First day of spring???or maybe NOT!!!!

I don't think it's looking much like spring around here...

Or FEELING like it, with -15 wind chills Wednesday morning, and temps hardly reached the mid teens-boy, winter just does not want to let go this year.

We are all ready for some warmer weather, and green grass again.

Buying a farm, and moving in the winter has made this feel like the longest winter on record for the Waughtals, and we have had more snow since we started moving than we had all last winter all together:)

Hopefully, it is a huge help to the ground water, drought conditions we have experienced in the past 12 months, but for the morale...not so good!!!

WHAT"S NEW????

WE MOVED!!!!!!!

I don't have any good pictures yet of the whole place, but this is the view out my kitchen door-a few weeks ago, before the last series of snow storms:)

And the house pictures I found, I am so glad Kendell took some of our moving process, because I have been so busy doing the move, unpacking, etc, that using a camera has been the last thing on my mind.

They are very accurate as to the mess we lived in while moving-boxes, and stuff, EVERYWHERE...and still, it just felt more roomy, and definitely lighter than where we were before.

AND, the children managed to settle in and dig out some of their toys and found ample places to sprawl out and enjoy each other while they began the "getting to know you" time of their new home.

I am amazed, in looking back, how far we have come in 1 month.

The house DOES look more homey now, less cluttered, and more organized, and there is a full basement, that we completely remodeled and finished off, that is our main "holding tank" for stuff that still needs a home, but our hope is that it will be the main play area once we have shelves up and "STUFF" is off the floor, and out of Isaac's path of destruction.

While there is still "little boy" mess in here, it seems so much more manageable when it isn't right around me and under me ALL the time. I feel I have more space to move, more space to put things, and THEY have much more space to play and push trucks, and ride trikes, and wear off energy than we had in 1 little room where we all were, ALL the time.

The next 2 pictures were our "temporary" sleeping quarters, while we waited for the 2 bedrooms to be complete.

The girls slept on mattresses on the floor in Kendell's room, and the boys slept on mattresses on the office floor.

They are all in their own beds now, but we don't have any pics of that yet-maybe Kendell will find some time soon???

It was all pretty cozy for awhile, but it sure beat the driving from 1 farm to another to milk the cows, and then going back after chores to fix meals and be mama.

Our cows have been here for over 6 weeks now.

We pieced a herd of 33 cows together from several sources, and while they aren't all going to make it thru the long haul, they are a good starting point, and they are putting milk in the tank, thus there IS a milk check coming in 2x a month:)

AND, we love having cows again.

We really ARE farmers at heart, as we just really love having cattle around again, and my 2 14 yr olds just love having the responsibility of milking each evening.

Things are going very well in the barn, and the increased activity level has been very good for Mama and Daddy's bodies too-WOW-pounds really drop, and muscles develop again, and THAT feels soooo good-so, an added BONUS to all the hard work that goes into making a farm work:)

We have mostly Black and White Holsteins-they make a lot of milk, and are easy to come by...



We have 1 Red and White Holstein-she is a favorite of Kendell's and Dad's, and we will try to find a few more...

We have 4 Jerseys, and we really like them-they are so little, and give such rich milk

and they come in different colors too...

She is SOOO dark compared to the lighter one above-can you tell we like variety??

and then, we have our beloved Brown Swiss...the breed we began farming with18 years ago, they are still my favorite...:)

Overall, I have to say, the adjustment has gone very well.

We had some grieving issues with Isaiah and Lili-they both really seemed to have some issues after the move, much like when we brought them home.

Isaac was soooo aware of what was going on, if Kendell would say, "do you want to go home?" he would get alll excited, clap his hands, and go running for his shoes.

He recognizes the road we turned onto each trip between farms, and he complains when we go past it now on our way into town-so cute, and so impressive that he is aware and comprehends-if only he had some words to express himself....

Actually the 3 little ones all recognize the roads, and they all have a bit of a time when we drive by our turn-off road-we are only 15 minutes away from the other farm, so we made that trip MANY times in the 2 months we took to move and start milking cows there, and while we always said, we are going to the "NEW" home, and they always got excited to GO, now that we STAY, it brings issues, and loss, and we have had to dig deep for added measures of grace in the midst of our physical tiredness and emotional stress to help them adjust.

Rose seems to have taken it all in stride. She likes the newness of the new house, and she doesn't seem too shook up about the move-sadly, I think it indicates HOW MANY times in her young life she has been moved from place to place.

Tyler misses all the adventure of the 136 acre farm-the bluff, the creek, the spring, and all the places we had to ride our Gator, yet he is very happy for spring to eventually get here so they can fully explore the land around here. Though we only have 20 acres, there is lots of woodland around us, and I think once we get to know the neighbors, there will be plenty of land for them to ride on, go for hikes, and hunt for all their treasures.

