Day 11

Not since I started my 2 week experiment, but rather since I have been sick. Today I feel like I have lost ground. Fever is back as well as the chills. I am still coughing and my head is just full. Called the doctor and was told that the z-pack stays in your system for 10 days so no more antibiotics until then. They did tell me to get some Musinex which was way more expensive than my 3 prescription medicines put together. Today was also the first full day I have worked in a week. Needless to say, I was so tired when I got home that I took a nap while Natalie watched Nick Jr.
Worse than how I feel is the fact that Natalie is now sick too. Her nose has been running all day and she has been coughing since Saturday. She did run a low grade temp last night but none today. Her poor little nose is so red. So we are both headed for bed very soon. Please continue to pray, especially for Natalie. I really appreciate it.
So my experiment did work as we are now on day 15 of blogging every day. In light of how I have been feeling, please have grace for me as I take a break for several days and just focus on getting the both of us better.
Thanks for following along!!

Glamour Shots

Ah ha! Not quite what you thought it was going to be. Natalie and I went to a museum today and I tried my hand at some pictures. Here they are:

The Olympics

I love the Olympics. Most years I don't get to watch very much any more. But this year I want Natalie to be able to watch more of them. Did a Google search and came up with this great website. This could be an official site, but at any rate it is excellent so I wanted to pass this link onto others. There are so many great features on it, but the best things is just to check out yourselves!
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-schedule-results/


USA USA USA USA USA

A Different Perspective

I wish I could say that I feel great and fantastic, but I don't. I felt better yesterday, but I don't feel as bad as I did on Wednesday, and since it is day 3 of antibiotics, I thought I would be well on the way to recovery. It may be due to the fact that I have been home all day with Natalie, who is a VERY social child that likes constant interaction and loves to talk!! I'm tired:) But I don't want this post to be whiny.

So on to a different perspective. I was reading earlier tonight on my adoption chat group. Someone had posted a link to a blog. It is about a woman who gives birth to a special needs child (won't go into detail in case you want to read it.) The story itself is powerful and you may need a tissue or two. I read the specific post (http://enjoyingthesmallthings.blogspot.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html) but then checked out more current posts. What struck me about this blog (other than the powerful story and how well written it is) was the photography. The woman is a professional photographer and the pictures are stunning and just incredible.

In my younger years, I used to have a great camera and took a lot of pictures. Now I take a lot of pictures, but they are of Natalie and Bashka standing by the pumpkin or Natalie posing in a new outfit. It's not that I don't like the pictures or recording the events that we have attended or performed, but this blog has challenged me to take a different perspective on how I take pictures, especially of Natalie. The woman mentioned something along the lines of always having a camera in hand and looking for the little things and the unusual things-I think she gave an example of a wisp of her daughter's hair. So I want to have a different perspective when I get ready to take a picture. Maybe I need a different type of digit camera or maybe I need to pull out my 26 year old Cannon and buy some film. Maybe Natalie and I should just have a day of shooting pictures and being silly. Maybe I just need a different perspective on how beautiful my daughter really is. Maybe............

It's Snowing, AGAIN

But I understand it is supposed to be only 1-3 inches. I'm guessing on the closer to 3 side as it has been snowing for about 3 hours and still is coming down pretty steady. This is the most snow I have ever seen in a year since I moved here over 7 years ago. It has also been the coldest winter I have seen. I'm not complaining about the snow as I know my northern friends have had it much worse. I am just making some observations.
I am feeling better today. No sore throat, mild coughing and I actually feel more rested. It does help to go to bed by 8:30. It is obvious that I do feel better as it is now 10:15 and here I am typing, but I am off to bed soon.
My nose is still stuffed and my ears do hurt. Probably the biggest difference is that I feel like I can actually breath and I am not so winded by walking up a flight of stairs. So thank you for all your prayers!!
Natalie has had a good week of school after only going to school one day last week. She has remained healthy and I do pray that she continues to do so.
Didn't really watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but the brief 30 seconds I saw was the Russian team. I thought what were the chances that I would see Russia. Of course I have to cheer for them only after the Americans. I didn't watch a lot of the summer Olympics, but I do hope to see many of the winter ones. My heart does go out to the family of this young man who lost his life. So sad. May God give them peace and comfort.
I know this is not an exciting post, but more of an update. Enjoy your weekend!
USA USA USA USA USA USA USA!!!

