What's been going on over here?

I know you're dying to know what we've been doing in the past few months since I've posted.

We had four birthdays in the family.

 

Our youngest two girls have been in our family for five years now, we brought them home August 2007.

We celebrated our 32nd year of marriage. The picture was taken two years ago on our 30th anniversary.

Nine kids started school away from home. That was a first! One is back home using Switched On Schoolhouse and he seems to love it. Two of our boys are a charter school and attend only two days a week. So it's on me to help them with their middle school work when they don't understand it. Some days we're at the table A.L.L. D.A.Y. and others they need no help at all.  For some reason I only got pics of the girls. Bad mom.

We're letting our hearts heal after not bringing home our Little Miss A from Ethiopia. It's surreal because she would be in our home now, and yet she isn't.

We've started counseling for our newest to make sure that there isn't something we're supposed to be doing. We're on track and came in with a RAD diagnosis. The last diagnosis was Adjustment Disorder with Disturbance of Conduct. (same thing?)

I watch my 14 month old grandson every day, and sometimes my two year old granddaughter is here as well.

I'm attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) once a week.

I had my annual endocrinology appt and am still cancer-free. I had thyroid cancer back in 2005 and had my thyroid and some lymph nodes removed.

I'm still couponing when I have time. (when would that be?)

We're all in AWANA and we the parents are Jr. High Leaders.

I'm planning/organizing the Fall Festival for church.

I'm throwing my daughter a baby shower for her baby girl. She's due in December with her second baby, first girl.

 

Giving a listening ear to other adoptive parents when they need to vent or giving advice when asked.

Shopping at the thrift store when I can get an hour or so to myself.

Wearing chip clips in my hair and having it announced on the radio with my full name none-the-less.....

I found this doll which reminded me of Adah. Of course, I had to buy it.

Took two of my boys to a Shakespeare play which was a first for all three of us.

Had entirely too many frozen chocolate yogurts with granola.

Enjoyed the beach and the sand.

Yelled too much at my kids. Tried to balance it out with an equal amount of hugs and kisses.

Two sons went to Mexico, and one went to Alaska.

I'm hoping this season will slow down a bit, but with eleven people in the house and many more coming and going, I don't think so.

From my house to yours,

Vikki

New internet provider

I have a NEW internet provider!!!! I'm screaming from the mountaintop!! I've had satellite and it was tortuous just trying to upload pictures to Blogspot. Now it's so much faster. I'll try and post more frequently. My life is never dull and I'm sure you want to read ALL about it. HA!

Getting over the hump

Yesterday Meskerem had her second interview with the county social worker. Before giving her final recommendation to go forward with finalizing the adoption she wanted to visit with her again and make sure she was doing well. We all held our breath as we never know what Little Miss M is going to say. She had told us in the last week she wanted to live under a bridge, or maybe even go back to Ohio, or maybe go to a different family. What she really wanted was for us to tell her we needed her in our family, to hear how loved and adored she is, and what an intregal part of the family she is. So I told her what she needed to hear on the way to the visit. She came out with a big smile and just a tad bit smug. Meskerem told the social worker she would be okay to stay with us. Whew. I really don't know where she would have gone or what would have happened if she had said anything else, but thankfully we don't have to find out.

The report when finished will go through the various channels before it is submitted to the court. Eventually we will be issued a court date where the adoption can finally be finalized and she won't be in a land of limbo any longer. I think all of us need this to come to completion so permanent healing can take place. A place where she feels secure enough to let herself heal. According to her counselor she doesn't trust us yet. That's okay, she's been through a lot in her young life. We just have to earn her trust and in time, she'll learn that she really does have a support system of many people who love her, even though they weren't able to parent her to adulthood. We missed her babyhood and have been given the baton for the rest of the race-for the next eleven or so years at least. May we be worthy of her trust and the trust that all of her parents have handed over to us. It's a big job. A big, big job. Together with the Lord we can do it.

When she joined our family and I heard this song I thought it was perfect. It's by Jason Mraz

"I Won't Give Up"


Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmmm ... Hmmm ...

When I look into your eyes
It's like watching the night sky
Or a beautiful sunrise
There's so much they hold
And just like them old stars
I see that you've come so far
To be right where you are
How old is your soul?

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space
To do some navigating
I'll be here patiently waiting
To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn
Some even fall to the earth
We've got a lot to learn
God knows we're worth it
No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use
The tools and gifts we got yeah, we got a lot at stake
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn
We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in
I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not
And who I am

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up

Happy Birthday, Sarah!!