BUT, he loves being outside and helping with the chores, even though he is probably more tired than he has ever been before.

Nick and Kendell have varied responsibilites outside, and though I miss Kendell's help with the littles, she is LOVING being outside with the cows, and has new interest in bloodlines, breeding info, and the record-keeping side of the herd that I think will be a real blessing as she learns how to do some of the bookwork that goes along with owning cows.

Nick is really handling his work well, and loves the variety of things he does each day. He handles much of the feeding, bedding, etc... as Daddy still holds down a job and is not here every day.

I had better close for now, as it is chore time, and I need to get outside.

As I have been writing this post, it has reminded me, again, of why I do this-it is such a great way to keep a record of the things that go on in our lives, and such a great visual reminder of our lives, our famiy, and our home.

I NEED to do this more often-but my, the time issue...

Blessings

Chris, for all 9 of us

ONE YEAR HOME AS A FAMILY OF 9

Where does the time go?

I can't believe we have reached the mark of our first anniversary HOME with our family of 9!!

Today, when we should be in church, and 5 of us have a flu bug, maybe the dreaded influenza, but it gives me time to ponder a bit and remember what was going on 1 year ago.

All month, I have been remembering where we were 1 year ago, what we were thinking, how we were feeling while in China, and now that we are HOME for 1 year, I think it is time for a NEW beginning.

Rose and Lili have been thru SO much in the last year.

EVERYONE has been thru a lot. And it hasn't all been sweet or fun.

There have been so many days of despairing, of disagreements, of disappointments.... YET, thru it all, we have seen how sweet it can be when we are all clicking and things are going well.

There HAVE been good days, in fact good weeks. There have been lots of smiles, giggles, sharing, learning, loving, and bonding.

There have been moments when we see, AHA, it WILL work out some day.

What I need to keep in mind, is that what I expected, and what is reality, do not mesh, and I NEED TO ADJUST my expectations.

Reality is not THAT horrible.
It is not unliveable.

It is not unbearable.

It is just hard, BUT whoever promised me a simple life?

Who ever said parenting 7 children would be easy?

Who said parenting 7 children, 4 with special needs, would be a storybook fantasy?

I have been doing some real soul-searching lately, and while I still lose patience, and want things easier, I am trying to have a better attitude, and realize, its really not about me, or the family we were 2 years ago. Its about who we are now, and what Jesus is trying to do thru us and with us and for us.

Rose really enjoys days when life is predictable, and she knows what will be happening. When she can get up, dress, make the beds, and come down and help in the kitchen, without lots of rushing and being pushed because we are headed out the door for some unknown reason, she has a lot better day.

SCHEDULE is crucial for Rose.

She likes routine, and she likes doing things the same every day.

When we upset her routine, she does not do well.

SOOO, we need to work harder at having a better schedule, and FOLLOWING it.

WHICH, while we are moving, will be a challenge, but hopefully we can keep our eyes on the end result, a new farm, a new house, more space, and we can all work towards that, and keep our attitudes in check, even in the midst of the flu bug.

Lili is doing very well lately.

She ADORES her daddy, and needs a ceratin amount of time snuggling with  him, holding his hand while he was sick, sitting beside him by the parlor stove, anything.

She has been trying very hard to be a good sister to Isaiah and Isaac, and seems to really want to help with little chores with Isaac.

She loves being outside, but chores, especially egg chores, are not good for her unsupervised. We usualy end up with scrambled eggs when she is collecting eggs:)

Her speech is really not doing very well tho, and tho her comprehension seems pretty good most days, there are days, when I am sure she does not understand a thing we have said.

She has this horribly nasal speech, and many sounds are just about impossible for her to even try.

She loves the one on one time of speech therapy, and we have nick-named her little sarge, as she certainly likes to be in charge-even with the speech pathologist-who loves her anyway, and is always eager to praise her and tell me how hard she has worked during her session.

I often wonder what the next year will bring for the girls.

Moving must be unsettling to them, yet neither has the words to express what may be going on in their minds and hearts.

YET, we have such hope that more space, and more time working as a family for chores, and more school time will make a difference for everyone.

There have been times in the past year when I honestly felt like, "why did we do this!!"

YET, today, I have peace, and I know that I would have done it all over again, even knowing how hard some days are, how the emotional battles and behavioral battles can be sooo draining and frustrating, how the lack of communication skills for BOTH girls can hugely impact the family dynamics.

