Sledding With Auntie

I am very blessed that my sister was so thrilled to be getting nieces. At Christmas time, she was a great sport and went sledding with the kids off of our picnic table. I tried it a few times and it wasn't the most comfortable ride!!

Granny Launching the Kids on the Sleds

They're Off

Zooming

And Crashing

The Girls Wanted to Sled With Auntie...

"Iiieeyy", She Screamed

Ummmph! She Landed

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Boys in the Kitchen

This is what happens when you put a 15 year old boy, who is interested in the military in the kitchen chopping onions. He was so excited to buy this gas mask and I asked him, "WHERE will you use it?"

He told me that he would use it on Cadet exercises. Fine. Whatever. Then one day, he is cooking dinner and he has to do onions, so he went and got it.

So, when your son wants to buy a gas mask, you will have no reason to say no. He can become your Onion Chopper.

Oh, and this is what they do between stages in the recipe: Pushups.

What is it about 15 year old boys? They hit 15 and suddenly they have this drive to be fit! I hear beepers going off in my house and the next thing I know I see a boy dropping here or there doing sit-ups or push-ups! Regularly!

But it pays off. Colt got accepted into Para - this is a military program that runs through Cadets. Only the top 20 most physically fit Cadets in each province get chosen for the Spring Training. From Spring Training, they choose 5 cadets and those five go on to the Para program in the summer where they go to Ontario for six weeks. They will be training with the Military and learning Paratrooping maneauvers! How cool is that!

So I guess dropping and doing push-ups in my kitchen, while cooking, has its pluses. *smile*
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Briton Part 2 and More

Four years ago, I thought we had finished adding children to our family. When I found out I was pregnant with our sixth child I was in shock! I had plans to do things that did not include little people and honestly, I was simply mentally moving on.

And then came Briton. The cutest, most adorable little boy in the world! From the get go this little guy had us wound around his little finger. He has always had his own pace in life. He began walking at 15 months, while the majority of his brothers were cruising between 6 and 9 months!! He refused to take a bottle - to the point that he screamed blue murder if I dared to try to convince him to take one. His nights were so short - 10 hours long! This made the days with him very long. But it was all worth it. He was simply a very sweet little boy.


Briton was such a placid little baby that I was able to take him to Cassidy's acting jobs. The people on the sets loved him!


One day, I was talking to a few people that were standing around and they were oohing and ahhing over Briton. This one guy was taken with Briton, so I asked him if he wanted to hold him. He immediately reached out for him and then kissed him. He told me that his baby girl was at home in England and he missed her. I figured he was one of the carpenters of the set because that was the main guys I was talking to.

It wasn't until a little later, when he was gone, that I discovered he was one of the two main actors: Paul Bettany playing opposite Harrison Ford, in Firewall! In case you aren't sure who Paul Bettany is, he is a huge actor: The Secret Life of Bees, Inkheart, Iron Man, The Da Vinci Code and much more.


This was the movie where Cassidy played the main boy actor's double.


Briton had plenty of big brothers to dote on him. They loved to take him for spins around our big kitchen on his little toy bike. One of these spins spun out of control and he slid across the floor. It wasn't until the next day that we discovered that something was wrong with his wrist. I took him into the hospital and they xrayed his arm. Nothing wrong, so they said, and sent him home. I ended up returning to the hospital and told them something was definitely wrong with this baby! They rexrayed and discovered that his wrist was broken.

They put a short arm cast on and I told them I didn't think that was a great idea! Well, I was right. I was back the following day with the cast in hand. This time they put another one on - the same kind! Duh! I was back the following day - cast in hand. This time the doctor decided to put on a tensor bandage, complete with metal clips. I left the hospital and was back within hours, after my son gagged on the clips that he pulled off the bandage with his teeth! (The hospital policy changed from then on about putting tensor bandages and clips on little babies! Truth! No kidding!)

