Bringing Carson....and John Home

Please help Charity get home!

2012-02-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

The 21st Chromosome...A Blessing in Disguise: Get-away Giveaway for Charity

the21stchromosomeablessingindesguise.blogspot.com

This is Charity! Do you remember her? Does she look familiar to you? She is a little sweet girl that we met at Carson's orphanage. We have pictures of her and Donnie here on our blog during our trip. We fell in love with her, got to love on her every time we were at the orphanage :) I remember that she just wanted to be held, and when we put her down, she would just cry. It broke our hearts to have to leave her behind. It is SO hard to leave these kids behind.
In fact, before we even traveled I would go and look at her little face all the time on RR. We even talked about going back and bringing her home. But God had other plans. Better plans. God knew we would have our hands full with the new boys, (not to say that someday we won't go back ;) and her family would come for her soon. Well, they are!!! And they need YOUR help. PLEASE help them. We actually met them in Ukraine. I think we even have a picture with them here on our blog somewhere. And, Deanna and I have the same birthday. Well, not the year I am sure lol....
They are have a GREAT giveaway!! A trip!!! How can you pass that up?? You can't, so go to the link, donate, share the link on your blogs, facebook pages.....please help me help them. It is the only way I know how to help these kids get home to there families. It takes ALL of us to save them. ALL OF US!! Pray for them, for sweet Charity....donate and win a trip (although donate in the name of Jesus) and share their story...share their blog...let's help her get home to her forever family. It is the only thing standing in the way....Blessings to you!

Changing it up!

2012-02-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have been pondering so much lately. We are in the middle of a lot of decisions in our family. We are deciding where to move..... out of California, how far out of California, stay somewhere in California.....home school, not to home school, what type of therapy, what doctor/dentist to use, what health insurance to choose this year.....you know, the typical stuff....but...we are not the typical family really, or are we ;). We have yours, mine, ours, adopted, ex wife, ex husbands, family, family that are no longer family, friends, ex families that are still family....the list goes on and on.

In my home, there lives a mom, a dad, and 8 kids. Outside my house there lives 2 step kids, in which one has nothing to do with us. It is complicated, as I am sure a lot of you can relate to. We are working on relationships daily. Attitudes minutely, emotions, drama, health and safety, just like all of you. So, with that being said, I had an idea........

I had HAD it yesterday with my kids not doing their chores the way we ask them to do everyday. So, I decided to sit down with them and take all their chores away. That's right, I told them they didn't have to do one single chore ever again. BUT.......if they wanted to shower, eat, wash their clothes, borrow something of mine, needed a ride, money for the movies or a birthday party or a dance, use the computer, they would have to pay me. Now, I know that only Ashley has a job, so she was the only one that was going to be able to give me cash. See, we never have paid out kids allowance. They have all they need, a lot of what they want, and whenever there was an activity they wanted to go to or do, they got to do it for the most part. So they were going to have to pay me in chore. If they wanted to eat, they had to do something like a load of laundry, and not just theirs, but the towels, boys clothes, blankets, whatever was in the community laundry basket. Or, wash windows, do dishes, clean a toilet, dust, mop the floor, you get the picture. And if they wanted money for a movie, that was going to cost them something like wash my car, pull weeds, that type of thing. So last night, Sarah started us off, she was hungry so she washed a couple windows, then she wanted a shower, so she put the wet clothes in the dryer, Ashley wanted to use my toenail clippers so she had to fold the laundry, Sarah wanted a ride to school this morning so she feed all 4 little boys dinner, Tyler wanted to wash is own laundry so he did the dishes, Emily wanted to eat, take a shower and needs a ride to her game tomorrow night so she gathered the garbage's, stomped them down and took them out front, and dusted the whole downstairs. I love this idea. It is working so far, although it has only been a day, and the kids are learning responsibility, and to respect each other. Also, if they ague about things like, the air they breath, they will owe me a chore.
I think we all need a place to go and vent, tell the truth, share ideas, recipes, goals, vacation spots, what have you......so I will be posting here and there about great places to stay, parenting ideas that work for me, what doesn't work for me, my goals for the year, my favorite recipes that I have actually tried, what ever comes across in my daily life. I will also keep sharing about my family, the kids, the new boys and their progress, my business, my friends, all about the truth of the life in this not so ordinary family.
I would also like your advise, recipes that you have tried, vacation spots, parenting ideas, and what have you. I do get a lot out of you what you share with me. I posted something like this on my facebook last night, and it had a great response with people sharing their ideas. I figure, we are all in this together, why not help each other out and share!!

Also on a side note, at this time, we are not going private. Going private will limit the awareness of the boys and their disease. And all the great advise we get and sharing we are going to be able to do. I want to thank so many of you for reaching out to us at that time and encouraging us with wanting to still follow our life's journey and supporting us. Love and Blessings to you.....until next time.....

