MAYLIN2007

In the last week we have spent some great times with some very wonderful people. I have been very grateful today for the people I know. Our lives are better because of the people in our lives. Some, we see more or talk to more (talk includes blog) than others, but no matter now much contact we have, we are better for it. Thanks to all who are in our lives and share our sorrows, our happiness, our giggles and our mistakes! The following are some pictures of those we have seen this week. I don't have pictures of our dinner with the Stanley family, but what a great visit we had. We renewed our spirits with our visit. What a wonderful family who truly lives by what they believe! They are such close, dear friends. These are pictures of my niece and her darling boys. They live in Colorado and came for a visit. We had such a great day together. My older kids were at school and were sad they missed the visit. Maylin loved showing the boys around. My sweet niece brought everyone a gift. My ...

You know you have a lot on your mind when you are making scrambled eggs and you spray the pan with furniture polish instead of non-stick cooking spray! Hey, they both are in yellow cans and the furniture polish was on the counter. It was an honest mistake. Anyone could have done it! But thanks to Austin for catching my mistake before the eggs were in the pan.

Austin is officially off restrictions! Yippee!! No more sling. No more not lifting over 10 pounds! Woot Woot!! Can anyone guess what was the first thing he did? It was lift, hug and carry Maylin of course. He has missed that so much, so has she. Alex was pretty excited too. He has been carrying Austin's backpack everyday, so he was so happy to have his load lightened. Last night was parent teacher conferences. One of Austin's teachers said how happy Austin looked yesterday during ballroom class when he actually got to dance with a girl using both arms. He said you could tell he was so glad to be a normal teenager. Of course, all of his teachers reported that Austin is an amazing, young man that is so mature for his age. They all said you just look at him and can see how special this young man is. We love him so much! **Austin has also gained 2 pounds back since his surgery.You can tell he is doing better than last year's surgery since it took him forever to do that. He will...

Maylin either wears nothing or lots of things. She loves to layer and she loves to change her clothes at least 5 or 6 times a day. I am not fond of laundry or cleaning up repeated messes, but the clothes thing is the direction I want to go. So I put up with all the outfits. Of course, she is into choosing. The other day we went to the store in her sister's old princess nightgown from when she was 6. It was huge on Maylin, but I say you pick your battles.Besides it was better than her being unclothed. Here she is in one of her latest creations. By the way, we went and picked grapes at our friends Tiff and Eliza on Saturday. I made grape juice ALL day. I did 26 bottles for storage! Thanks Tiff!!!

Yesterday I was reading the funniest post on my niece's blog. She wrote about how her boys, both under age 4 had a few friends over for a playdate. Her oldest went inside to go potty. He didn't come out for awhile so she went to check on him and her sleeping baby. What did she find? Her son had locked her and the friends outside and he and his little brother inside. Took her awhile, but between her and a neighbor they were able to break in her house through a window. What did she find...her oldest was asleep on the floor too. So I commented to her how I was so glad I wasn't the only one who this has happened to. Of course I was feeling smug, as I felt like that wouldn't happen now with so many "big" people to watch one little person. WRONG!!!! Today while getting ready for church I stopped hearing Maylin playing. I asked the other kids where she was. They had no clue. We all frantically ran around the house looking for her. Then we went outside. How could she ...

Went to tuck in Kenzie and found the girls reading. Kenzie was reading the Bible and Maylin....she was reading the dictionary. There aren't even any pictures in this pocket dictionary!

I will admit I am a little, some days a lot, nervous about what is going on in the world. To name just a few, we have had horrible earthquakes in China, flooding in the mid-west, fires in California and now the hurricane in Texas. Our hearts go out to all those affected. We can only imagine what they are going through and will yet go through. I am also a bit concerned over the financial downturn. I think everyone has been affected by it. How could you not, especially if you own a car or anything that takes gas for that matter? We live in unceratin times. Anyway, I have decided that since I can't fix any of these issues, I can help by driving less and sending support to those in need, but I truly can't make them better, so I have decided I just need to make my own home better. We have always had a night set apart for family home evening (Monday), but I have tried really hard lately to make them better and more impactful (is that even a word?) on my children. This last week we fo...

Here is Kenzie or Miss Braceface as we lovingly call her. Doesn't she look older? The brackets on one side have torn up her tongue. She has used all her wax in 3 days. Man, I am glad those days are over. And to think I had braces on twice. We love Kenzie!

We have a great swing set. Maylin loves it a lot, but the other day she could have cared less. The only thing she had her eye on was our drinking fountain. She filled up a little bowl with water (along with the rubber that covers the ground of our play area) and then she would dump it out. This ritual was repeated over and over and over. We tried to get her to slide or swing, but there was no going for that. She would tell us, "I can't" when we would ask her to swing with us or stop playing in the water. By the way, "I can't" is her preferred phrase of choice now. Anyway, the water had her attention. Ahhhh, to be a kid again when life was simple and pleasures were too. Also, Kenzie is playing on a volleyball team. She loves it! They have practice in our yard since we have a net and the local park has been taken over by football. She also got braces today! She looks so old in them! Will post a picture of her with her new additions later.

Our friends, Becky and Sam White, that have been patiently waiting a referral, received their's this last batch. Here is a picture. She is 7 1/2 months old and from Guongdong province. Isn't she cute?!

I posted this blog. Then took it down. I guess I am putting it back up now. Please know the below post is not based on fact. It is just my opinion. I hope everyone who reads it sees that it was written with complete love and kindness. Mental illness is a subject that many people find taboo. This is very understandable since it is something you can't really see or completely understand. It is something that doesn't show up in blood tests, it isn't limited to people over 50, it isn't limited to a certain sex and there is no way to prevent it. People have really been embarrassed about it. No one likes to talk about it or admit they, or someone in their family have it. I realize in the past few years mental illness has come to the fore front more and more. This is such a blessing. It has really helped that many famous people have come out to speak about their lives with mental illness. I think it has put a name and a face to this mysterious illness. Mental illness is very n...

I will admit that my anxiety level runs a bit higher...okay I will be honest, a lot higher than most people's. It's a fact. I will admit to it. Luckily, I married a man with very little anxiety. He loves chaos. He thinks trauma, turbulence and uncertainty are an adventure. I hate to hear all the bad things on the news. It upsets me. He loves it. He likes to think, "What could happen next?" He loves to laugh and be silly. He loves to make fun of himself. He loves who he is and never feels embarrassed of the way he acts. Oh, to be like him. Here are a few shots of how he keeps things lively around here. I love the first couple pictures because Maylin is looking at him as if to say, "You are kidding me right? You really are my dad?"