This time the doctor listened to me and put a full arm cast on. They called him Houdini cause he could remove any cast they put on him. *laugh*. He was only 14 months old.

Briton has always been a rough and tumble little guy! He had three sets of stitches within about 6 weeks! Each time he fell and smacked one of his eyebrows while trying to learn to walk! The last two times they just glued his eyebrow together!

I'm Stuck and Can't Get Up!

For some reason from when Briton was one year old til he was about 2.5 years he rarely walked. He was always on someone's back. He was constantly being piggybacked. From Dane, to Cassidy, to Austin (who was only 6 years old), he was always attached to someone.




When Briton was three years old, he decided to cut his hair. After a year it had grown back and it was so sweet. He had nice long bangs - finally!

Three Year Old Hair Cut

And then the other morning, Sunday morning no less, I discovered he had cut his hair when he was in his bed the night before! Of course, being last minute, I had no time to repair his hair before we left for church!

Four Year Old Hair Cut

Repaired Hair

I am sad that Briton is getting so big! He keeps us laughing, and one day I will post a video so you can hear his unique language that keeps us guessing. If you could see this child go you would understand why we shake our heads - even Raine just looks at me and shakes her head, cause she finds Briton so amusing.

One day, I came into the girls' bedroom, and I sat down on one of the beds to talk to them. I was there about five or ten minutes, and suddenly, from beneath the other bed, immerged Briton. Crazy kid! Neither had told me he was there and who knows why he was under there! *laugh* One day I will blog some Briton stories cause there are so many of them. Who would have ever known that the quiet little boy he was would turn into the crazy little dynamo that he is now?

And it is hard to get mad at him cause so much of what he does is for fun or because he is just plain goofy. He adores the girls and they eat up all his silliness. He watched the Air Buddies, Space Buddies, and Snow Buddies movies and then proceeded to be a puppy for days. Do you know how much mischief children get into that believe they are puppies?

Here is an example of how he melts my heart. Last night, he was feeling sick. Out of the blue he got ill (after six months with not a cold in our house!) He spent the evening on the couch with his bowl and blankets. Later that night, when I went to bed, he woke up and was feeling thirsty. He has a bed in our room and so he went into our bathroom and then went back to bed.

I was brushing my teeth to go to bed and as he walked by my closet he reached to turn out the light. Each night, when we put him to bed, we turn on the closet light cause he is scared of 'behs' (bears).

I said, "No, Briton. I need the light." (cause it was the only light illuminating my bathroom.)

He looked at me and said with concern, "Oh. Behs? Behs (bears), Mama?"

How sweet is he! He figured I must be scared of the bears, too! *grin*

This morning, Briton wanted me to open the magnet set. I said to him, "You aren't going to put it near your mouth are you? "

He looked at me and said, "Oh, germies?" (NEW WORD! *smile*) We all get so excited when Briton learns a new word that we can understand. I look over at Dane and he is grinning. He knows Briton's accomplishment.

I then tell Briton that he can choke on ithe magnets. As he walks away looking into the open box, he smiles and says, " 'weet." (sweet!) Too cute!

This morning, I was getting ready to take the kids to the coast tomorrow. I am taking all the kids, except Savannah and Briton. They are too little and they would not appreciate the theatre. Though Briton can't enunciate that we are going, he can understand that the car is involved. He keeps asking to go in his typical sweet voice. No whining, simply trying to figure it out.

"OH, Dada, oh ver mahr?" Oh, daddy is going in the car?

"No, Daddy is not going."

"Mummy, me ver mahr, yes." Mummy, I am going in the car, yes?

A little later, he tried another approach.

"Bye, Mum, me ver marh." Bye Mum, I am going in the car.

He headed up to his room, and I thought that might be the end of it. I wondered what he was up to. About ten minutes later, he arrived back downstairs dragging his backpack and wearing a big smile.

Toys and Underwear - the Essential Travel Items!

"Yes, me go ver marh, mum?" Yes, I go in the car, Mum?