Things are moving right along :)

2012-01-16T21:26:00.000-08:00

So much is happening that I don't know where to start.

First, Christmas was great!! I will be posting a little of the day and pictures later this week :)

We have decided to home school the boys. I was very nervous at first, didn't think I could do it, didn't think I was going to be able to teach them everything they need to know. But.......it is going really great so far. A friend gave me some supplies to start off, and they seem to love it. We work on math everyday, spelling words, we even do P.E. lol ....they laugh when I do jumping jacks lol.....pictures of them working and learning to follow.

Life is getting easier and easier. Love is growing, trust is forming, life is good, and God is great! We are working now with a family therapist that has worked with attachment disorder and orphanage behaviors for a long time. I really like her.

We still have our ups and downs, but for the most part, the boys are doing really well, and their skin looks great! I am so excited to get more involved with the eb community now that things are slowing down for us. Well, with 8 kids in the house, we are never really slow lol, but settling in for the most part :)

Looking forward to more blogging in the future now that things seem more in control and not so crazy. I will be posting pics as soon as we download them to the computer. Thanks for not giving up on us while we were in our transition time. Love to you all and Gods blessing.

Watch out, two days in a row ;)

2011-12-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

This morning, our case worker from VMRC ( Valley Mountain Regional Center) came out to go over the program for Carson. All good news, good resources, great info. Carson was here and she met him and asked him a few questions. He just wanted to go to school lol....he kept saying, school? ABC? .....he loves to write his ABC's and numbers. Well, we were sitting at the table, and Garrett came downstairs. I was trying to ask him something and get him to look at me, and listen, but nope, he doesn't make good eye contact. Well, she noticed and watched us for a few minutes, and when I was done getting him what he needed, she said, I don't want to upset you, but I think, and I said.....I know what your going to say.....she said, he should be tested for autism....sigh.....tears.....sigh.....something that I have known for sometime, that my little Garrett was very sweet, and special....she said he is so mild, that he might not even qualify.....so we sat a bit more and talked about some other signs of autism. I will let you all know how it turns out when we have him tested. No big deal. He is still the same wonderful Garrett he always was...... I love that little man :)

Here are some pics for your enjoyment ;)

Charlie and Garrett at Charlies Thanksgiving program...

Sarah and Garrett baking for Thanksgiving :)

Tyler and Charlie baking for Thanksgiving :)

Thanksgiving dinner with Nana, Papa, Grandma (she is turning 90 in a few day) and the boys at their first Family Thanksgiving!!! Love!

All dressed up in their best :)

Some being very silly heehee........

Kiddos being silly some more lol....

The picture where the kids are laughing, those are my favorite.

Beats a perfect picture any day ;)

This is the best we are gonna get ha....and I love it!!!

Santa picture

2011-12-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

The boys first Christmas with their new family. It seems they must of had some kind of Christmas at the orphanage. They know who Santa is, but they have no idea that it is all about our Saviors birth. We will be making a birthday cake, talking a lot about Jesus, letting them know that yes, Santa brings you gifts, but the best gift of all is Jesus!

Boys are doing good. John struggles behaving at school. He is going to be tested in all areas to find the right placement for him. He is learning in the meantime and really loves school but can't really behave. We have gone to our first therapy appointment, but the boys weren't at that one. Just for the parents. They have their first appointment in a couple weeks. Carson is doing better at school and at home. Still very far behind in all areas. We have a social worker for VMRC and our first meeting with her in the morning. I am excited to see what they have to offer him.
John got caught stealing from school last week so he was suspended for a day. He has been taking things and touching peoples things from day one, so it was time to take action. Then he had a really bad day on Wednesday so he stayed home for the rest of the week. Praying for a better week this week. Today was good, not perfect, but good.

A little update on the rest of the bunch.....Charlie sang at church on Sunday and it was very cute. He loves school and is so smart. Garrett is starting pre~school in January, he is super excited :) Sarah is working hard on her attitude and finding out who her real friends are. She loves being home and spending time with me :) Emily is Cheering and doing well in school. She likes a boy that seems really nice, and I think he likes her. I don't think they know they like each other, but it sure seems like they do, ha. Not that I am in a hurry for her to have a boyfriend, but we like to tease her about it lol....she plays along for the most part. Ashley is ready for a real relationship and looking for a Christian boy that has the same values as she does. Hard to find that I guess. She is still working and going to school. She has grown into an amazing women. Tyler is so smart, but doesn't at all put his best effort forward. We are working with him to know that he is a great person that can do really well if he just tries. He will get it I know, because he has a great step dad. And talking about his step dad, my husband is just about the most amazing man I know, and is a great roll model for all the kids. He is great at showing the girls how they should be treated, and to the boys he shows them how to treat their wife someday. I just love him more than words can say. He is so perfect for me in every way. I am so blessed to have him as my husband. As for me, I am learning how to be a parent to a couple of boys that grew up in an orphanage across the world, that don't know how to be in a family. I am learning what works, and what doesn't. I still don't really understand yet why God chose us to be their parents, but I know He did, and that is all I need to know. Blessing to you all during this amazing CHRISTmas season.