A really, really quick note

I went to the doctor and I have a sinus infection, the beginnings of bronchitis, ear infection, swollen lymph nodes and I don't remember what else. I got a shot to help open up my lungs, cough medicine to help me sleep, a pill to help break up the junk when I am coughing and a Z-pack to knock out all of the infections. Natalie is in bed, I'm going to take my cough medicine and then I am going to bed!! I had already taken tomorrow off so that has worked out great! Thanks for all your prayers and concern!!

ERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

I wasn't even going to blog tonight as I feel terrible. Can't get into the doctor's office until late tomorrow afternoon. I didn't make it to work today. I am so stuffed up, coughing and my nose won't stop running. So I sound horrible and one word from my mouth and you can tell I am sick. BUT I am so tired of telemarketers!!! I am on the do not call list but that doesn't seem to do a lot of good. From what I understand, charitable groups are exempt, groups that you have a credit card with or use their product can call still.
So today I get a call. I don't have caller ID and most of the time I let the answering machine get it. But I am upstairs in bed and the answering machine is downstairs so I answer the phone hoping it is the doctor's office and they have had a cancellation. But it is a woman from National Geographic (I ordered the junior magazine for Natalie from a co-worker's son who was selling magazine subscriptions and I am not going to renew the magazine) and she is telling me about a free map and a DVD she is sending if I want it I can keep it for only $19.99. I tell here to not send the DVD because I will just send it right back and I don't want it. She begins to try to convince me why I need it. At this point, I just reply, "Look, I'm sick and I am not going to argue with you, I don't want it." I then hung up. There was a time when I tried to be polite. But I have gotten to the point where if I kindly tell them I am not interested and they continue, then I am hanging up. I didn't call them, I didn't express interest in the product and I am not obligated to give them my time, especially when I feel bad.
So it is 2 minutes until 9:00 PM and the phone rings. I am just about to get in bed and I think it might be a friend calling because I have turned off my cell phone. No, it is some man calling from some lung association thanking me for supporting them in the past. ?????????? I don't remember doing so. My first response to him is that he is calling very late and I told him I was sick and in bed. His response, Well, I'm sorry to hear that, BUT and then he started on his speech. I hung up. Unbelievable.
I know people have a job, but they need to be respectful when people tell them they are not interested. Well, time to get off my soap box and head to bed!!

Rough

That is the best word to describe how I feel right now. Fever again when I got home from work, my nose is running like crazy, my throat is sore, still coughing and hacking and everything has moved up from my chest into my head. So just a quick note so I can say I did blog today, off to makes lunches for tomorrow and then I am going to bed!!!!

One step down

Today Natalie and I met with the social worker who is filling in for the one who had a death in her family. We had a great visit and I mentioned how the paperwork has to go to Raleigh, back to me and be in VA by March 11th. As you well know, the last two reports have been down to the wire, so I am really sensitive in this area. She seemed surprised by the number of places that it has to travel, but she made the comment that she would probably have it done by the end of the week. It still has to be signed off by the SW supervisor, but WOW what a change to think I might actually be able to use 2 day mail, see the official stamp from Raleigh and have it to the office in VA with plenty of time to spare. Now as optimistic as I want to be, the fact that there is always something going on, makes me just want to hold my breath until I actually have it in my hands:) But it is nice to have the visit over and know that we are in process.

One of my former patients passed away today. She came to the facility not long after I started there and I worked with her on and off during the last 4 years. I am just so grateful to know that death is not the end. But that there is a Hope after death.

If you read this tonight, please remember my friend Christy's son in prayer tomorrow. He is just 3 and has to have surgery.

Speaking of tomorrow, I am off to bed as I have been fighting a respiratory infection, the chills and a fever. Thankfully Natalie is doing just fine!!