I didn't answer, as I was writing his words down. He got a little more earnest trying to ensure he was actually going to get to go, since he had packed his own bag.

"Mum, me go ver mahr! Yes!" He never once lost his happy little voice. And I wonder why we all adore him?! (Oh, yes, he has his miserable moments, when he gets tired of not being able to communicate, but usually he is so happy.)
He then got all excited, probably from my lack of saying No, and said, "Bye Mum, me go ver mahr." He proceeded to walk around all morning with his backpack full of toys and a pair of underwear on his back.

Thankfully, we will be leaving in the morning before he is awake. I would hate to see his little heart break. I have told him that he and Daddy and Savannah will have a fun time together.

He didn't let his back pack out of his site, even when he was sleeping. And the moment he woke up: "Mama, me ver mahr?" With such a sad face.

I am so thankful that God sent our little Briton! Yes, he keeps me hopping, and yes, he probably could be a lot more structured and calmer, but then life wouldn't be quite as fun!

So to finish, let me add to my birthday post of yesterday:

For Briton's birthday this year I had the boys think of things they could do for him, rather than wasting money on dollar toys (junk) that was just clutter around the house.

I think it was a great idea and will continue to do this because of the joy I saw in Cooper, as he rushed upstairs to make Briton's bed. Then Colt decided to give Briton an ATV ride and have him help him plow the driveway.

Ready For His Ride

It lasted for about two swipes of the driveway before Briton decided he would rather be in the warm house. But it was the thought that counted!! *smile*
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Austin's New Look

I was going to the hairdresser the other day and I knew I had a few haircuts to do at home. Cassidy had had his hair cut the night before, but Austin and Cooper both needed a trim. I had a choice: cut Austin's hair in a real short simple cut or offer him a 'new look'.

Colt and Dane both sport the cadet haircut that I am not fond of and Cassidy is pretty much following suit. You can't hide much hair under a cadet beret! And the last few weeks that Cassidy has been at cadets he has been harassing me to cut his hair shorter. So sadly, I had to say goodbye to the third son's beautiful locks.

But I refuse to part with another son's hair before I have to! *smile*

So, I asked Austin what he wanted to do. He decided he wanted to look like Zac Efron.

So we printed out the above picture and headed to the salon. Austin's hair was at the slightly shaggy, long pointy sideburns, hair in the eyes - stage. The lady did her magic and when he left she had used a rubber product that gives Zac that touseled look and sent Austin on his way. He was very pleased. He will return in 6 weeks with his picture to keep his look happening. *grin*

He was very happy with his new look. And I love this new product! It is like liquid rubber when I pour it on my hand and then when I rub it in his hair the hair just does it's business! LOL!

And the funny thing is when Cooper saw Austin later, he said, I thought you were getting your hair cut today? *laugh*
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Briton is Four

Briton waited SO LONG for his birthday!! He was at the end of a long run of birthdays: Raine, Savannah, Cooper, Cassidy - one by one - from September through December. Each birthday he would ask, "Me package?"

See, so many packages arrive by mail for our homeschooling that he has gotten used to hearing the word 'package'. And since his language is still pretty non-existant that is one word that he has used for birthdays. Why not? Don't people receive lots of 'packages' for their day?? *smile*

Finally, it was his birthday. My parents arrived at the door and he almost bowled them over, saying, "Me package! Me package!"

She barely got in the door before he had ripped open the birthday card and was having her read it to him.

He was of course, absolutely adorable. Each birthday that had come by he had just asked whether it was his, and then he had accepted it wasn't, but it was such a lot of birthdays to be told, 'no, not this one.' Soon.

Waiting for His Cake

MY Package!

One of his brothers made him a lego house. I think the look on his face tells us how cool he thought that was!

Dane very sweetly gave Briton one of his old toys. It was a semi truck with a flat bed for cars. I could see Dane's pleasure in Briton's enjoyment of this old favourite toy.