Just a few more facts and some pics.....

2011-11-15T21:59:00.000-08:00

They repeat every last word or two you say.
They eat fast.
They always clean their plate.
They are scared of most things.
They can be as naughty as all get up, but will tattle on each other all day long.
They can't handle any amount of freedom at this point.
They will take you for a ride, if you get in their car (if you get what I mean ;)
they eat with their mouth open.
They will go home with anyone.
They hug everyone.
They only call us mom and dad now.
They love Nana and Papa, but who doesn't ;)
They don't like to share.
John is compationate, Carson is not.
Carson laughs at just about everything.
They are as different as night and day.

A few pictures of the boys over the past month or so....this is John at a lunch at his school. As you can see, he was not able to eat the sausage :( I didn't even think about him having a hard time swallowing it.....poor little guy, but it was a really good day!

John and Carsons first movie :)

A day at the park.....fun times :)

I will post more pictures, and storys behind the pictures in the days to come.....now, I'm off to bed to get a good nights sleep.....God is Good, Jesus in my savior, The Holly Spirit guides my way....I am happy :) love to you all............talk soon!!

I'm Back :)

2011-11-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to start our new blog with the videos of Gotcha day for both boys, and our homecoming....but, they just wouldn't work :/

I have missed blogging. I have missed coming here and looking at all the progress the boys have made. So much has happened over the past couple of months. I want you all to know that the boys are doing good. Their skin looks amazing. I can't believe how good they look. And their English, amazing. They speak mostly only English. In fact, the child psychologist from Carson's school said his first language is English. Things are coming along. We still have issues, but I am feeling much better about things.

About the new blog....we have started it, but Donnie has had not time with his new job, and all the school stuff going on....we might just have to keep this one and figure out how to make it private. We got all your request to join the new blog, but I got to thinking, why not just keep this one and go private and invite all of you that wanted to follow the new one?? Um, hello Karrie.....I haven't talked to Donnie about it, in fact, I haven't even been on our blog for a month.....just taking time for my family and needed a break :/ sorry....it's just something I felt I needed to do....I will catch you all up to speed....I have pics to upload and stories to tell.....I am excited to share with all of you :)
I have been talking to some of my close friends about how they handle certain things with their adopted kids....they have helped me sooo much. I don't feel so alone...I feel alive again :) I am not mad anymore...I am starting to have feelings for the boys. I am starting to feel again....boy, that was one hard road I was on...I would rather not ever visit it again thank you.....I'm good!!!!

I miss all of your sweet comments and advise and encouragement.....I have leaned on God to help me get through the past few weeks, just like He has wanted me to. I have gone to Him and asked him to get me through.....and just like He said, He has :)

Carson qualified for Valley Mountain Regional Center and will be benefiting from their services soon :) Yay!!!! And we are having both boys tested for ADD....this should help them a great deal at school. Johns teacher tracks his "off task" behavior and he seems to be more off task than on task. That could explain a lot. And they are testing Carson for everything. I know this is going to sound dumb, but we finally read the adoption papers.....yeah, for all of you that haven't finished the process.....you should read your adoption papers as soon as you get them. I just figured they read them to us, so why would we need to read them again....wrong...it said as clear as day that Carson had a mild form of mental retardation (please don't take offence to that word. I am repeating the medical term that was written in the adoption papers. I too do NOT like the "R" word) Yeah, so that could have helped us a long time ago, because we already knew that but no one else seemed to get it.....now after spending time with him, they all know that he has some kind of handicap and now we are actually getting him the help he needs :) yes, I feel like I am finally out of the forest and in a beautiful green meadow.
Now, don't get me wrong...we still have issues. It has only been a little over three months (even though it feels like a year) so we still have such a long way to go.

Here are a few FACTS:

no more spitting.
no more pooping in their pants.
they still wet the bed now and then.
they love school.
they love soup, any kind.
they love applesauce.
the don't cry when they get shots.
they are bandage free and have been for weeks.
they love to be outside and play.
they can't do anything for any length of time.
the love milk and cookies.
the school system sucks for the most part.
they try and control every situation they can.
they rock.
they take medicine great, never complain about it.
they eat any veggie I put in front of them.
they like their hair to be long.
the love to take a bath.
the still have not attached to us.
they love the kids.
John wants all his fingers to work.
they like to go to the movies.
they love America, but love when someone speaks to them in Russian.
John seems to know who Jesus is, and loves to go to church.
We can have a conversation now, for the most part.
John doesn't remember his "real" parents like he said at first.
They lie.
They steal.
We can't trust them yet.
They touch everything.
They love ice cream.
They stay on their beds when we put them there.
They like to be warm and cozy.
They like to go anywhere in the car.
They look at everything, because it is the first time they have seen it.
They like to sing, and John is pretty good.
They like to wash their hands, and brush their teeth.
John has the neatest hand writing.
John is very smart and picks things up very fast.