I really need to keep MY focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who put our feet on this path, and who WILL give us all the grace and strength and wisdom that we need to make this family a cohesive unit.

Satan is dead-set against adoption.

We know he hates it when the fatherless find forever homes.

SO, we know he has been having a lot of fun with our family in the past 6 months, as we have been wallowing in pain and pity and despair, instead of looking up and claiming VICTORY!!!

I will always be brutally honest about older child adoption-IT IS NOT EASY!!

BUT, I will always stand behind the decision we made to follow Jesus and do it-it's like marriage, thru thick and thin, good and bad, sickness and health, we will survive, and be the better for it someday down the road!!

We are hunkering down for the arctic blast that is headed our way tonight-windchills of -35 are expected for up to 3 days-sounds like some good nights for snuggling, reading, and loving on our children-can't even think of moving on days like this, its all we can do to stay warm, and do the simple chores we have around here right now, and pray no one else gets the BUG!!!

Blessings to each of you

Chris, for all 9 of us

one year ago on gotcha day!!

 

gathering to sing Happy Birthday to Daddy via the web

from the lobby in our first hotel in Guiyang

I think they have all grown up a bit since last year!!!

 

Blogger is not letting me upload any new pictures tonight, so these will have to suffice for a quick snapshot of where we were 1 year ago!!!

The summer of Dr's appts-part 1

I have been such a distant blogger of late.

I so appreciated the feedback after my last post, and decided it was time for some lengthy updates on each of the children.
This post will be about Isaac.

 

Our little peanut, our little man, our baby, our walking 1 man destruction team, our non-stop, revved up, little terror on 2 short legs!!!

He is a one in a million.

He is energetic, playful, LOUD, loves to throw, Loud, loves to be outside, LOUD, and loves IPAD and any other technology he can get his little hands on, and did I mention he's LOUD??????

BOY, if those sounds ever get channeled into words, we are going to be in for trouble-the guy makes noise all day long-but due to his lack of language at the moment, most of it is just loud shreiks, screams, squeals, and babbles.

He loves his family, and has graduated from his crib to his sister Kendell's bed, and boy, does he feel like a big boy now. She, of course, adores him, and is a very good second mommy to him when mom #1 is running others to Dr's appointments or doing other mom duties.

 

Isaac is very little, and still only weighs 26 pounds. He is wearing size 24-2T clothes-FINALLY.

He will be 4 in February:)

He moves-FAST-and he moves all day long-he wears us out trying to keep him out of trouble.

He has decided he is bored with most of HIS toys now, and wants only the school toys-and protests, LOUDLY, whenever he can't have what he wants-about 20 times a day:)

Isaac underwent a 2 day neurodevelopmental assessment back in July.

They look at speech, physical and occupational therapy areas of concern, neurological, genetic, audiology, IQ, and nutrition, just about anything that a guy can have tested, Isaac has had lately.

He also underwent a sedated brain MRI in August as part of this clinic.

PRAISE the Lord, the MRI showed NO physical issues with his brain.

That just leaves us with more questions tho, as we seek to find out why his neurons aren't connecting the way they should be for a guy his age.

YES, this is a mud puddle-did I mention heLOVES water? Especially COLD water???

 

 

He also had lots of blood tests done, including a test called CGH-which analyzed the chromosomes in his body's chemistry.

Little Isaac has a chromosome disorder.

It leads to cognitive delays, speech delays, and short stature.

WOW

an answer-of sorts!!!

NOW, the fun really begins, as we try to put more pieces of the puzzle together, and try to figure out how best to help him achieve all he is meant to achieve in life.

Will he ever live independently?

We don't think so.

How far can he go?

We have no idea yet!

BUT

I have stumbled upon an organization in PA called

Family Hope Center that specializes in empowering parents to heal their children!!!

NOW THAT MAKES ME EXCITED!!!!

I love their philosophy of assessing the things a child is doing, and by that, determining what areas of the brain aren't working properly, and teaching parents how to help their children's brains work better.

It is on my wish list for early in 2013 to spend some money on their DVD program and work my way thru their coarse.

I have also found out there are 2 women in our state who have some training from this program-and one is only about 30 minutes away-NOW, THAT MAKES ME REALLY EXCITED!!!!

I can't wait to contact her, and see what advice, help she can give us.

 

Isaac receives weekly speech therapy at our local clinic-actually, he is one of 4 that I take once a week-it is a long morning of shuttling children to and fro-and Kendell is my helper at home, preparing the next to leave, and keeping things on an even keel while I am gone.

Nick helps out when he is around, but these days are usually Kendell's and mine to "make it happen"

I can't say Isaac is responding well to therapy so far.