Then Austin did his now traditional birthday trick and surprised Briton with confetti. Briton had to reach up and pull down the strings of decorating ribbon and down came the confetti!
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Briton is our special boy. Each of our boys is special, but Briton has a little extra in his own way. He was our unexpected blessing and I thank God every day for our sweet, sweet boy! To quote Dane: Well, he's everyone's cute stuff. And to quote Colt: Briton never annoys me. (to know a 17 year old boy, little ones can be annoying. *smile*)

There is something about Briton. Maybe it is his endearing little face, or his funny mixed-up attempts to speak: me booker bay (I am a big boy), or his absolutely puppy-like antics or as we call him: Mr. Destructo!

I don't know, but life sure is fun and busy with Briton around! Happy Birthay, my baby boy. (And yes, he will always be Baby Briton. Even when he is 38! *smile*)
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Boxes and Snow

It is funny because I have seen children who don't like snow, but our girls love the snow!! They are out there every single day for at least 3 hours! Here was a day when they figured that cardboard boxes might work well on the snow hill. Hmmm..

Snack Time

Are You Ready, Cooper?

And Over He Goes!

Savannah's Turn...

How much fun are cardboard boxes? They played for hours in these things: Rolling down the hills, sliding, pushing, and then building houses with them.
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How Deep is the Veneer?

I remember asking the social worker how long before the honeymoon period would be over. I figured a few months. She said prepare for a couple years before we really knew the girls. I thought she was out to lunch. Not that I told her!

Now I am beginning to wonder if she was right.

It is so hard to put into words. There is a constant evolution with our girls that shows me that they are gradually adjusting and transitioning into being part of our family. In the beginning they were like little robots. So perfect, so exact in how they spoke and responded and did as they were told. But I knew that they were not yet comfortable, which was why they made no mistakes. I was looking forward to the day when they didn't do exactly as they were told. It would show me that they were coming home.

One day, we had someone visiting us. It was after lunch and the girls knew the routine: eat, potty, nap. I opened the front door and stopped to visit for a few minutes with this person. Savannah left the table after finishing her lunch and moments after, Raine also joined her. After a minute or two, Savannah said, "Naptime, Raine," and Raine responded quietly, "Not yet." She was more interested in seeing the visitor than going directly up to naptime, as she knew was expected. (Now I wish my boys were as perfectly behaved!! Of course I know that it was just a matter of time before they became 'kids'. *grin*)

This was the very first time she did not do *exactly* as was expected of her. It might not seem like a big deal, but it was. She was getting more relaxed and less robotic. It was a wonderful thing to see.

Another interesting development is the girls' emotions. Raine (Mesai) is a tough little nut. I really believe she has been through so much that she doesn't show her emotions because 'why bother? It doesn't change things. People still go away and don't come back.'

Since Raine has been with us, she has not shown her emotions much. Way back in the beginning I had to encourage her to cry and let out her sad heart. I would tell her that if her heart was sad it would get better if she let all the sadness come out in tears. When she was given 'permission' I saw her dissolve into tears. This happened a few times, but only when I verbally encouraged her to cry.

But I don't know. How much do you really know a child that you have not raised? Are the tears real? Or are they just her doing what she thinks I want? It is a slow, slow road. In the meantime, I hug her and tell her that crying is a good thing. But she still rarely cries, and honestly, I don't think it is the best thing.

And then there is Savannah. When she first came to us she would cry hard if she was corrected or if she got a bump or a disappointment. But as time has gone by, I have noticed that she doesn't do this anymore. And I don't think it is natural.

The other day, I brought home donuts as a treat for the kids, while I was out on an errand. I discovered that the four little ones had been naughty for Dane, and as a consequence they would have no donut. I know this was disappointing, as they don't get them very often. This was the second time lately that they had been babysat by an older brother and where they had chosen to not listen to him. So they needed a reminder that they had to obey their big brothers, as they would me. That is old news, though. They know this!