Today is my Sarah's 21st birthday! Sarah is my oldest daughter and my only daughter for sixteen years. She was raised with seven brothers and kept up with them every inch of the way.

A week before Sarah was due I went in for a non-stress test. During that test the technician told me she was 95% sure I was having a girl. After three boys I could hardly believe it! For the next week I looked at all the little girls I saw and thought, "I'm going to have one of those and this is a whole new realm of spending money!" The tights, barrettes, dresses, shoes, etc....

The day she was born everything was going well. She was to be my second v-bac and I looked forward to her arrival. After fighting so hard for my first v-back this pregnancy seemed so easy.

It was easy until the dr. broke my water. Sarah didn't do so well then. Her heart rate decelerated with every contraction and I think in between also. They kept giving me a warning that if things didn't progress soon, meaning her heart rate go up quickly and I dilate just as quick, that I was headed in for a c-section. Then I remembered that during one of her sonograms her umbilical cord was right in front of her face. When they broke the water there wasn't a buffer and her face must be pushing on the cord. I told someone in charge my thoughts and they decided to do an amniofusion.



Doing an amniofusion provided Sarah the relief she needed until she was ready to make her appearance. Since this was very stressful for me I didn't progress much in the way of dilating. I think I was at about 6 when I felt as though I needed to use the restroom. Since I was hooked up to the amniofusion and Sarah had wires connected to her scalp inutero I couldn't get up. Steve graciously got the nurse to help me with a bedpan. BUT! I didn't need to use the restroom I was ready to push! In ten minutes I had gone from 6 cms. to needing to push. She was born quickly and everything was fine.

She was born with a HEAD FULL of black hair, long fingers, and dark skin. If I hadn't seen her come out I would have thought she belonged to a Latina mother. She nursed right away and was a good little nurser.

Sarah is now married and a mother herself. She is expecting her second baby which we think is a girl!

I would post newborn pics of her but my scanner hasn't been working so newer pics will have to do.

See this little guy? That's my grandson. In a few weeks I'll be blessed to be able to watch him every day while his mama works.

He's been breaking me in the last few weeks. Love being able to spend time with him!

Petite Pumpkin Spice Donuts

I found this yummy donut picture on Pinterest.

and then clicked on the picture because I was so intrigued and found myself here-



Petite Pumpkin Spice Donuts
Makes 24 mini donuts

Print Recipe


For Donuts:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons cinnamon (more if you're a cinnamon lover)

Preheat oven 350 F. Butter a mini donut pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices together and set aside.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixture and stir until just combined, careful not to over mix.

Using a pastry bag or a steady hand and a spoon, fill each donut cup with the batter. The donut cups should be fairly full, but not overflowing. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until donuts spring back when gently pressed (if you're using a larger donut pan, allow them to bake for 12-15 minutes). Turn donuts out onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, melt butter in one bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another. When donuts are still hot (but not too hot to touch), quickly dip each donut in melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve immediately.

*Note: If you're not going to serve the donuts immediately, you can bake them up to a day in advance and store them in an airtight container. Do not coat them in the butter/cinnamon-sugar mixture until just before serving or they may get soggy.

You can also adapt this recipe for mini muffins. Just bake muffins for 10-12 minutes then follow the same procedure for coating

Wanting to make this recipe I ordered three of these:

Picture a mini donut pan-can't seem to insert the picture. I think I need to switch blog servers.






http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Nonstick-12-Cavity-Mini-Donut/dp/B004CYELQ4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343494080&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=%27Wilton+Nonstick+12-Cavity+Mini+Donut+Pan%27+by+Wilton

Back

For weeks I have not been able to get on and post. When I try and post under the 'Compose' button it doesn't work so I'm trying this under the 'HTML' button.

You're never guaranteed a baby at the end

"You're never guaranteed a baby at the end," said my friend many years ago. She was talking about how vulnerable we are as women when we are expecting a child. Those months and months when our bodies don't seem to be our own, when God is working the intricacies of the new life in our womb. We can go through all nine months of pregnancy and labor and be presented with a still birth. We're not guaranteed a baby in the end.

So it was with our adoption of A in Ethiopia. We decided the day before court not to go forward with her adoption. Given the circumstances that were unfolding in our lives we decided she needed younger parents. We are fifty-one and fifty-two and she is four. Yes, we could parent her and give her a good life. I knew it wouldn't be the best for her. So, we decided as a couple to withdraw our petition to adopt her.

The week before I left for Ethiopia I received a call from the urologist who has been checking me since September for something my general practitioner saw in some of my test results over the past few years. He told me that I could have kidney cancer. I had just had an MRI a week or so before, and I have to admit, I wasn't even sure why I was getting an MRI, but knew it was ordered so I went. Hated it too, almost climbed out, felt like I was in an episode of "Lost."

