The toothfairy

Last night the tooth fairy visited both Rachel and Sveta. They pulled each others teeth out. As John tucked them in, Sveta kept asking about the "dairy fairy" and how would she fit in her room. See, once I tried to convince all of my kids that the tooth fairy was a cow as I showed them a picture of the Kraft dairy fairy. Sveta loved the idea and now brings it up all of the time.

Anyways, the tooth fairy brought Rachel a pink wig and nail decal kit (because she lost 2 teeth) and Sveta a new squeeze toy which she loves playing with by rolling over and over in her hand (she has sensory integration issues). Both girls were excited with what they got.

Seeing the excitement in Rachel's eyes when she put her teeth under her pillow and when she found her presents in the morning reminded me of how blessed we are to be able to share this experience with her before she got to be to big and stopped losing her baby teeth.

7 shots and 7 swimmers

Today I took all of the girls to the doctor. Annalyn, Sveta, and Anna had check-ups for their post-placement reports, Julia was seen for stomach pain (gallbladder problems?????) and Rachel went because she didn't want to be the only girl at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I'm glad she came because I think it was good for Rachel to meet our family doctor. Between vaccinations and blood tests the four girls ended up with 7 pokes (pronounced pokies if you ask Sveta).

John took 7 of our kids night swimming. Jonny is practically a swimmer. He will be our youngest swimmer ever at age 3 ---------- Andrew comes in second at age 4. Today I bought a flat of Vinca flowers and spent a good 2 hours out in the yard while they were out. I sure enjoy gardening ---------well, I enjoy the end result of gardening ------beautiful flowers and plants leaving no brown dirt in sight.

Christine's tidbit for the day : Love is a choice.

Victory Party!

We are the Champions (imagine it being sung in tune)! The Reds won 9 -1 against Atwater making Reedley history. Reedley has never won the Tournament of Champions before and so they are all celebrating over at Me & Ed's Pizza. John and I are so happy for Adam and Caleb and their team. We think that their winning had to do a lot with how the team got along and worked together ---just like a good team should. Good chemistry. I guess the coaches should get some credit too.

I had the difficult call of staying at home with one of our children (John fully supported my decision). Let's just say she has been having a hard time doing what John and I ask of her (particularly me today) and not going to the victory party is one of the consequences. I had a long talk with her and I know that something clicked tonight (something always does but I think we are dealing with PTSD and so things need to be repeated and replayed until I have told her at least 4 or 5 times and she trusts me because my story doesn't change) ----but what, I am not sure ----only time will tell. I hope that she learned tonight that what I ask of her is in her best interests ---not because I want to be bossy or make her life miserable. If I ask her to not eat anymore fruit (after 3 pieces) it is not because I want to keep something good from her but rather to prevent her from feeling sick.

As I tucked her into bed, I prayed with her, and made sure I gave her at least 5 kisses and hugs (sometimes hard to do when I feel like my daughter is choosing to disobey me because her wants are more important than what I ask of her).

ERCP and IAPA and more

Two days ago I had another painful stomach attack. In tears, I called and left a message for my gastro dr. to please try and get me in sooner than July 26. Thank God they called and scheduled me in for today. He said that I have Post-cholecystectomy syndrome which can occur after your gallbladder is removed. He has scheduled for me to have an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) on July 2. Yea!!!!!! I've had to have this procedure done twice before since my gallbladder removal and he has always been able to fix the cause of my pain (constricted bile ducts) during it. So that is why I say yea ------ because to me, an ERCP represents the end of my pain ------- until next time (usually about 2 years).

Yesterday, we signed the Independent Adoption Placement Agreement (IAPA) for Rachel and I filed the petition with the court earlier this afternoon. We know this is just the beginning, but we have faith that things will be easier with this adoption --------things didn't go so well with our prior adoption. Our relationship with the placing parents is very good this time, and they are excited to hear that Rachel is doing so well. It just confirms to them that they made the right decision because their family is doing much better and so is ours with a terrific 5 to 5 boy girl split. Annalyn and Julia have been much less competitive with each other now that Rachel has joined our family because she is similarly at their level ---emotionally, physically, and intellectually.