We finally got their passports back, we got their social security cards, and their letters/certificates that show they are citizens. They have had some of their shots now, and we are working on catching them up. Their English, I think amazes me the most, that and their skin.

Ok, well, for some reason, it cut off the end of my post. So I just wanted to say, I feel like things are getting back to normal. Things are starting to fall into place. We still have years of therapy and ups and downs, but all in all, I know we are going to be okay. I wanted to thanks a couple of my friends without using any names. Thanks H.M. for always being there for me, and thanks G.S. listening and always knowing exactly how I feel. There are others too, that have been right there with me, feeling the same way, having the same doubts, crying the same tears. We are all in this together, and we need each other, we need God to bring us together to help each other on those days that we feel like we just can't take another minute of this craziness......I love you guys....God Bless, have a wonderful night, and take care of each other :)

The new blog is still in the making.......

2011-10-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone....we are still working on the new blog....I know it is taking FOREVER, but finding time, and starting how we want it started, is just taking some time.....things are going good with the family and the boys, we are moving forward, slowly but surely.....we hope to have the new blog going by the end of the month.....we were on a two week break, and 8 kids with no school....crazy ;) so with that being said, please don't give up on us, we have started the new blog, but we are trying to upload some things that are giving us some trouble. We hope you all are doing well, blessings to you all.....

new blog

2011-10-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Donnie is still working on the new blog. We are trying to upload some video that we didn't post here, and we are having trouble with the uploading. Sorry it is taking so long, but we got all your invite request. We didn't post them because we didn't want to put your emails out there for everyone to see. We have our comments set to moderate first, so if you sent a comment, and didn't give us your email, we will need that to invite you to our new blog. Thank you all so much for all the requests and encouraging comments. We again are overwhelmed with the response and are excited to share the growing and loving of the boys. Blessings to you and sorry this is taking so long.........

This may help......

2011-10-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Some of you have emailed me and said you can't comment on my blog or other blogs. I had this problem too a few months ago, when someone told me that I needed to unclick the box that says stay signed in. It is on the page where you enter your user name (email address) and password. You will have to sign out first, then unclick the stay signed in box and log in. It worked for me, we have google, I don't know about any other accounts though. I hope this helps.

We will be making our new blog over the weekend, or should I say Donnie will be ha......he is the one that gets it all going for me, adds stuff, and I write :) I am hoping that he writes on our new family blog too. I am so excited to get started with all of you that have responded back and wanting to follow. I know that your encouragement, love, advice, will help us along the way. Even if you have never commented, that doesn't matter. we want you to follow our story, maybe we can help you in some way, or someone that comments will say something that can help you if you are in the same situation that we may be talking about that day. I am not sure how it all works, but I think you have to send me your email address and we have to invite you to join our blog.

Thanks to all of you that want to still follow our life story. We appreciate you and all your prayers.....see you soon..........

Making a change

2011-10-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

We have decided to close this blog, and start a new chapter of blogging. It will be a private blog, so if you would like to follow, please leave a comment, or email us and let us know. This way, we know who is following us, that way we don't have any hate comments anymore. On the new blog I can feel free to speak what is true and not have to worry about anyone that really doesn't care about us and the boys, and are just being nosey busy bodies. We would love to have all of you that truly love and care about us, to follow our blog, leave comments, give advice, and be a part of our family. We love our amazing followers that have supported us over the last year. It has almost been one year that we first decided to adopt Carson. Oh what a year it has been.......

It's been a while

2011-10-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while. I'm sorry to those of you that come by to see if I have blogged or not. Finding time, or knowing what to say, that is a trick sometimes.

The EB is the easy part with the boys. The hard part, is everything else.

It is a two week break for the kids. Out of school for two weeks. I usually love this time, but to tell you the truth, I was kinda uneasy about this one. I have made a few plans to go to the Zoo, a movie, and maybe Sonora to Cover's. We will see. I haven't pick a day to do any of these things. I am just taking it day by day.

Both of the boys are doing well. They really do listen to me for the most part. I have them on a schedule, and I try to stick to it everyday. Their skin looks so great, I am just amazed at how they look. They get bumps and bruises and a few blisters, but for the most part, the eb is so easy compared to all the rest of the orphan stuff. On one side of the coin I feel so sorry for them because they never had the love of parents when they were babies. And on the other side, they manipulate like no one I have ever seen before. We have started watching some DVD's that were loaned to us. They have helped put some perspective on things. But knowing what end of the spectrum they are on, well, therapy will have to help us out with that one. Right now we have a couple appointments lined up for the boys to be seen. The ball is rolling in a good direction really. Just never seems fast enough for me.