He has a few signs--but his preferred mode of communication is screaming, grabbing, and crying.

We have seen a change lately-from his very happy-go-lucky little guy antics to a more frustrated, I'm not getting what I want attitude.

It is frustrating for all of us.

He just doesn't receive instruction well.

No just has never meant NO for Isaac.

It doesn't help that he's the baby-and LOOKS so baby yet, that it is hard to treat him like an almost 4 yr old.

(SHHH, his photographer sister doesn't know I know these are on my laptop! It's a birthday surprise for me-but it's just too cute to pass up)


He has no interest in potty training.

His table skills are minimal.

Some days he eats wonderfully, most days he is a trial to endure at most meals.

He can be hyper, does not sit still, SOME part of him has to be moving at all times, and the only rest we have is when he is napping, or sleeping at night.

He is just always on the go, and he really controls our household at the moment.

We really do love him to pieces, but it is time to reel in this monster, before he becomes totally uncontrollable.

I'm just not sure how to go about it!

did I also mention he loves bouncing things? Even things that aren't meant to be bounced:)

 

ANY advice is welcome, because public school is starting to look like a real option for him next year. I just can't get anything done, and he won't let you work with any of the others without pitching a first class fit if he's not included.

He definitely knows what he wants-unfortunately, it's usually not what we want at that particular moment:)

This has not been an easy assessment for Chuck and I.
We had such high hopes that his delays were simply due to orphanage life and a heart condition that left him malnourished and under-stimulated until we got him at 16 months old.
WE still have hopes, and we love the progress he has made, and is trying to make.
Sometimes, its just hard, hearing stuff about your kids!
I mean, really hard!!!
When you watch your child go thru these battery of tests, and come up lacking, and you don't know for sure what to do to really help him the best-it can bring some sleepless nights.
But I am certainly thankful for the Dr's that I have gotten to know quite well over the last 2 years, and especially this summer, with 3 going thru testing. They care, and that really helps.


we sure do love him, and he can be such a ray of sunshine.

 

There will be 2 more parts to this little series, as I address both Lili and Rose's evaluations-stay tuned:)

Blessings
Chris for all 9 of us!!!!

almost 6 months since a post....

 

I find it hard to believe it was June the last time I wrote a post, and put pictures on this blog. YET, I know the last 6 months have been more busy than I could ever have imagined, with more ups and downs than I would have dreamed, and life has yet to find a "new" normal for our family.

I have always loved blogging, and sharing joys, dreams, fears, discouraging times, and meeting new friends along the way. I have gone back and read all the comments since the first of this year, and it has brought me great joy to know that we are NOT alone on this journey.

Adoption is SOOOO not for the faint of heart. It is exhilerating, it is exhausting. It is joyous, it is sad and filled with hours of grieving.

It is painful, yet it is like giving birth (or so I 've been told :)  )because you do forget all the pain when the hours of labor are behind you.

It is bone-wearying, soul trying, and mind stretching.

It is days of peaks and valleys, hours of training, training, training; it is minutes of praying, Help me thru this moment!

This past year is like nothing I/we have ever been through before.

To say there haven't been times when I wanted to just throw my hands up and say, I GIVE, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE would not be an understatement.

It has been a hard year.

It has been trying.

It has been filled with moments of defeat, yet hours of great WINS.

I have spent more hours on the road to or in Dr's offices ( and don't even go there with the $$$ for gas this year) and the year is NOT over yet.

I have spent more time looking at symptoms, analyzing behaviors, asking questions and researching chromosome deficiencies and talking to genetics specialists than I EVER thought I would be doing.

There have been days when we were sure we were tearing apart our family, instead of building a new one.

There have been times of deep grief over the family that was.

There have been days of deep pain over the family we are trying to become.

It has been hard.

no 2 ways about, just plain HARD!!!

and it hurts.

BOY, does it hurt.

The sleepless nights worrying about children's issues, worrying about siblings not loving one another the way we had hoped, worrying about why I/ we don't feel the way we THINK we should be feeling by this time into this new family.

The days of trying to stop 3 little dynamos with LOUD mouths from destroying the house,(and my sanity) yet trying to school 3 who don't have any issues, and trying to figure out how to school our oldest daughter so that some day, she can GET IT!!!!

Do we regret the past year?

I don't think so.

Do we wonder what would have happened if we hadn't gone this route?

I think we do sometimes.

Yet, I hate to say it, but those are the times when my selfish, what about me attitude really comes to the front, and I want to say, WHAT ABOUT ME.

Yet, it's not about me, or Chuck, or the 5 who were home first.

It is about 2 new girls, who are still trying mighty hard to find their way in a world that still leaves them quaking in their shoes.