Back to the 5 to 5 boy girl split. This is something that we never planned on. Honest. It just happened. Even though I would love to have a dozen children, we really didn't think or plan on adopting again after Annalyn. But when we finally did discuss adopting again, we both said it would probably be with us going back to Ivanovo, Russia ------sentiments stemming from our friends adopting from there right now. I also thought it would be for a much younger child. But again that was just talk ---- nothin' concrete. But God has different plans for us. I still need to remember this, even as I type. What I want, what John wants -------isn't always what God desires for us --------so when Rachel first entered our lives we didn't really know that she would eventually become our daughter. But as time went on, it became more and more evident to us that Rachel was to be our daughter and once we realized that, God laid her on our hearts and made her ours.

Reds update

A Reds update ------ They beat Riverpark, the next day they beat Yosemite who also happened to the Reds (so we knew the Reds would win that night - Ha-Ha) , and tonight they beat Selma 20 - 7! Boy are they hot!!!! Tomorrow is the last game and it is against Atwater but will be played in Madera (half way point for each team).

I wonder if we should try to convince Adam and Caleb not to play next year because if they win tomorrow they will have won every game they played this season making everything from here down hill. On the other hand, since this is Adam and Caleb's first year playing little league ---- they have struggled to hit the ball almost every game --- definitely not their strong point yet. I know they will be stronger, better, and more confident next year if they play -------which will most likely give them more satisfaction even they don't make it to the championships. Tough call ----- we'll just have to wait and see how the All-Stars play out.

Summer School

Well let me start by saying that the Reds did win their last game breaking a new record! I wasn't there to see it but I hear it was great! Tonight they play their first tournament game against Riverpark at 7 pm. So you can guess where we will all be. I'll let you know how they do. Even after Adam and Caleb finish up the tournament games they will continue to play baseball in the All Stars. I kind of wish they would have not tried out for All Stars because it is only getting hotter and I worry about heatstroke. It has already hit 104'. Plus, Caleb's asthma always has me worried about him. Oh well, boys will be boys and moms will be moms.

Sveta and Anna are attending their second day of summer school. They really like it, but don't like the 8:30 pm bedtime that goes along with it. Just 7 more days. Just 7 more days, I tell them and tomorrow it will be just 6.


I wish I could have put Rachel in it too because she has so much too learn ( and sometimes I feel so little time) but I am working with her instead. Good for bonding, I always say. My biggest struggle is understanding where her true ability lies. I know in my heart she is very smart....... I just need to convince her of it or get her to admit it. First off, she is eleven years old and her previous family had her in the third grade. Sure, maybe that is where she is academically, but John and I felt it was best to put her into the fifth grade. As I work with her, I of course start to second guess myself, and end up going back and forth with my decision. I just wish it wasn't so darn hard!

We chose to hold Sveta back last year and it was a great decision, we are holding Anna back this year, and I know that is a good decision as well. Our reason for enrolling Rachel into 5th grade was so that she could feel like a big girl, after all she is two years older than Julia and Annalyn, and I think she will rise to the occasion. It is just so hard to instill the value that you must always try your best (nothing more, nothing less) when you are used to just getting by because you didn't have anyone who really, really cared enough to push you to be the best you can be.

I will be spending the week filling out post-placement info for three of my girls. I'm pretty excited because I am going to try to re-adopt Anna and Sveta by doing it on my own. I have been in touch with another family who successfully re-adopted their son here in Fresno County all on their own, so that gives me a lot of hope! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Back home

We got back home yesterday around 4 pm. It took us 6 hours because of L.A. traffic. It is times like that, when I am very thankful for our DVD players. We watched most of the first season of "Full House". All of the kids love it.


The beach was a blast. We rented kayaks one day and all but Jonny, Andrew and William went out in them. Adam was my partner. We even saw a dolphin but I have to admit that at first I thought it was a shark. You should have seen me jump. The funnest part was riding a wave in.

The water was pretty warm once you got used to it, and the second day we were there when the sun finally came out, I spent a good two hours in the ocean with the kids. It was really invigorating! John made sure all of the kids had a good time boogie-boarding. He would help them catch a good wave to ride by giving them a push off. They all walked away being able to say they had ridden a good wave.


The zoo was awesome! We took the bus tour and sat on the top level so we got a good overview of the whole park. Later, we rode the sky-tram, again and again for a total of four times. The wild animal and sea lion shows were very interesting and overall everyone enjoyed themselves.

The only bummer about the whole trip is that I started feeling horrible come early morning Friday. Stomach pain, just like the gallbladder stone-like pain I used to get before I had it removed. Quite unbearable! I even contemplated going to the E.R. in San Diego but decided to ride out the pain. By the time we got home Saturday afternoon the pain was no better so John took me to the hospital. Blood and urine tests ruled out apendicitis and pancreatitis thank goodness, but pretty much confirmed, from process of elimination, that I have "Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction".