Super Bowl Sunday

I think it is down to 2 minutes and some odd seconds, but I haven't really been following the game. Now if the Steelers had been playing I would have been much more in tune with the game. I was thinking about all the Super Bowl Parties I have gone to over the years and how the focus really was on the fellowship and not really watching the game. Of course there were the die hard fans watching, but I have always enjoyed socializing. In that way Natalie and I are a lot alike. We both really like being around people. She loves being the center of attention and I am quite comfortable sitting in the background, more one on one. Or I can be content working on little projects all by myself. This weekend was one of those weekends where you look around and though you can't see major changes, I still managed to get a lot done. My taxes are filed, I finished the Shutterfly book for Natalie, I made huge progress on her scrapbook and today I began working on turning my blog into a book.
As I was working on the blog I ran into a problem so I clicked on their Facebook page to see if anyone else had run into the same problem. I didn't find anyone and later I figured out how to fix it with the help of my friend Christy (love email!) But while I was looking over the Facebook page, a woman had commented about the product (turning blogs into books) and she shared that her sister has blogged her fight against cancer. Sadly, she lost her fight and passed away. The poster commented that she was turning her sister's blog into a book, so her 5 year old nephew would have this book to read of his mother's courageous battle with cancer. That post just really touched my heart. I'm not putting down the Super Bowl by any means. But what a stark contrast- the money, commercials, food and emphasis placed on a "game" and here was this book that probably only a handful of people will ever read, yet this woman lived life to the fullest and fought so she could hopefully see her child grow up. Unfortunately she won't have that opportunity, but what a legacy she has left for her son. So even though the laundry isn't put away and my desk seems to be always piled high with papers, I'm glad I have taken the time to record these events in my life so Natalie will see how much I went through for her and how much she has enriched my life. In the end what we do for our children is truly what matters.

Memories

Today I spent most of the day working on a photo book. I had made one from a special program but never had it printed. I got an invitation from my friend Christy for a free photo book through Shutterfly, so I spent the day duplicating the book in the Shutterfly program. This was one of my projects and goals for this year. I want to give it to Natalie on her 6th birthday in July. The book covers the time from her referral pictures to our plane ride home. As you know I have also been working on a scrapbook covering her first year home. (I am now on Christmas 2008.) As I looked at those pictures during the visits at the orphanage and those first few months together, I am just humbled by God's goodness and faithfulness in giving me this beautiful child. I think of how quiet and reserved she was at the beginning and I look at this child now who just can't stop talking. Even tonight as she was being silly, I realized that her grammar and language have really grown in leaps and bounds. She still gets a few things mixed up, but the average Joe would have no idea that less than 2 years ago this child lived in a baby home and spoke Russian.
What a joy and privilege it has been to watch this child blossom right before my eyes. I have to think in some ways that it must be like this for the Lord. To watch us as we grow in our faith and step out in those things he has called us to do. So many times I feel like I am constantly redirecting Natalie and saying the same thing over and over. Yet, if I look back at those things I was always repeating a year or so ago, I realize that I am not saying those things and if fact, I don't have to because now she has learned the task and completes it without giving it a second thought. I want to be like that in my walk with the Lord. To be able to so clearly hear what he is saying that I just "know" what the next step is. To have the faith to carry it out just because he has told me what to do and I accept what I am to do. I want it to be a part of my every day routine just like Natalie knows that every morning she makes her bed and puts her dirty clothes in the laundry.
She is truly such a different child from 2 years ago. She has matured in so many ways. I want people to be able to look at my life and say that about my relationship with the Lord! I know I still have so far to go, but with God's constant redirecting and repeating, there is definitely hope for me yet!

Winter Wonderland

That is what I woke up to this morning. It was snowing very heavy and we quickly had about 2 inches on the cars. Going into work was a little slick at first but as the snow changed over to rain, it was a lot of slush on the road and just plain water. Thankfully the temperature stayed at 33 degrees.

Work has been a bit emotionally challenging lately. I've worked at my facility for almost 5 years. In the last several weeks several of the residents who were there when I started have really declined medically. Quite a few of them I have seen have setbacks and then go through rehab and then get better. But this time I suspect for many of them, this is drawing near the end. In my almost 5 years there, I have unfortunately seen many of the residents pass away. But some how this time it is different. Perhaps because they have been so strong for so long and now to watch them nearing the end is so heart breaking. Perhaps it is because I have worked on and off with them many times. Perhaps it is a reminder of my sweet cat Selah ((not comparing a cat to a human life) and watching her rebound again and again and this time she was not able to. Although it has been almost 4 months since she passed away, I still miss her very much.) Perhaps as I get older and have a parent who it older, it becomes all the more personal.