Getting organized for the winter is always something I love to do. Ha, I love to do house work and take care of the kids. Wish I could get paid doing it. Now that would be a bonus. Ha, even though, I just love my job. I have worked in a lot of different places, and this is by far the best job I have ever had :)
I even started a little Christmas shopping. We are not doing it big this year, money is very tight, but we are looking forward to the season and all that comes with it. The boys will enjoy all the activities I am sure.

John had another procedure scheduled for today, but we had to cancel it :/ we are still paying for the last one and need to catch up on things first. It is not a life or death thing, or we would have it done no matter what, but we don't want to get so behind that we could never catch up. Things will get better. God would not have brought them to us without giving us the means to do so. We are going to have to take it one day at a time and one procedure at a time. It will all work out, for that I am sure. I trust in Him, I believe in Him. My Lord will not leave me, He will not forsake me. I am so blessed with the gifts He has given us.

Ashley and Emily went on a mission trip to Mexico. I am so proud of them. They were so excited to be going together. God is good!!

I hope you all have a blessed week, I am sorry that my updates are not as often as they use to be. There are times that I just don't have time, and then there are times that I just don't want to put it all out there. I will find my safe place. I will be back someday I know. I will get to a place that I don't care what others have to say. I know that I will find peace in all of this. I know I will sort through this and be on the right path again. Time, just like all of this journey.....GODS TIME............

Our fun night out

2011-09-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Carson is doing well in his new school. I really like both of his teachers. They seem to have a handle on things, and his aid from what I understand, is a great tool. We have had VMRC (Valley Mountain Regional Center) come out to evaluate the boys. John did not fall under their umbrella for their assistance, but we knew that already. They didn't even test Carson on the spot. They have us going to a child psychologist to evaluate him. We go next Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing what he has to say. We also have a psychiatrist appointment for both boys on October 10th to start that process. It is quiet a process with Kaiser. Donnie and I go first to talk about our concerns. Then, I'm not sure what is next. I have a feeling that we may have to go outside our insurance to get the boys the help they need, but we are starting here first.
John is still having trouble with school. Just can't seem to keep his hands to himself and make good choices. We have another meeting on October 21st with the "team" to see about his progress. He needs a one on one just as much as Carson does, but for different reasons. He is very smart, blows me away sometimes. He is speaking good English too. Says lots of words and many sentences. Impressed with him in that area. Both boys are very good with me. They listen, and as long as I don't leave the room, things are fine lol....but of course I have to leave the room. We left them with the kids last night. Carson was fine, John, not so much. Also, I had dinner with a friend on Wednesday, and the second I walked out of the door, Donnie said he started. He videoed the whole 1 1/2 hours I was gone. I was not at all happy with what I saw. He is going to have to learn that he has to listen to the people that are left in charge of him. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.
Back to the wedding we went to last night. It was great. The couple recommitted their lives together in Christ. WOW!! Love this!!! And the reception was beautiful. Nice job Athena and Bobby :)
Here are some pics of the love of my life and me at the wedding......

on our way to the wedding :)

We are crazy in love

haha

beautiful wedding

I so love this man!!!

How cute is this :)

All the kids are doing great. Ashley is going to school and working and met a nice guy, nothing serious but he is a Christian :) Emily in High School and cheering, going to a dance in a couple months, and is googly about a boy ;) Tyler at his new school and now wants to be home schooled lol....he wants to be home with me hahaha, hello, we tryed to get you to do that and you said no way ;) funny kid.....Sarah is doing fine at school, but we are working on being able to send her to a private Christian school in the area. I think it would be a great thing for her to go to this school for the next 3 years......Prayer that God will provide for us to have the funds to send her. Charlie is doing great in Kinder.....he loves it and his teacher said he loves numbers. He gets that after his dad ;) I loved recess and boys haha.....Garrett is home with me, but we are trying to get him completely potty trained so he can go to preschool.
Donnie and I are doing great. We are taking time for ourselves, having dates, and trying to make time to fit it all in. I know this for sure. When we both put Christ first, our marriage is awesome and our love is strong. The second we don't put Him first, we can see and feel it. Always always always put God first, and everything else will fall into place. I will update again soon. Gotta go make pancakes :)

Sunday Fun

2011-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

What a great day!! First, church was great for me. I felt God seeping back into my life, as tears ran down my check during worship time. I have missed feeling the peace of God.

