Pictures

Natalie received bathtub crayons. Here is some of her artwork. Just in case, you can't tell, I am the one on the right and Natalie is on the left

Here are the boys, Maxx and Joey longing to go outside.

Natalie in the rocking chair she got from Bashka for Christmas.

Natalie in her beauty shop tent, a Christmas present from mommy.

All dressed up for the Christmas program she sang in at church.

2009!!!!

As usual I am way behind on updating my blog. Christmas, New Year's Day and almost a whole week in the new year have come and gone. I do feel like life is slowing down and I am getting some sense of order and structure back into my life. In the past on New Year's Eve I would stay up until midnight and write in my journal. I would review the past year, write what I think God is saying for the next year and set some goals (not resolutions) for the new year. The last several years, it has been New Year's Day or New Year's Day eve before I would do this little ritual. It is now the eve of the 6th and I have yet to accomplish this task.

Christmas was very low keyed. Natalie didn't know what to expect so she slept until 7:30 and we made our way slowly downstairs. My mom came over and we just took our time opening presents. We went to my sister's for dinner and then came home about 7:00. Since I had to work the next day, we went to bed early. I think I enjoyed Christmas Eve perhaps a bit more. We went to my mom's and watched the Charlie Brown Christmas video (I have yet to upgrade to a DVD) and then read 2 different children's books which told about Jesus' birth. It was a sweet time.

New Year's Eve was just a quiet night at home with me heading to bed by 10:30 since I had to work the next day. I am so happy to report that I now have a full year of vacation time ahead of me. I am looking forward to a real vacation and planning some day trips with Natalie.

In the month of December I made 8 trips to the vet between the two cats. They are doing well now. Maxx is still healing but should be completely healed within the week. They have big areas that were shaved and they look quite funny. They have not been allowed back outside, though Maxx did manage to escape one night. He was finally caught about an hour later.

I am now scheduling a visit with my social worker for our year post placement report. Natalie has been home over 9 months now. It is amazing to hear her speak and now she is associating things (like clothes, puzzles, etc.) with the time we were in Russia. What is interesting to me, is that she does not only associate those things with Russia, but also with me. She doesn't talk about her life before being with me. It is almost as if her life began at that point. She goes for her wellness check up this week and according to my measurements, she has grown almost 4 inches. Still doesn't seem to be gaining weight, but she can eat!!! She is great because she is not picky or fussy about what she eats. Loves salads, vegetables, meat and she does like her sweets too!!

She is just as loving and affectionate as always. And she loves to talk and talk and talk!! She is growing up so fast!! Please enjoy the pictures!!

Merry Christmas!!

I forgot to add that on November 23, we had a dedication service for Natalie at the church. It was very special!

What a week!!!

Really I should say what a month!! I haven't really posted since about a month ago and it has been a whirlwind. Not having any vacation or holiday time left forces me to work the holidays, work longer days to cover time I need to take off for personal business or work weekends. Needless to say, I feel like I work all the time :) That isn't true of course, but it certainly feels that way often.
Thanksgiving was a special time as my younger sister and her family were able to come for several days. One of my older sisters and her husband were able to come for one of those days and a friend came from out of town for several days after they left. I worked the week of Thanksgiving including Thanksgiving morning and still feel like I am play catch up from having so much company. Add to that Christmas coming up and all that is involved with preparing for the holiday. I can say the tree is up, the outside decorations are up, most of the cards are addressed and most of the gifts bought. So here I am thinking that I am doing pretty well, when I am hit with the realization that Christmas is just about a week a way! Yikes!!
So here I am updating my blog instead of wrapping gifts and preparing to send off gifts. But it will get done and I feel the need to share what has been going on.

Last Tuesday Natalie woke up sick again with the croup. We spent the morning in the doctor's office. We ended up having to cancel some events which were rescheduled for this week. On Thursday I noticed that one of my cats was not feeling well and not eating. Off to the vets. Turns out that he had been bitten by another cat and was running a fever. Friday night I went to another Christmas party and Natalie went to sleep about 9:00. I made it to bed by 11:30. She woke up at 2:30 complaining about an ear ache and coughing all night. Needless to say, there was no sleep the rest of the night. I had to work that morning to make up for being out Tuesday morning. So off I went to work, saw my patients and then rushed home. Took Natalie to the doctor who confirmed that she did indeed have an ear infection. Also she was not getting better. Her nose was constantly running, she was still coughing and wheezing. So she was put on another round of medicine along with an antibiotic (the same one as the cat for his fever.) Speaking of the cat, we raced home from the doctor, I dropped Natalie off and raced back to the vet. The cat was running another high fever and one of his bites was infected so they had to cut it open and drain it. Left the vet, raced to the pharmacy to pick up Natalie's prescription, only it wasn't ready, so back home, dropped the cat off and grabbed a quick bite to eat, back to the pharmacy and then back home so Natalie could take the medicine and then we picked up my mom and went Christmas shopping at 1:30 PM. We returned from that about 7:30 PM. On Sunday morning Natalie sang in the church Christmas program and did a great job!!

I was so tired and worried that we would have another night of no sleep. A friend had sent me an email that said if you put Vick's vapor rub on the bottom of someones feet who is coughing they will be able to sleep and will not cough. At that point I figured it would not hurt. I have to say for the last 3 nights and so far tonight it has worked. She is sleeping through the night with no coughing and slowly getting better. The cat is much better. Between the 2 of them in the morning, I administer 6 different medicines. We have had a terrible stomach virus going around at work for about a month now and I pray every day that I will not catch it.
This week I have heard it is going around the day cares now. Natalie cracks me up. When she talks about someone or herself throwing up, she doesn't say that they threw up, but instead that they threw out! Too funny!! Even though she has been home for 8 months now, I still find it hard to believe that she is really here and she is really my child.

In my previous blog posts, I asked you to pray for Karin and her family. It is with sadness that I share that she passed away last night. But I am glad that she is not in pain any more. I am also glad that there is great comfort in the fact that she knew Jesus and is in heaven tonight with the Lord. My heart breaks for her children and her family and I can't think about the situation without being moved to tears. It has been an emotional week for me and it reminds me how precious life is. It has also helped me refocus on Natalie and make more of an effort to spend time with her and not worry about whether the dishes get down today or tomorrow.

As Christmas draws near, I have been sharing with Natalie that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and Christmas is about giving of gifts. I have received such a wonderful gift this year, my precious daughter Natalie and I am ever so grateful to the Lord for all he has brought me through this year. I challenge you this year to think about Christmas and the wonderful gifts that you have received and the gifts that you can give to others.
Truly the best gift we have been given is eternal life through Jesus and I pray that it is a gift that you welcome with open arms.

Merry Christmas!

Continue Praying

Thank you to all of you who have been praying. Karin did make it through the night, but continues to need prayer. I am posting the blog link so you can check in and know how to pray more effectively.

http://karinupdates.blogspot.com/

Prayer Request

For those of you who may be reading this today/tonight, I am asking you to pray for a woman named Karin. She used the same adoption agency that I did and adopted her first child from Krasnoyarsk, the same area that Natalie is from. She has been battling cancer and tonight she is in the hospital in critical condition. She and her husband also have recently adopted two other children. Please pray for this family and that she will make it through the night and God will bring healing to her.
Thank you!