As the kids were finishing lunch, I told them there would be no donut. You should have seen the crocodile tears sliding down Cooper's face! And Briton's, "No me?"

But the girls just looked at me and barely acknowledged the loss. This was not the first time that they had reacted this way to disappointment, so I addressed it. I asked, "Aren't you disappointed? Cooper and Briton are crying. Didn't you want a donut?"

Raine's voice broke *slightly* and she said, "I am sad."

So why, why, why, are they not showing emotions? This stumps me, concerns me, worries me.

I have pondered ways to deal with this. Do I make their world all rosy so that they don't have any losses, disappointments, consequences in life? So that they will always feel happy? How do I show them that a loss is a small thing in the scheme of life? In the scheme of what they have lost already? But in reality there are disappointments, bad choices that get consequences and little losses. So what to do?

Tami or Courtney, if you read this and have any suggestions, please email me. I know you have lots of experience with your little ones from adoptions.

Why did Savannah show emotion - noisy, dramatic emotion - before, but now take the hard knocks so stoically? It is not typical four/five/six year old behaviour!

So yesterday and today, I handled things a little differently with her. I encouraged her to cry. I might be out in left field, but I have no clue right now what is the right thing.

Savannah did not go out to play when the other kids did, as she would not take her quiet-time today (for the third day in a row). She had to stay in the house for a little extra time, while they were outside playing. I *know* she was disappointed, but when I told her that she would stay in while they went out, she simply looked at me blankly and said, "Okay." Like a perfect little robot - with no feeling whatsoever.

Now, if one of my little boys had to wait for playtime they would not be happy and would verbalize their disappointment. But not her.

So I talked to her and asked her how she felt when she had to stay in the house: "Happy." Said with a expressionless face. How did she feel seeing her sister and brothers playing, "Happy."

"Is your heart sad? "

"No. "

I am baffled. How can her heart not be sad? It doesn't make sense. And honestly, by her expression, I could tell she was sad.

So I left her for a few minutes hoping she would start to show some emotions. A few minutes later, I went and sat beside her, as she looked outside at the kids. I could see a glimmer of a tear in her eye. I pulled her onto my lap and asked her how her heart was feeling. "A little bit sad."

"Why?"

"No play with the kids."

I gave her a hug and told her how pleased I was that she was telling me that she was sad. "I want you to tell Mummy, 'I am sad,' when your heart is not happy. Don't keep your sad inside, or we can't get it better."

I stroked her cheeks and showed her a sad face. "When you cry, your sadness comes out, and mummy hugs you and your heart gets happy again. But if you keep your sadness all locked inside then your heart can't get happy."

I held her and there were a few tears and I stroked her back and asked her if all the sadness was gone. She said, No. And continued to cry. About 2 minutes later, she smiled at me and said, "Mummy, me have water, please?" And jumped off my lap.

We went and got water and then she ran to get her coat and boots. As she came in the room with her hoodie half over her face as she was dressing herself, I poked her in the tummy and then her bottom and said, "Where's Savannah?" She made a point of reaching out and pretending she didn't know where I was. When her face reemerged and I had helped her dress, she stopped to give me a great big kiss and a smile.

This is what I mean about the veneer. How much has this little girl endured to be at a point of not showing her emotions? How do I bring her and her sister to a level where they healthily show their emotions, without at the same time turning them into children who think they need to cry to make their feelings known? There is a healthy balance, but knowing what it is is the key!

In the meanwhile, Savannah knows I love her. She is a dear little child with a heart of gold and a sweet, sweet spirit. She is giggly and goofy, and like I told Dane yesterday, "Dane, she is your sister, genetically, through and through."

As a side note: the girls are happy. They play well, they don't fight with their brothers, they are sweet, and try to do what we want them to do. I don't see any lack of emotion when it comes to happy playing - just when it comes to disappointments.
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And the Winner Is...

Cassidy!

