Picking Peaches

Saturday was the last day that Tracy and the kids were here. After our very late Friday night we got up slowly and got going. We decided to go to Huber's orchard to pick peaches. We had great plans to eat lunch, pick peaches and then let the kids play at the little kids farm they have there. After picking peaches in the very hot sun and standing in line to pay for them we decided that we all needed some rest, so we got back in the car and drove home. This week I have made freezer jam, frozen peaches and today I made a peach crisp. We have also had peach smoothies and peach slushies. We have almost exhausted our supply of very yummy peaches.

You Know You're a Redneck When...

According to our friend Chris, we are now officially rednecks (see previous post). We got a babysitter for Naomi and took Nathan, Josiah and Danielle to the county fair. Now we had a great time riding the rides and eating fair food, but the absolute highlight of the night for all of us was the demolition derby. Josiah had read a library book this summer about a demo derby at the fair and was so excited when we told him we were going, but I have to say I think Tracy and I had the most fun watching the cars smash each other. I was going to put a slide show together with our pictures of the evening, but photobucket is not working today, so here are just a few pictures.




"But my car didn't win!"

You Know You're a Redneck When...

you get a babysitter so you can go to the demolition derby at the county fair.

More Fun in The Sun

A Long Day

Yesterday morning Josiah and I headed out to the orthopedics office for a scheduled recheck of his arm that he broke in January. The doctor wanted to make sure it was growing right. Our appointment was a t 9:30am and of course we were right on time. We waited for a hour before Josiah was X-rayed. I thought good now we shouldn't be here too much longer. Another hour pasted before we were taken to a consulting room and yes you guessed it another full hour before the doctor came in to see him. 3 hours of waiting in a doctors office with a almost 4 year old is not much fun. I have to say though that Josiah did a great job of being patient and I am very proud of him. We got home after lunch and by then Naomi needed her afternoon nap and everyone was a little cranky. We made all the kids have quiet time and Nathan and Josiah both fell asleep. After quiet time we spent time outside riding bikes and drawing with chalk on the driveway. Another day of fun. Today we are going swimming again. Tonight we have a babysitter for Naomi and the rest of us are going to the Oldham County fair to see the Demolition Derby and ride the rides.

A Boys Night Out

On Wednesday evening Greg took Josiah and Nathan to the Louisville Bats game. We were told when they arrived home all sugared up that not much baseball was watched. Greg said that $20 can buy a lot of treats and that the playground at the game and carousel were well liked by the boys. I was in bed when they got home, but I was told that Greg coached the boys in the car to come in with very sad faces and say that they didn't have any fun and that the game was boring. Greg said they did a great acting job.

Fun With Friends

This week my best friend Tracy and her kids, Nathan and Danielle are visiting. They arrived Sunday afternoon and will return to WI this week Sunday. We have had so much fun I just haven't had time to update my blog. Naomi is taking a nap now and Tracy has informed me that since she is here she expects to be included in a blog entry, so here we are.
We have spent several days this week at the Y swimming at Calypso Cove (our little water park). The kids have had a blast. Naomi loves the water and doesn't want to be held while playing. She walks all over and resists having me hold her hand, so she has face planted in the water a couple of times. It has not phased her one bit. We will have her in survival swimming very soon.
Josiah and Nathan have had so much fun playing together in the water and going down the slide. They even got in trouble once from the life guard. They were going down the slide backwards and apparently that is not allowed. Josiah did not like the reprimand and was sure he needed to go home. Once I explained what the life guards did and that they were there to keep us safe, he was ready to play again.
Danielle just likes to follow the boys everywhere they go. In the pool that is a little difficult so she hangs out with Tracy, Naomi and I.

My Big Boy Helper

So for those of you who have been reading my blog for the past year know that last summer was a doozy. Josiah was very mischievous to say the least and was definitely a challenge. That challenging behavior has continued all year and finally just this week I have seen a significant change in his attitude. This week has been pleasant and I have really enjoyed spending time with him.

Yesterday Naomi took an extra long nap in the afternoon and Josiah and I were able to spend some time playing together and working together. After playing I started to make dinner and he asked if he could help. I was a little reluctant because his help in the past has turned out to be a whole lot more work for me. Also, I was chopping vegetables and wasn't sure about how he could help. Since Naomi was still sleeping I decided that help wouldn't be too bad. I set him up with a paring knife and a chopping board. I gave him a large piece of yellow squash and showed him how to cut it up. All the time in my head I am thinking, "what are you doing?"