I have a growth on one of my kidneys which may or may not be kidney cancer. My Dr. said it is small enough that if a biopsy is done there is a chance they may not be able to get to it and the other problem is that they could puncture my intestines. Neither option seems good to me. In the meantime we are doing another test to see if cancer cells show up, but won't know for at least a week. Depending on what that test shows will determine the next step as far as what I do with this growth. Hopefully, it's just a cyst and it has all been a big scare.

My husband also has a health issue that recently came to our attention. Thus our decision that she needs younger parents than a couple in their fifties.

Now a little on my time with A.

The first day I met her things went very well for a bit, then it went downhill fast. We were bonding quite well. She liked the flashcards I brought out and would repeat the words in English that I had said like apple, ball, cat.... she counted with her fingers, we threw a ball back and forth, she was fine-I was fine.

Then we went for a little walk around the building and something snapped in her. She wanted nothing to do with me. She shrugged her shoulders which means no when the nannies tried to cajole her to go with me. She basically shut down and was done with me. I believe God revealed that side of her to me for a reason. I believe that reason was to show me she needs a lot of heart work. Work from being in an orphanage for three years and not just in an orphanage but basically in one room for three years. We were bonding in front of that room, and that room had a BIG glass window where she could look in and see her past life. I knew I couldn't be the one to take her from there. I knew I couldn't be the one who traveled over the continents and an ocean and then states with her. I knew she needed a younger mom. And so we came to the tough decision to not go to court and make it legal so that she would have the chance to go to a younger family.

Sometimes we're not guaranteed a baby at the end. We are guaranteed Grace though and His strength and that is what we lean on.

It's happening!

It's hard to believe that on Thursday I will be on a plane to Ethiopia. Crazy! We have one suitcase packed with shoe donations. I needed another suitcase with a working handle so we hit the thrift store and scored one for $10. I'll take more donations in that one. A friend donated seventeen pairs of pajamas and another shoes, crayons, and notebooks. Another friend had a bag of shoes she wanted brought over so those were dropped off at Steve's work and packed with the shoes we had bought. While at the thrift store I found individual piece nanny scrubs that can go together as sets. The ladies who work with the children in the orphanages and transition homes are called nannies and they wear scrubs while at work.

I have care packages and photo releases for children in the transition home. American parents like to send things over with traveling families for their children, and have photos taken. It's a small way to connect with your child when you're continents away.

I'm still waiting on updated referral information from our agency on Little A. Her initial info was false and I should have new information before I leave. Hopefully.

Finding cords and the universal adapter, charging cameras and the camcorder, making lists and checking them twice, wasting time on Pinterest....it's coming down to the wire!

I'll see Little A by this time next week. Hopefully we pass court the first time and I can finally post pictures.

Court Date!

After fifteen months of accepting our referral for a little girl in Ethiopia we have been assigned a court date. On July 17 we will find out if Little A is officially a Grieshaber, or will be assigned a new court date because of a lacking signature or something.

I just found out on June 29 that we passed the initial hearing before the judge and also that we had a court date on July 17, but needed to be in Ethiopia by the 14th. Yikes! That was just two weeks away!

I'm now scrambling to get things done. I've made travel arrangements through susanparrtravel.com, had my travel shots, picked up my prescribed and over-the-counter meds, bought some new clothes to go with other pieces I have, bought a new purse that will go over my shoulder so I can have my travel docs right in front of me instead of in my backpack, buying free and cheap books for my Kindle, uploading music to my iTunes to keep me sane on the almost nineteen hours of flying plus lay-over time, and wrapping my head around the whole idea that I'm traveling by myself.

I know I'll get to visit with Little A for a few days before court. On my way back to Cali I'm staying in the D.C. area for a few days since Jesse & Sage are stationed close by.

Birth parent interview at court is on July 10, I arrive July 14, and fly out on July 18. I will not bring her home this trip, but will return for embassy maybe six weeks or so after we pass court.

I'll start posting more, promise.

Addis's Baptism

Addis was baptised last month by her youth pastor. Here they are in the bapismal at church.

Addis & Karen (Karen is our youth pastor's wife)

                                                   Addis with Karen & Jon.

She made the choice on her own to get baptized!

Joe's week

A few months ago our son Joe had a really good week. His photo was featured on the front page of the school newspaper and he graduated with top honors from the law enforcement cadet program. He won Top Academic and Best All Around. Since then he has been on ride-alongs with deputies and still does training on different weekends. It's a little unnerving when I see my sixteen year old son putting on a bullet proof vest, but being the mom of seven boys I know they grow to be men, some sooner than others.

