carrying a soapy rag.

Logan and Olivia helped wash the car and sling bubbles everywhere.

We started our morning outside in the 90 degree weather. Actually glad that it finally decided to warm up. It had gotten too cool for the pool. Logan and Olivia thought they needed to help me wash the car, and Carson just toddled around. He wasn't a very happy person this morning, because the two older kids weren't playing with him. They were working, as Logan would say.

After washing the car, we swam in the pool. I think kids could stay in forever. It was a perfect day for the pool; the water was the perfect temperature. And it was hot outside, but not too hot. Logan is such a fish. He is all over the pool. Carson has grown to like it much better than he did at the beginning of the summer. And Olivia, she likes it too, but isn't crazy about practicing her bubbles under water. Th kids swam for two hours, ate lunch, and napped like champs.

Logan is not a person who likes change. He is very much a ritualistic person. I took the crib out of the boys' room to take to Rhea Lana's for consignment. So, Carson was moved to the toddler bed, and Logan had to sleep on his mattress on the floor last night. He was not happy about that, but was apeased when I told him I was going to try and buy him a big boy bed today at the consignment. David is building all of the kids furniture, but will probably be another 18months til finished. And since I can't live in that disarray for that long, we had to buy something temporarily, but I will be able to sale it for at least what I paid for it. It is a sold twin sleigh bed that has a trundle and very boyish looking. So, Mammaw and Pappaw went and picked it up for his. Logan was very excited about it until it was time to go to sleep in it. But he finally managed to fall asleep, probably from utter exhaustion after swimming for another hour after supper with Mammaw and Pappaw. Fun times. I think Olivia and Logan wore Pappaw out.

Justin, Brittany, Mom, Dad, Jeff, and Linda all came over for dinner tonight. We had grilled burgers, the works, fruit, brownies, and tons of homemae ice cream. I am a terrible judge when it comes to food, and we have enough ice cream for another entire get together. Lol. Oh well, David and the kids love ice cream.

For all those who have been asking; we have no news about the adoption. As soon as we here something, we will let everyone know, trust me. I love to spread wonderful news. We cannot wait. Olivia prays every night that baby Leia will be home soon and she will make it safe when we go to get her. Tonight she told me she is tired of sleeping in her room by herself. "Everyone else has someone to sleep with except me. You and Daddy share a room and Logan and Carson share a room, but I have no one. Can't we go get baby Leia?," cried Olivia, literally. She was very dramatic tonight from all of the festivities of the day.

Hope everyone sleeps well, because we will. We are exhausted from our funfilled Saturday, the way Saturdays are supposed to be; Love and Laughter with the ones you love, that is when memories are made.

What would I do if they were always this good???

Olivia always wakes up before everyone else in the house and usually will watch her morning princess movie, but not this morning. I came in the living room this morning to find the tv off and her sitting at her daddy's laptop (he may need to check everything out, make sure nothing messed up). I asked her if Daddy started her hooked on phonics program this morning before he left, and she told me no, "I figured it out all by myself." I asked her "Really, and how did you do that?" She pointed to the keyboard, as if I should already know this, and said, "I just pushed these buttons and made it work. It isn't really that hard Mama."

After lunch the boys joined her for some hooked on phonics. Carson watched in amazement, Logan's eyes were glued to the screen until the game started playing music, and he decided he needed to dance with it. They did this for an hour. Wow, I got a lot done during that time.

What can I find tomorrow to hold their attention for that long???

And at the end of the day....Bedtime Snacks

Oops I think we dropped something, do you see it??

Logan, Carson, and Olivia

(and yes that is Carson's pose for the camera)

Everyone can't seem to get the smiles coordinated..lol.

The kids were at Linda's house today and went ahead and napped there, so I could get groceries. Yeah, like 2 hours of sleep for me, then the chores started. It was nice to eat lunch with my mom without the kids calling for "Mama" or "Nana" every other second...which really happens you know. So, tonight when we were getting baths I asked Olivia what she did at Mammaws's house this morning and she proceeds to tell me that she was a really good girl and she was the only one not to get in trouble. She emphasized it so much, I think I may need to investigate that further with Mammaw. She then dramatically explained that this morning she was very hungry and, "I just didn't know what was wrong with me Mama, I thought I was going to have a meltdown (yes she said meltdown), and then I realized I needed something to eat. Apparently Mammaw fixed the hunger problem and she didn't end up having a meltdown. I asked her what she ate for lunch, and she started laughing as she began replaying their lunch menu. Mammaw, she said, "Mammaw made us grilled cheese sandwiches, but I think she forgot how you are supposed to make them, because they had turkey in them. I had to eat mine really fast because I didn't really like it, but Carson and Logan didn't notice they were done wrong." I was about in tears over her real life problems of the day.

Logan is finally starting to understand potty training. We are now performing both the arts in the potty and having fewer accidents, thankfully mostly wet ones. The M&M rewards are increasing around here. Mammaw got a new washing machine today and Logan was all excited to watch "the worker men," as he called them. When we were leaving her house, he screamed at the men from the care, "Bye work Man!" Meal times are still horrible around our house. Logan does not seem to think we need to eat anything but gold fish and yogurt. What to do.........

Carson has decided in the last week or so that he isn't going to go to bed when he is supposed to or take a nap for very long or at all. I think he finally learned last night that you can cry all you want, but the bed you will stay. Not a peep out of him tonight. On the contrary from Logan, as you can notice from pictures, he will eat anything and everything. And I think has made it an art and hobby to eat. At least there is one person that will be easy to please in this family...

To all who have been asking, we have not heard anything about our adoption. Holly, Trena, and their families have made it all back to Taiwan. If you have never looked at their website, please do so, and read all the newsletters and watch the videos. They are so inspiring. We cannot wait to meet them all in person. They are such amazing people. The website is www.hishandstaiwan.org. Please keep us, Jason and Katrina Clayton, and all the others who are in the process of adoptions in your prayers.

9 Wonderful Years

David and Kalina

Celebrated 9 years of marriage on

July 21, 2009

God handpicked the most wonderful husband for me and I am so thankful everyday.

Swim Party At Mammaw's House

Olivia is always begging me to go swim...everyday. When I am out in the pool, she always seems to know and shows up outside in her suit ready to go. Mind you, she is usually supposed to be napping.

Logan is our little fish of the family. He is diving and going completely under water without holding his nose.

Carson is all smiles. He has finally warmed up to the pool. You would think so since he has been in it all summer.

M & Ms, Toddling, & School

So, we are potty training at the Raboin house, which means we have taken stock in m&ms. Logan has finally decided that he can go #2 in the potty, but only if a reward of m&ms is involved. We have been trying to potty train for almost 2 months now. Everyone kept telling me, "wait til he is 3, it will be so much easier." But...I think we have made it; only a few accidents here and there. I have to say 2 months of training is much better than waiting til he is three. I can't have 3 kiddos in diapers or pullups. My max is 2 at a time, and that is pushing it...lol.
Carson is running around everywhere and is now trying to walk down steps. His vocabulary has expanded to a shrilling scream that he has inherited from his brother and sister. Will post toddling pics soon.
Olivia can't stop talking about the camp meeting and all the friends she has made. She is excited to start homeschooling on a more scheduled basis this year. She will not be 5 until January, but we are going to go ahead and start after Labor Day. We have the basement all set-up as our school room. It is quite a neat set-up.