The boys are doing really good. Carson has started a new school and is doing great. He starts a full day tomorrow. First two hours in a Kindergarten class, then the rest of the day in a second grade class. He has a hot spot one on one aid that has been with him for the four hours he has been at the new school. She is great with him. After his first crazy day at the new school, we are encouraged that this is a step in the right direction.Yay :)

John has started having more good days at school. The "sit on your bed" consequence works really well for him. We are starting a behavior chart this week. Looking forward to seeing how it will work for us. We are also going to use the behavior chart for Charlie and Garrett. Everyone will have their own chart and stickers. I am so excited about this. Ha, you would think that I was the one getting the prize at the end of the week lol.....well, maybe I am ;)

After church, Donnie and I took Carson and John to Target to get a few things. They had fun looking, and touching, everything. They asked for everything lol, stuff they didn't even really want I think ha. We bought them some new winter clothes, a couple books and toys of their own to keep in their room ( we will see how that goes ) and costumes for Halloween.

When we got home, we played outside for a while. They love riding bikes, blowing bubbles and chalking...... then we decided to go to the park and go to Fosters Freeze to get an ice cream. They boys had a really great day :) Love to see them smile and laugh. We got home late so it was a rush to get dinner going and baths. I have the best husband. He gave Charlie and Garrett their showers, while I gave John and Carson baths. All the boys were tired and went right to sleep. Yup, I could do a few more of these kind of days. Thanks God for the blessings in my life.

Oh yeah, one more thing......thank you Lord for giving us another chance. I just want the world to know how Great Our God is!!! He is amazing, forgiving, caring, loving, and merciful.

Blessings and Love to all of you this week..........

John is learning to be a basketball star ;)

Charlie Chalking :)

Our beautiful artwork

He loves to color

Something else, check out the boys skin.....What a little love and care can do!!

Do I see some "chub" hanging over them jammies???? :) .....why yes I do :)

Beautiful, just beautiful :) no bandages at all....yay!!

Hahahahahaha!!!!!

Now for Carson, looking good little man :)

Amazing!

Look at those piggies ;)

Haha, just like big brother ;)

They love to look at me after their bath and tell me " no pain, nothing hurts" yay!! :)

Some things I have learned

2011-09-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Carson:
Just because you adopt an 8 year old little boy, doesn't mean you will get an 8 year old little boy.
Carson is more mentally about 3 and physically about 5. We knew the physical part, but the mental part, blew us away. It is hard to remember that he is only about 3 in his own head, and that it is not his fault. He just is what he is, and that is it. He does not spit anymore, that has completely stopped, well, we haven't seen him spit anyway ;) but he isn't spitting at me anymore, and for that I am encouraged.

John:
Just because you adopt a smart kid, doesn't mean he will be able to figure everything out. John is very smart. He can read, write, knows math, all in Russian of course, but seems to learn fast. I have nothing to compare it to, but he is learning. However, I have pondered....how could a kid that is so smart, do things that are so dumb? Well, I don't know the answer to that yet....but we are working our butts off to try and figure that one out. And yes, we know that he has only lived in an orphanage all of his life (well, that he can remember) and things were just plain different in there. So, here are a couple things he does. He hits and throws tantrums at school. That warrants a go home ticket that warrants sitting on his bed for the rest of the day. He hates this, as would any kid. And for all of you out there that are led to write me and tell me what a horrible parent I am for sitting my adopted child on his bed for a day, save it!!! It works, and I'm stickin to it!!!!!!!!! He has only had to do this twice...once because he was sent home for hitting, and he hits all the time. I remind him every morning that he can not hit, that he has to keep his hands to himself, that he can not touch other peoples things. By the way, he also hit in the orphanage, so no, this has nothing to do with the language barrier.
Then he had to "sit" because he thought my 11 year old was walking him to the car after school one day last week. She had been walking them to the car for me because Garrett was sick. I usually walk to their class and get them because there have been issues of how they treat Sarah.....well, anywho, I turned the corner to him hitting, yelling, and screaming at her. Then he saw me. Like a dear in the headlights he knew what was coming....a bed sitting. He told both of us he was sorry, but that is how he thinks he will get out of sitting on his bed. I told him that I forgive him, but he still has to sit on his bed. This kid must have manipulated each and every single adult that he was ever around. He trys it with everyone. But we are onto him. There are consequences when you do things that are not nice, and he is learning.