It's about 2 sweethearts who, until 11 months ago, did not have a forever mommy and daddy, sisters and brothers.

Its about trying our hardest to blend all our lives together, and to give honor and glory to our Father, who orchestrated it all from the beginning.

The tears can come easily some days, but there are days when the laughter, giggles and simple joys win out over the night's tears.

We still have lots of diagnoses to ponder, lots of issues to work through, lots of PAIN ahead, as we continue to forge this thing called FAMILY.

Please keep us in prayer. Please continue to check in, leave encouragements, and keep loving us from afar.

We don't mean to be distant, we are just busy about our Father's work-even on the days when I think I have done everything wrong-and there are alot of those kinds of days around here-I am a very fleshly creature, I have discovered, and don't like to have so many unknowns, so many what ifs, so many unanswered questions still hanging.

And for those of you who knew we were buying a farm, the deal is off-yes, another MAJOR disappointment-and another MAJOR unknown as we ponder what next!!!

What is next for us Lord?

We are really trying to listen-even when our flesh gets in the way!!!

Blessings and love

Chris for all 9 of us:)
A few pictures from the last few weeks-
I'm not going to try to recreate the whole 6 months, blogger is way too slow for me!!

enjoying some fall fun in the leaves

a homeschool fieldtrip, and daddy got to go along too:)

the joy of cows in the barn, fresh milk in the fridge, and making butter and cottage cheese

another field trip-and a chance to hold a skunk

good byes are hard, and our beloved Speech Pathologist had worked with Isaiah for 1 1/2 years-but her schedule did not allow for 4 kids in Hillsboro on Thursday morning anymore-sigh!!!

yes, that's FOUR dogs-2still very much all puppy!!!!

fun on the gator this fall-all 7 fit!!!!

our first Christmas for this year-and 9 cousins gathered together at Grandma and Grandpa's house:)
I think we are stretching them a bit!!!

Rosalyn just discovered a BABY in her box-and she LOVES her

we might have a way to make these 2 best friends yet-they both LOVE dolls, and Grandma sewed some awesome clothes for the new dolly-who is named Jessa

after Christmas at Thanksgiving, some of us hit the woods with my Dad to bring in some wood for him-and it was a COLD day

mama duck hatched 4 ducklings, and did we enjoy watching them grow over the summer

I w as thankful to find pictures of the fireworks I missed as Isaac screamed through the whole show-the ONLY thing he is scared of, besides a car wash:)

 a family picture at the park after the girls' readoption in September

 Double the trouble, but 2x the amount of sweetness and cuteness!!!

2 little boys playing cars

gathering at the waters for baptisms this fall

Calls for Rejoicing, and some somberness!!

I am THRILLED to say there are 2 families stepping up to pursue Daniel's adoption!!!

Did you hear that??

TWO!!!

and guess what?

They know each other!

They are in the same church!!!

How great is our GOD!!!

I love how He works!

I love how He answers prayers!

I just LOVE Him!

I LOVE the song "Dare to be a Daniel"-dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known-Our Daniel, the Bible reading, Jesus loving, compassionate and emotional Daniel!!!!!!!!

I am so happy that somewhere in the not too distant future, Daniel will have a mama and daddy of his own!!

They both sound like wonderful families, and I LOVE getting connected with others and we all love the same childen-and  love adoption, and  love the Lord!!

This leads me to my note of somberness-some sadness-some sense of loss-

I am a pretty relationship oriented person-I love people, I love others walking the same road, I love being connected with them.

One of the neatest things in the last year has been some of the relationships that were built while we were in process.

NOW, when the process is done, and our girls are home, I feel a sadness to not have notes and updates from the ones who had become so important to me during our journey.

There were so many along the way, and now, wow, hardly any.

Yes, I know life is tough once we all get home, and I know we are all super busy, and I GET that-but I MISS my friends.

I miss the connections, the times of sharing, the specialness of walking thru something together, the privilege of PRAYING together and standing together for a cause, a purpose, a call on our lives to change the lives of the fatherless!!!!

I HATE goodbyes, and I always cry when I have to say goodbye to my folks or any good friends that come for a visit-life is just so unsure, you never know when you "won't" see someone again-

SOOOO, if you are on the adoption road, and you find yourself making new friends along the way, make it a priority to keep in touch?

sometimes a note of love from someone who KNOWS what you have been thru can mean the world to them.

In this day of social medias, I don't do facebook, twitter, or any of the others available.

I like email-so I am old-fashioned-it's just the way I am.

But I do love my friends, all of them, whether I have heard from them in the last 6 months, or not!!!!

Blessings

Chris