                                    My grandson Scott, Steve, Joe, me. and my second son Jake.

Happy Birthday Anna!

Anna turned six a few weeks ago. She took cupcakes to school to celebrate with her school friends, of course they had to be yellow with chocolate frosting and sprinkles just like Meskerem's. We took her to Walmart where she picked out some birthday gifts and then headed to McDonalds. Ah, the joy of being six and going to McDonalds is a BIG thing. We finished the night off with a Barbie movie we had bought complete with popcorn and candy in the living room. Since we don't eat in the living room this was a BIG deal!

Happy Birthday Meskerem!

Today is Meskerem's 7th or 9th birthday depending on how we look at it. On paper she is nine, but according to the doctors and dentist she just turned seven. I don't have pictures of today yet, but I can tell you how the day has gone so far. Splendidly!

Last night we made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, per her request. She added some sprinkles and a little cupcake pick that came with the cupcake holders. We had to keep one unfrosted for her friend who didn't like chocolate. I forgot and she reminded me so we wrapped one up for him and kept that separate. She really likes to take care of her friends and friends are important to her.

This morning she snuggled in bed with us, and daddy told her she looked like an old woman to which she took offense because she is not 100 years old, and to be an old lady you must be 100!

She wanted to wear a dress to school, she loves dresses for some reason, so she picked out a pretty white sundress. She had a waffle for breakfast and it only got better when she got to school. Her friends came running over screaming, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY!!!" They lavished her with hugs and kisses and the happiness on her face was a picture moment, but I didn't have my camera! Ack! They walked her to class with other friends running up and wishing her a happy birthday,  and while all the kids were putting their backpacks and jackets on their hooks they broke out in to song singing Happy Birthday to her. She was so happy and it was only 8am!!!

Later we're going to buy her a bike, a request from months ago, a Mario DSI game, because she and her three sisters are always battling the use of the ONE that we have, and then to Sonic because they have Slushes. I drove the little girls through one day after school last week when we hit their drink Happy Hour and they enjoyed grape and orange slushes along with a small french fry. I figured they needed a little treat after being in school all day and then mom loading them in the minivan to take a drive to the doctor to drop off a medical form for Meskerem's post-adoption report.

Happy Birthday, Meskie (as her dad calls her), and I hope you grow to be and old lady of 100 some day!

Playground fun at White Tank Mtns.

                                                          Uncle James & Isaiah

Adah & Abi

Isaiah & Adah-Love the next two pictures!

Addis

                                                         Uncle John and Isaiah

I

Hiking

The girls went back to school today. We've had fun over the last two weeks while they were off of school. The first week we went to Sarah's at stayed at Luke Air Force Base. We went to the White Tank Mtns and hiked on two different days. We were able to avoid the Teddy Bear Cactus that Joe got
 into the last time we were hiking there.


 We took the Waterfall Trail and a few other trails. One of them we were a little anxious because the Jumping Cactus (Teddy Bear Cactus) were very close to the trail and we really didn't know how close we had to be for them to attach their little evil balls to our skin.



Just to make sure I carried Adah on my shoulders.

The flowers were making their appearance on the cacti.

                                                Adah & Meskerem at the end of the trail.

Petrogylphs along the trail

                                                                 Sarah & Isaiah

The boys at the end of Waterfall Trail.

Care Package!

Even though we haven't been able to bring our little one home from Ethiopia yet we do send her a care package every now and then. This is what a traveling family took over for us. We received a really cute picture of her with the sunglasses on. Under the bunny ears is a little PINK car. I totally HAD to buy that when I saw it. 

Through the years we've sent over many care packages. From our first two adoptions of babies in 2007 to our adoption of older sisters in 2008 to now. I know they enjoy receiving things even though they're not quite sure what to do with it!

I've always used a gallon sized zip-lock bag and I STUFF it as full as I can with little things I think that aged child might enjoy. In this care package because she is preschool age I sent the glasses, some board books, a necklace, bracelets, bunny ears, a car, a dress, socks, and some chapstick. It's always fun to get a picture of them opening their gifts. Enjoy little one!

Makenna

MIA

I'll be up and running again soon. I've had computer issues which resulted in a new computer. Yay and boo! I knew how my old computer worked and now need to figure this one out.

We went to Sarah's this past week and hiked in the White Tank Mountains. Total desert atmosphere and we tried really hard not to get attacked by the Teddy Bear Cactus which attacked Joe two years ago. :-) We were successful!!! I'll post pics soon.