Both Boys:
Both boys pooped in their pants, remember? I guess we will never know the real reason, but here is what I think about it.......they didn't know.....yes, that is right, I don't think they knew what to do. I think in the orphanage they were put on the toilet to poop at a certain time each day or something. I mean, I don't know, and I guess I will never know how it really was for them in that place, but this is what I have come up with. We put them on the toilet for 20 to 30 minutes a day, everyday, at about the same time. IT WORKED....HA!!! that and making them wash their own undies. They totally stopped. Carson hated washing his poop out of his pants, and putting him on the toilet, he poops every single time. It doesn't matter anymore if we do it at the same time or not, he poops every single time. I know I sound all proud of myself lol, and some of you have probably figured this out with your own kids, but I am so glad that this is behind us now and the boys are happier too. We also have John that takes Mineral oil everyday in his applesauce. He doesn't even know it's there. Mineral oil is what a lot of people that have EB take to help them have an easier time with bowel movements. And he gets a little MiraLAX in his tea everyday too. Carson just takes the MiarLAX. He aspirates so mineral oil isn't for him. They don't struggle to have a BM, and I am sure that they have struggled all their lives with this. They know that they will sit on the toilet, usually after they get home from school and have a snack, or on the weekends just after lunch, they sit, they do their thing, and then move on with their day. Ha, who knew. Now, I kind of experimented with this a bit to see what works, and with John, on most days there isn't a problem, but sometimes he doesn't have to go, so I sit him for a shorter time, and then try again later that day. And Carson, I could put him on the toilet 2 or 3 times a day and he almost always goes. Huh, who knew....

Ok, so this is what he was doing. He came out of the bathroom with his pants to his knees laughing, he ran from the teacher several times as the staff ran around after him, he was laughing the whole time. He would not do his work, he would not sit, he would not listen. He was crawling around acting like a dog and trying to bite people. This is the type of thing he did with us at first, and seems to be a pattern. Testing the water? maybe...scared of the new? probably, but he has to learn that this is not okay behavior. And, the thing is, he has no emotion when he is doing these things, or when he is done. Kinda like he doesn't know they are wrong, and then soon forgets that the whole thing happened in the first place. Well, I was not happy that this happened, but then again, I WAS happy this happened. Why you ask? Because they got to see him in action. Well, part of his action, this is nothing really ;) and the Principal called the district, talked to the "big guys" told them that he needs a one on one and that the need to speed up this evaluation is very important, so he can be placed in the right class, and or, get into the right program for him....wow, really?? REALLY!!? This is what we have been saying for a month. This is awesome, in 2 hours of him being there, and them seeing him in action, they figured out that this was a situation that needed immediate attention. He was not only disrupting the class, but the whole school.....yes, in 2 hours...hello, in 5 minutes of meeting Carson we knew there was something that was just not quiet right and we had our work cut out for us. And boy do we.

Both Boys:
Both boys listen to me very well, for the most part. If I am in the room, they do not do bad things. They know I will put them in time out, and they hate time out. They also know that they have to say they are sorry, and they don't like to do that either. But, I can't be in the same room with them every second of every day...so, we started videoing them. When ever they are not in a room with us, we video them, play it back, and if they have hit or what have you, they get a time out. After we show them the video and explain to them that it is not okay to hit or what have you. This works for us. They have done things that can be dangerous to themselves or others, so they have to be in constant surveillance. At first when we showed them themselves on a video, they cracked up. But when it got to the part that they were hitting each other.....they understood that they were naughty and had a time out. It has worked really well for us, and them. They know they are being videoed so they behave for the most part. Well, John anyway. Carson just has no clue sometimes. Like my 3 year old. If we told him that we were going to video him, he would care less, and forget the second we walked out of the room. With Carson, same thing. He laughs at the table all by himself blowing bubbles in his milk, or just in his own head. And I don't mean some kind of little laugh. A big, silly, laugh for 15 minutes kind of laugh. I was watching my 3 year old in the mirror of my car the other day, playing with a new toy he just got. He would blow the whistle and make the frogs tongue come out and eyes bulge out. Then he would smile and laugh at himself and the toy. The first thing I thought of was Carson and how he acts about everything. I have to reprogram myself to understand that in his head, he is 3, not 8. So I can only expect 3 year old behavior. How is this going to work in a 2nd grade classroom? Well, I don't know. Either they are going to have to move him down, or he will be around peers that are older and it will help him mature. I don't know how this is going to work out, but we will all see over the course of this school year how it will work, or not work depending.....

John doesn't like to do anything that he doesn't want to do, and he lets us know about it by throwing a tantrum. I mean who wants to do what they don't want to do anyway??!! You know what I mean? But, he has to learn that we ALL have to sometimes do what we don't want to do, and we can't throw a tantrum about it. We do it, and move on with our day. He is also very sneaky. I don't understand how he does things sometimes. Ha, he is soooo sneaky. I have to check his pockets before we leave school, and his backpack. I have a few ideas of what we are going to try, to help him understand that this is not okay behavior. I will let you know what they are and what works and what doesn't in a later post. He is mean to Carson too. They had an appointment to get shots yesterday, and he was telling Carson all about it and how it was going to hurt. He had a big smile on his face when he was saying it to him. Now, he does have compassion, but there are times that he is just down right mean. Something we are going to have to work on.