I was thinking the other day about Natalie being in school and how much of the day that her teachers spend with her and I was thinking about how much time I spend with my patients and how often I feel very protective of them. Because I have known many of them for years or even the new ones (I spend an intense hour of therapy with them each day for weeks to months) and often work with them on and off through the years I feel like they are a part of my family and I often know when something is just out of sync with them. So when they start to decline my heart does grieve and it is hard to watch. I have to often remind myself that for the time they were a part of my life, I helped to make their life a little bit better. For the twenty-five years that I have been doing this, there are many people who stand out in my mind and I don't think I will ever forget them.

There have been some other issues at work that have been very frustrating and that has made me rethink about what I am doing. But the bottom line is that I know God has given me a heart for the elderly and I know he has placed me where I am right now. So I hold fast to that and I remind myself of Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."

Because in the realm of eternity it is what we do for the Lord that will remain and not what we do for man or ourselves.

The Question Is

No longer what do people blog about, but rather where do they find the time to do it every day. I'm squeezing this in between the dishes that need to be washed, the carpet that needs to be vacuumed (from Pippi digging in my hibiscus tree and throwing dirt everywhere 2 days ago), lunches that need to be made, bills paid (at least one has to go out tomorrow) and preparing to be in bed in 20 minutes so I can get 8 hours of sleep before dealing with the new snow storm coming in tonight. No school again tomorrow! By the way, no problems getting into work today! Yeah!!

Perhaps if I had not had to take Pippi back to the vets (due to chronic diarrhea-which turned out that she STILL has round worms and is now on a new round of medicine) and had to deal with a furnace (the 4th time in 2 years) not working I would have already written this post and would be slowly easing myself into the bed for a glorious 8 full hours of sleep!! The furnace man came on overtime pay and now it is working!

Natalie got her report card today and she definitely made some huge gains. Two areas that were great to see in which she moved from just satisfactory to outstanding were in the areas of showing respect and consideration for others and using good manners!! I feel like I am always telling her to say thank you and dealing with showing respect. How nice to see that she has listened and is incorporating these skills into every day situations. She also got O's for asking for help when needed and completing her home work. Personally, I think I deserve the O for completing the homework. We have made great gains in that area but we still spend a lot of time doing home work. Her teacher has been good to work with and that is a blessing. She is improving in unnecessary talking. Ah, my social child that loves to talk. This is a tough one for her.

Well, I am down to 10 minutes until bedtime, so off I go to wave my magic wand and to get the kitchen completely done!!

And the Adventure Continues

The title is in reference to my adoption journey, not my drive in this morning, which I will address later. Today Natalie and I went to meet with our social worker. Since I went in late today I had to use some of my time off. When we got to the office, it turned out the social worker was not there due to a death in her family. I was immediately frustrated because it seems that every step of this journey has been met with some type of issue. As I have blogged in the past, the reports have to be done in a very timely fashion. Once I get the report back, it still has to travel to Raleigh and back to me and then to VA and then onto Russia. The last 2 reports have been down to the wire and I was so hopeful this would not be the case again.
But I have to say the staff there was so kind and apologetic and they have made arrangements to have another social worker available on Monday. So we will head back to the office on Monday. Again I am hopeful that it will all work out.

This morning I tried to head out about 7:15. By 7:30 I was ready to head back home and did so another 15 minutes later. It was soooo icy and I saw no less than 6 accidents or cars off the road in that time. To me it just was not worth it. At one place I could not even get on the on ramp because they had closed it. I had to travel 2 miles up the road and get on it there. My car was slipping and it was very foggy. I later went in at 9:00 and the roads were great. A lot of snow melted today and I am hearing that the roads could have black ice on them again tomorrow morning. I'm thinking it may not be as bad because the day before it had rained all day yesterday. Natalie has a 2 hour delay and I am betting that there will be no school again on Friday as they are calling for a freezing rain/sleet/snow combo coming late Thursday night/ Friday morning into Saturday. Oh well, Phil did see his shadow after all!!