So, how did it go? Well, we actually found out in secret on Thursday but couldn't breathe a word until after the school assembly on Tuesday. When we went to the school in the morning, they had a visiting theatre at first performing and then this was followed by the awards ceremony.

I was pleased with how well it was done. First of all, there were 86 displays in the Science Fair. The fair was divided into grades 4, 5, 6, and 7. In Cassidy's division there were 19 displays.

Most impressive was the way the coordinator introduced Cassidy. I have it word for word, as it was so nice:

In the grade 6 category, we had the privilege of having a homeschooler join us for the first time. He needed to join our Science Fair to be able to go on to the District competition. The judges were very impressed with his display and he receives First Place Gold.

After the competition, one of the coordinators came up to Cassidy and said, "You better get working on next year's display!"

It was so nice to have such a welcome into a public school environment! I wasn't sure if this was a one time thing, or if the door would open again next year. I sure hope he can do it again!

There were three coordinators and they all came up and told Cassidy how impressed they and the judges were. I hope this is an indication of what the District judges will think!

Oh, and the funny thing? Remember the boy, Davis? The one who told Cassidy that he would meet him at Provincials? Well, that boy won the grade 7 competition. He, Cassidy, and a girl will be the ones going to District next week.

Thanks to all who voted and helped him come up with his name. Stay tuned for next weeks results. I see that there are between 27 and 37 schools in that competition! So it will be a tough competition!
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First Library Visit

We have not been to the library yet with the girls because we have such a large library at home. So this week was our first visit. The librarians were so excited to see the girls, as they had been waiting a long time for them to come from Ethiopia, and then we had been so long in coming in.


One librarian showed the girls the photocopy machine and boy did that interest Savannah! She wanted a copy of the picture done too!

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Earrings

The girls got their ears pierced about three weeks ago. I have been too busy to write my blog much, so this along with all other stories had to wait.

One day we discovered the girls had holes in their ears. Actually, they were sealed over holes. I asked Raine about them and she told me she had her ears pierced in Ethiopia. They said they wanted to get them done again. We decided to wait until the language was not an issue and we could be certain they really wanted them done. So we waited until the end of January.

The day we were to go the girls were very excited. We went to the shop and the girls picked out the earrings they wanted. I then asked who would go first. We decided that Raine would go first, because with her history of how she handles the shots, I felt she would be the best example for Savannah. Savannah, on the other hand, would probably bellow and might frighten Raine away. So we proceeded.

Moral Support

Raine sat in the chair and very bravely waited while the girl put dots on her ears. There was only one girl going to do her ears, so she would have a separate shot for both ears. Both Cooper and Savannah were there for moral support.


Then the girl put the ear gun to her ear.... Ohhh! This must have been more painful than the needles in her arms. For those she gritted her teeth and hung on until it was done. This was different. She got tears in her eyes and a little cry came out.

That was too much for Savannah. Under the chair she went!

It was quickly over and I cuddled Raine and within 5 minutes she was proclaiming her earrings beautiful. I knew they were painful, but the worst was over. By now, Savannah had reemerged from under/behind the chair and was looking inquisitively at her sister's pretty green studs.

I didn't think she would go for it. She asked me to hold her on my lap for this one. Okay, so I guess we are going forward. She sat down, cuddled into me, and waited quietly. The girl came with the marker and began to make marks on her ears and she dissolved into tears.

At that point, I offered her not to go through with it. I told her she didn't need to. She could wait til she was older and ready for it.

Stoically, she shook her head and made it quite clear that she was proceeding. What a brave little girl! I held her tight and she just let out a wail as the two girls did both her ears at the same time. (They had quickly decided that there was no way they would get through if they did one ear at a time. )


As soon as it was over and the tears were wiped, she was thrilled. A little subdued, but definitely happy with her choice to not let the pain get the best of her.

Reward Sucker Time

At Church on Sunday, the first thing Raine told the greeter at the door, "Look my earrings."
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