Even after my initial surgery to remove my gallbladder in '04, I was hospitalized twice after for similar complications revolving around my biliary duct. Not good news. Since it has been nearly three years since this had happened, I thought I was out of the woods. I guess not.

What I really hate most about the pain is how irritable it makes me. I really can become quite grouchy, especially with my hubby and children. Hopefully, I can get an appointment with my gastroenterologist and he can fix me and soon.

Lastly, Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

At the beach

Hello from the beach! We are having a great time. John took Rachel out into the ocean for her first boogie-boarding lesson and she did great. Julia and Annalyn spend the most time out in the (brrr!) cold ocean. They are boogie boarding pros. Adam and Grandma aren't too bad themselves. Now that Jonny, William, Andrew and Daddy have had their naps we are heading back to the beach.

Can't wait to post pics and a movie.

Let me tell you.........

Sveta's birthday party went great. We went rollerskating -----all 12 of us plus a couple of friends. It was great fun and Sveta really enjoyed her new pink skates! I didn't realize how sore your muscles can get from holding up two little boys as they use you to support themselves as they try to skate.

In the morning I am driving down to San Diego (La Jolla) with the youngest 8 kids. John, Adam, Caleb, Grandma and Grandpa will join us Sunday morning after the boys league championship game. They are 19 - 0 and we have heard that no team has ever won 20 - 0. Who knows, maybe a new record will be made.

Rachel is doing great. She is transitioning into our family quite nicely. Just when we think we have a pre-teen girl on our hands when she asks if she could get a cell phone like the neighbor girl, she shows us that she is really just a little girl making up for lost time. Her favorite thing to do is play babies with Anna and Sveta and from what I can tell they will all make wonderful mama's someday. It was also sweet when she asked if she could get the same gift Sveta got for her birthday which was a My Little Pony metal box filled with gum that you have to open with a key.

May your weekend be filled with laughter, hope and joy.

Oh and one more thing, of course Sveta can't stop talking about the octopuses she is going to see at the beach. I think she enjoys pretending she is going someplace that is kind of scary because then she feels like a big girl when she goes and faces whatever might be there. She is so silly.

School is out today!

Today is the kid's last day of school. Earlier in the month I bought inexpensive candles from Michael's along with paper gift bags and note cards. I had the kids decorate their bag, pick out a candle that they thought their teacher would like and write a note to their teacher thanking them for all they have done this year. Even Sveta made one - actually two - one for her regular teacher and one for her Resource Specialist teacher. She was so proud. Nothing real extravagant but something very meaningful as I hope to teach my kids to appreciate the hard work of their teachers. I'm sure they are exhausted by the end of the year, and getting a few nice notes as they say goodbye to their students give them some encouragement to come back next year and do it all over again.

Annalyn is Officially Ours!

Today we had court to finalize Annalyn's adoption. It was a breeze! Not more than 10 minutes total. Annalyn was very excited and wanted to know if this was anything like Judge Judy's courtroom happenings. Not quite dear, I told her, in this court proceeding everyone leaves happy!

Baptized!

Annalyn was baptized yesterday, June 3, 2007! It was an awesome moment that will forever change her life. Praise God! To learn more about our church visit http://www.reedleyfbc.com/.

Today we watched Julia receive not one but two awards --- one in scholastics and one as Husky (student) of the year in her class. Go Julia!

This Friday is Sveta's 10th birthday! It is pretty much all she can talk about. She's hoping to get a cute, pink pair of skates -----not in-line but the old-fashioned skates like I had growing up. She wore them last time we went roller-skating and had a much easier and enjoyable time.

The last day of school for my kids is this Thursday. They can't wait and frankly neither can I!
We are going to the beach next week for a whole week! One day we are going to visit the San Diego Zoo. I've never been there, but I hear it is BIG!

No poothtase!

With so many kids, you better believe I'm all about tooth care. Every night I re-brush my three youngest boys teeth after they do it themselves first. William could never stand toothpaste (sensory issues) and his younger brothers followed suit. Every time I tell them it is time to brush their teeth Jonny comes running in, screaming, "No poothtase! No poothtase!" It is just so darn cute!

I would love to write more -----so much is going on in our house, but us girls are about to go to my Mom's house for dinner. I promise to write more very soon. I just wanted to share that Julia's teacher called today to tell me she will be receiving the Husky of the Year award for her whole class. I'm so proud of her! But shhhhhhhhhh, it's supposed to be a secret.