On the Road

I'm happy to report that the roads were in much better condition today. Thankfully it was 34 degrees when I got up and there wasn't any ice on the road where I was. I took the long way to work but was able to go 55 the whole way. On the way home, I came back my normal way and for the most part everything was in good shape. There were still some piles of snow on the roads but only in the area that the car travels over. The subdivision still had snow on the road but they did come by this evening and plow it. It has rained the whole day and the temperature never got above 34 degrees. In some ways I miss living in Boston. I feel like we are experiencing the same weather but without the benefit of the cleared roads!! Haha! I do have to say, my county did a pretty good job of getting most of the main and secondary roads cleared pretty quickly.

No school again tomorrow. But I am so grateful for Bashka. I don't know what I would do with Natalie if she couldn't stay with Bashka.

Tomorrow Natalie and I go for her 3rd post placement report. Russia requires a total of 4 reports. They are at the 6 month, 1 year, 2 year and 3 year mark of being home. It is hard to believe in 2 months Natalie will have lived here for 2 years. What incredible changes I have seen in her. Tonight I began placing pictures in her album for October 2008. What an amazing transformation in those first 6 months home. I think that is where I have seen the biggest changes.

They are calling for more snow this weekend. Not sure how it is all going to work out. Hopefully it will be just snow and not ice. I'll keep you posted!!

Blogging

I've been following several blogs lately dealing with Haiti and I was thinking about how do people have something to write about every day if there isn't really anything to write about. So I thought I would try an experiment to see if I could come up with something to write about every day for 2 weeks. I always say that my life is not dull so here it goes.
This morning was far from dull. No school today and I decided to head to work 1 hour and 15 minutes later than normal. That way I figured it would be daylight and I would miss the black ice. The subdivision was a mess to get out of, but once I did the road was clear for the next 3 miles. I made a left hand turn and that small road was also clear. Great I thought, this small road leads to a pretty well traveled 2 lane road that at one point turns into a 4 lane road. If the roads near my house looked in this great shape, then it shouldn't be a problem to get to work. It is 20 miles one way to work and a 30 minute commute. So about half way down this small road I hit the county line into the next county where I work. It was quite obvious that I had hit the line, but not because I saw a road sign, but because the nice clear road suddenly disappeared. Instead I felt like I was driving through my back yard. The snow was easily six inches deep on the road. I think I was going about 25 miles the entire 4 miles. Then I hit the road that is pretty well traveled. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being perfectly cleared roads, this road definitely rated about a 4. The road goes up and down and every time I was going up or down, I was praying the entire time. Even when the road opened up to 4 lanes it did not improve at all. So I got to the end of the road and turned left onto a small side road. At that point I was probably about 6 miles away from work. AS I went down the road I was amazed that I was not sliding. At the bottom of the hill I had to stop due to the stop sign and a guy who decides to turn right in front of me. At that point there was no way I could get any momentum to start the climb up the hill. In fact, I couldn't get any type of momentum and my wheels were spinning and spinning. I was finally able to make a right turn which put me out on the highway where the roads were nice and clear. So I headed back the way I had just come only on the highway now. I got off the exit ramp which was not clear at all. Of course I got to the top of the hill and the light was red. It stayed red through 3 changes of green lights for a left hand turn towards me. Finally with no cars or police in sight I proceeded to make my left hand turn and I was right back where I started down the hill. Knowing that the prognosis was not good to make it up the hill again, I decided to go through town instead of taking the short cut. There were hills up and down, but thankfully even though they were snow covered they were not too bad. I made it all the way down through town and prepared to get on another highway. The ramp to merge on was not plowed. But once I got on the highway it was clear sailing for the whole mile I was on there. Off I exited onto another snow covered ramp. As I drove the last mile to work, I got a reprieve for about 500 yards only to turn onto a snow covered road that it would have been best to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. But I took my time and managed to pull into the snow covered parking lot at work only 1 hour and 10 minutes after I left my home.
On the way home, the road near work was only about 50 percent clear and I decided to take the highway which is the long way home, but it was clear and a lot less stressful.
Tonight they are calling for freezing rain and black ice in the morning. No school again tomorrow and I plan to leave about 2 hours later than normal and take the highway!
My life is not dull!!