Disaster Preparedness Training, part III--This time, it's personal

That didn't take long. Now you can see why my children have no idea what to do in case of emergency--the complete lack of a good example in their mother!

This morning as I was primping for church, Vera came into my bathroom with a scratch and blood all over her face. She told me the dog had scratched her (the dog that is currently standing on my last nerve!). I had her stand in front of me while I cleaned her up and bandaged it; the scratch wasn't deep and it seemed like typical Dr. Mom stuff. As I prepared a second bandage I turned around to see her fall to her knees, then all fours, then on the floor!

I thought she was just really tired or was being really silly. I sat her on the side of our bathtub and turned back around for the bandage and she pitched over again. I tried to stand her upright. She then completely collapsed and I put her on the floor while I started screaming for John!

Let me be clear. I panicked like a gut shot deer! John tried to walk out with her and she fainted in his arms so he picked her up and took her to her uncle, the doctor, who lives two houses down. I was sure any second I would get a call that said they were getting an ambulance to take her to the hospital because that girl was pale as death. I cried. I prayed. I paced. I sent Alex running down to his uncle's house to take John's cell phone to him because I thought I would need to stay informed.

After an eternity of about 15 minutes our precious brother-in-law called and told me she likely had a vasovagal reaction (syncope--fainting) triggered by the pain of the scratch. I've had a vasovagal reaction several times myself, but never to the point of fainting. Vera had none of the symptoms that normally precede the reaction, such as nausea and profuse sweating.

Uncle Dr. John had her lie down for 15 minutes, took her blood pressure lying and then sitting to make sure it didn't plummet again. It didn't, she came home and we all went to church! Apparently she was still quite tired and even went to sleep for a bit in her Sunday School class, a fact that no one bothered to tell her still freaked-out mom until much later.

We've been home from church for about an hour and Vera is clearly fine and energetic again.

Her mother, however, is still in recovery.

I'm including this overexposed picture of Vera so you can see what I saw this morning. I feel the need to say, however, that she's wearing a tank top under that shirt!

Chinese Culture Camp

We now have our second Chinese Culture Camp under our belts and it was so fun!!

Every summer Dillon International Adoptions puts on culture camps for children from all over, including India, Korea, and China. The China camp lasts for 3 days--Thurs, Fri, Sat.

This year I took Song and Dean, naturally, and also Anna. The girls made so many friends and learned a lot. I was able to see some friends from the DFW area, which is always nice. I also enjoyed working with the same lady I've worked with two years ago when we went to camp. This year we had 27 5 year olds and 1 4 year old--Dean! He was not happy in his 4 year old class, probably due to being sick (he had Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus!) on top of not being entirely sure of the situation without mommy. No problem: he fit beautifully with the 5 year olds and was taller than most of them, too!

That would also explain why the vast majority of pictures I took were of Dean rather than the girls. Actually, I took some of the girls during the closing ceremony but had my camera on the wrong setting so they don't look so great, as you can see below.

We are already looking forward to next year. Thanks, Dillon!!

Fall Festival

My sweet girls before the AWANA Fall Festival. This might be the easiest year for costumes yet. I made Vera's dinosaur costume 7 years ago for Luke. Vera has worn that thing so often over the intervening years that I can't even believe it's still in one piece...er, two pieces, including the hat. I made Emma's costume two years ago and she can still wear it, although this is definitely her last year in it. Ella's costume was purchased last year and still fit. Anna decided to wear her baseball jersey, and Song wore her Graham Harrell jersey.

Who is Graham Harrell, you ask? Why, the current leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, after last Saturday's win over Texas by the Texas Tech Red Raiders!!!! Not that we're excited around here or anything, especially after John and I went to the game and saw Graham in action.

Tough!

That's my boy all right...tough. He was hit in the eye with a baseball during practice because two balls were thrown at him at the same time. These pictures were taken shortly after practice, but the shiner got much worse. We couldn't even put his contact lenses in for several days. Can you see the seam marks from the baseball on his cheek? His AWANA teacher asked him if he would stop playing baseball. He was horrified at the thought! No way will one little baseball to the eye keep him from the love of his young life!!

New friends!

Once upon a time, I thought you should never meet people you only knew online. Some people, though, are too fantastic to miss, and Charissa and her family are some of those wonderful people. They planned a vacation to the DFW area and were kind enough to drive down to see us, too.

Charissa and her husband had four gorgeous children and decided child #5 was going to have Down Syndrome and would be adopted. They eventually decided on a tiny, frail, beautiful little girl whose future was more bleak than most people would want to read. With days to spare before she would be sentenced to an abbreviated life in a mental institution, the Urbans swooped in and brought her into life in their glorious and fun family. They are working so hard to overcome the fairly severe delays that life in an orphanage brought to little Miss Ava, and Ava is doing her part by blossoming in their loving care. It has been a privilege to watch, and even more of a privilege to meet them and their equally kind children.

If this picture looks chaotic it's only because there are TWELVE kids crammed on the couch. Actually, other than Ella biting their little girl Hope without about 10 seconds of their arrival, it wasn't as chaotic as 12 kids might suggest. It was a fun day before Easter and we all hope to see them again soon.

Dallas World Aquarium

During our Spring Break, which oh so coincidentally coincided with the cousins' Spring Break, we decided to test our luck at the Dallas World Aquarium. What does an aquarium have to do with luck, you ask? You obviously haven't tried to take my three chromosomally enhanced darlings anywhere with a crowd. I asked my mom and nieces to go with us so we'd have more fun and more pairs of eyes on the little girls in question.

The crowd was bad but not overwhelmingly so during the morning. We took a well-deserved lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant in the aquarium and emerged to find a WALL of people in the aquarium. My mom and I took one look at that mass and knew we'd be sunk if Vera or Emma wandered away, so we took some stairs down to the entrance.