He did a great job cutting the vegetables. He cut yellow squash, zucchini squash and green onions for me. About the time he was finished chopping I started to mash the potatoes and Naomi woke up. So, I gave him the masher and showed him how to do it and then left him unattended to get Naomi. Again I'm thinking, "what am I doing?"

When Naomi and I came back down stairs the potatoes were mashed beautifully. He did get a large amount of splatter on the kitchen counter, but I think he did a great job. I am so proud of him.

The best part about him helping was when we sat down for dinner and he said that yellow squash was nasty (before he even got any on his plate), I said to him, "you know they taste much better when you've helped make them!" He piled them up on his plate without hesitation and said, "Wow! These do taste good!" He is such a cool kid.

Another Busy week.

With Naomi being sick a week ago, things at home got a little behind. I have been trying to get caught up with laundry and general around the house cleaning with little success. Summer time is a hard time to stay inside and clean. Josiah has spent a lot of time outside playing in his sandbox, since Daddy filled it a couple of weeks ago and Naomi has been practicing her walking.
Last week Wednesday, Grandma came over bright and early to watch Josiah while Naomi and I headed for the Audiology department at Kosair Children's Hospital. We are getting to know the staff there very well. She had her hearing tested again. This time instead of being sedated and tested at the brain stem level, they put us in the sound booth and tested her response to sound. Once again she came through with flying colors. Her hearing is good, but will still need to be monitored until she is 5 years old. We will be back at Kosair in 3 months for another test in the sound booth.
Friday night we went to dinner with our friends that have adopted children from Korea. We went to Lee's Korean Restaurant. The food was really good and the company was too. Josiah made a new friend, Daniel that he talks about all the time. We will have to get together again soon with him.
On Friday around 10pm a very dear friend of mine arrived to spend the night. She was going to a wedding in Louisville on Saturday and needed a place to stay. I had a good time catching up with her. We did not go to bed until midnight and were just exhausted.
Saturday we went to breakfast with a couple from our church that are adopting a baby from Ethiopia. We spent time getting to know them and talking about our adoption experiences. We had a wonderful time and would love to spend more time with them. Since the week had not been busy enough for us we loaded up the kayak and headed to Derby, IN for the afternoon. Greg's family gets together at Uncle Bill's house every year for lunch, swimming and boating. We always have a great time at Derby. I learned to play washers for the first time and Naomi stayed up all day and refuse to nap. She was surprisingly cheerful for being so tired. We headed home after dinner with two very sleepy kids.
Monday our good friend the Zoeller's moved to Fort Wayne, IN. The moving van was at their house in the morning so I picked up their kids to come over and play with Josiah while everything got packed up. We are very sad to see them go, but at least now we will have a place to stay when we go visit.
Today Naomi had her 1st Steps 5 area assessment to see if she needs any therapy. The therapist that did her assessment said she would have the final results to us by Saturday. Her initial assessment is that Naomi has an expressive language delay and a mild fine motor delay. She will be evaluated by a speech therapist of our choice when all the paperwork is in. We will be having a therapist that we know from church do the evaluation. If you have any questions about speech and language delays take a look at her website.

Now We Are In Trouble!

My Poor Sick Little Girl

Saturday afternoon Naomi spiked a 103.7 degree fever. During the night she seemed OK while on meds and Sunday during the day she kept the high fever, but was eating and drinking normally. Sunday night at about 11:30pm she woke up and felt as hot as hot can be. I took her temp and it was 104.2 degrees. I freaked out and all I could think about was "what if she has a seizure?" We put her in the bath tub to cool off. She did not like that at all. We gave her more meds and laid her on our bed under the fan. We turned the air down to what seemed like freezing to me and let her fall asleep next to us. Her fever went down to about 102 by morning so it was off to the doctor bright and early. Turns out she just has a virus that needs to run its course. While we were at the Dr. office he decided that she needed to be treated for a sinus infection which he thinks is not related to the fever. So, she is now on a 3 week course of antibiotics. No that was not a typo - it is 3 weeks of antibiotics for her. After one dose of meds and 2 doses of probiotics the next 3 weeks are not looking promising. Pray that she feels better soon.

Some of our Portraits