We made our first crucial mistake about ten feet from freedom. We saw one of the very nice gift shops and decided to go in. Our second crucial mistake was letting Ella out of the stroller. Our third crucial mistake was not communicating clearly who was watching Ella.

You all know where this is going...in a mass of people we lost Ella in the gift shop and literally could barely move around to find her. Within about 5 minutes, Luke found her holding hands with a DWA employee and further tragedy was averted. Needless to say, we left, but only after purchasing a few trinkets for the kids. Sigh.

As I was recounting the story to my husband later, we came to the important conclusion that perhaps since we homeschool we should go to these places at some time other than Spring Break.


During our time there, Vera demanded to push Ella in the stroller. I'm sure those people around us wearing flip flops were not as happy with the situation as I was. If nothing else, it kept them near at hand.

Chandler, Alex, and Luke hamming it up.

Emma, Shelby, Vera, and Ella looking cute.


Emma proudly displaying the shark page she located in the map.

Anna, pondering eternity.

A hammerhead, pondering the thick glass that separated him from some good eatin'.

Alex, a friend, Chandler, and Song couldn't take their eyes off the sharks in the shark tunnel aquarium.

Alex, being eating by a faux Mayan alligator (?) outside the Mexican restaurant.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Last but not least, a happy face. All's well that ends well.

Like every other blogger in the area...

...I must show some pictures of our unexpected March snowfall, a mere week after having a 90 degree day! A mere week before we may be having a near 90 day, too! Crazy Texas weather, that's for sure.

That's an awfully cute face for someone with larceny on her mind.

Two Russians + one hot natured girl = more snow/play time!
I loved this picture of the snow on the Mexican plum blossoms. Those blooms must be very hardy, because they are still on the tree.



Our resident cardinal...

More photos

Anna wanted to be sure and get a pic of herself with her new doll and their matching sleepwear. Very cute! Practically twins, right?
Angel League basketball has begun, with what may be the slowest start in history. Thirty minutes prior to the first (unscheduled) practice, I received a call reminding me to bring the girls. I quickly threw them in the van and high-tailed it up to the YMCA and actually arrived on time, only to find that Vera and Emma were the only two who came!! They had a blast, as did Song and Anna, as they all shot around and got lots of attention from the coaches and helpers. The next week, we made it up to a rousing three participants, and by last Saturday we were up to four.
Vera and Luke, who helps her to prepare for these strenuous basketball practices! Actually, I believe that all the times Luke and Daddy have played with her on our little over-the-door goal have helped her, because she's doing really well at her practice. She's a great dribbler and makes quite a few goals, too. I took a video of her at the last practice, but it can't be rotated to an upright position so I'll try to shoot one with the proper orientation at her practice tomorrow night.
Emma, showing off her new haircut. She and Vera both got cuts and did really well. I have always cut their hair, so I was happy to see them behave for my stylist.
Vera has the prettiest hair...lots of blonde highlights and body, although you can't tell so much in her sweet sisterly pose.
The real Vera returns...her hair may be full of body but the rest of her is full of life!

This probably goes without saying, but Ella didn't visit the stylist. She did want her picture made, though--she's learning how things work around here, that's for sure!
Ahhhh...the fashionista! Emma and Vera announced this morning that they would dress themselves, and this was Emma's stylish result. She loves that shirt and picks it every chance she gets. I love the little jacket, so Emma was clearly trying to please me by adding it to the ensemble. The pants...well, who knows? Most of her pants hang too high for her to reach, so perhaps this was the only option? I particularly love the way she wears them as 'low-rise' pants so we can get the full effect of her little belly.
Vera's clothing was a little less eye-popping, but maybe a bit warm for an 80 degree February day in Texas! Yikes! Her outfits never last very long, and this was no exception; she was in a t-shirt and shorts before lunch. Note the red streak on the bridge of her nose. We have no idea how she scraped herself, but she did a bang-up job.
After tonight's bath, Vera took off the top layer of the scrape when she dried off and it was bleeding quite a bit, so we had to put a bandage on her nose! As we so often say around here, "Only Vera."

I have a new job!

I am now both the Korea Family Coordinator and the Liberia Family Coordinator for The Shepherd's Crook ministry, a wonderful ministry dedicated to finding Christian homes for special needs children around the world.

What does this mean? If a prospective adoptive parents, say YOU, finds a Korean or Liberian waiting child at The Shepherd's Crook website and clicks on the email link to get more information about said child, then I will get that email and either answer your question or direct you to the agency that represents said child. Once YOU have decided to adopt said child, I will send you a package to welcome you into The Shepherd's Crook family, as well as providing lots of good information and inspiration. Most importantly, I encourage YOU through the process and pray for you as you jump through all the hoops involved in international adoption.

How did I get this wonderful new job, you ask? Easy....I got to be friends with my very own Family Coordinator, Alison, who prayed us through Vera's adoption, and later told us about Ella and prayed us through her adoption, as well. When Alison mentioned that TSC was hoping to expand and represent children in Liberia, but were low on Family Coordinators, I jumped right on it and asked if I could be one. Clearly desperate for help, no matter the quality, she allowed me to sign on as the Liberia Family Coordinator. To date, we have not had ONE child to list from Liberia, so they let me take over Korea as well. The special needs children, not the country.

So....I am excited to say that every year The Shepherd's Crook has a meeting for their Family Coordinators, and this weekend is it! I will be flying to Cincinnati on Friday and finally having the privilege of meeting the amazing Rosenow family, the founders of TSC. I also get to meet my wonderfully fun friend, Alison!! It is truly a dream come true to meet a group of people who love special needs children and adoptions as much as I do...maybe even more!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!