The boys have another Doc appointment on Monday morning. A long 2 hour or so appointment to go over everything, meet some people that can help us, and refer the boys to where they need to be going to get help. I am SO excited about this appointment. We are going to get them into a psychiatrist, yes, a psychiatrist. If you don't like this idea, that is okay, we don't have to agree, but this is where we will start with the boys, and if they say meds, Donnie and I will take it into consideration, but we are both smart and loving parents that will not be led to doing something that we are against. Thank you for your concern, but I have already had hate mail when I mentioned this before :) We like us, and the parents we are :) We are also hoping for a referral to Stanford sometime in the near future. This will help a great deal with knowing what type of EB they have, and some new ways to take care of them. The boys skin looks amazing. No bandages at all right now, and they really haven't had many. I am so excited of how they look. I will take pics soon of them so you all can see how amazing they look :) Johns feet, wow! One of the biggest improvements. Also Carson's head. WOW!! I sure wish we took pics of them on that first day we got them. But we remember, and have some pics, just not of their whole bodies.

The boys love to swim, play in the water, ride bikes, make puzzles, color, draw, look at books, do patterns, ride in the car, go to, well anywhere lol, take a bath, eat haha, watch Barney :) and go to school. We are trying new things everyday. One thing at a time so we can find what they can do and like to do. They only speak to each other in Russian. Carson doesn't say anything to us in English, but he will repeat what we say if we tell him too. What Carson understand is a mystery. I am hopeful that somewhere in all the referrals we can find out just what is ticking, or not ticking with him. John knows a lot more than he lets on. He will speak to us in English if we say we don't understand what he is saying to us and he really wants us to know what he is telling us. Funny how that works ;) Also, they have an appointment on Tuesday with Valley Mountain Regional Center. They will come here and evaluate the boys. The appointment is really for Carson, but they are going to take a look at John too, to see if they will be able to help us with him as well. We don't know if either boy will fall under the umbrella of what they can help with, but it is a step in the right direction.

Our days are very structured and controlled. I am finding that they boys just don't know what to do with themselves without direction. So, we keep them busy with stuff to do. We can do things on the spur of the moment, as long as they have Donnie or I right there to tell them what to do, they are fine with whatever. They can have no control yet. We do not trust them, so we don't leave them alone. However, we do go out and do stuff. We just put them to bed early, or if I have to leave in the middle of the day and not able to take them with me, they have to sit on their bed with a book or something. Well, John was ripping the books and throwing toys across the room, so as soon as he can prove he can be good and not destroy things, he can sit on his bed with toys again. Till then, he will have to just sit til I get back.

Is life good, Life is always good. Is it great, life is always a gift so for that I am grateful. I don't wake up anymore with the feeling of, "what did I do" or "why did I do this to my family" ??? The days are getting better, we are able to breath a little again. The boys are learning how to behave.....wow...in the middle of writing this, John and Carson are doing patterns with plastic pattern blocks....Carson needed some more blue pieces, so he asked for them. He asked in Russian, but I understood what he meant. When I went over, I asked him what color they were, and he said blue, in English. So, he understood what I said, and he knew the answer, in English :) then he told me the colors of the other blocks in Englis....very nice :) and John was doing a pattern too, and he needed more green blocks, when I gave them to him, he said thank you in English :) YAY!!! so yes, life is great at times....God is good all the time. He is showing me that this was the right choice for our family. He never said it was going to be easy, and we were not expecting it to be so hard, but, we are all learning, and for this, today is good :)

We also find, that if something is too hard, they do not even want to try. We have to encourage and even push them to try. I am guessing that was to much work for the caretakers at the orphanage because they just had way to many kids, so, it is something new to them. Sometimes they try till they get it, and sometimes we have to just let it go till next time. When we don't give in is when we know they can do it. When they have done it before.

We still are looking into respite care. We hope to get that going really soon. I know it would be nice to have a day or so to just hang out with the other kids. They have been so great and patient with the boys, and with us. It has been hard on all of us, not just John and Carson, or just me.....all of us. I think that is one of the hardes parts for me. That the kids have been hurt or feel we don't spend enough time with them now. So yes, respite care is a must.

Watching God work his wonders through these boys, have been a blessing to me. Also, the friends and strangers too that have come to help us, I can never thank you all enough. This week has been so very busy, I really can't believe it is Saturday. We are still reading over emails, messages, and information that you all have sent to us. We want you all to know, that we love you, and could not do any of this without your support, encouragement, kindness, and just being real with us. Thank you Thank you! Blessings to all of you, and your families....have a great weekend :)

Better Days

2011-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

This week, has been far better. Monday, I organized my day, tried to get a little of everything done, and it worked well. Tuesday was a great day. Ashley told me I was going somewhere at 4:30 and to be ready. I had no idea where I was going or with who, but I was worried because Donnie works Tuesday nights, and with me being gone, who would take care of the boys?? They do NOT listen to the kids and laugh in their faces....We were told to only let the boys come to us and we were the only ones who should discipline them. That does not work in our house. I need the older kids to help, and that might mean they have to feed or put the boys in bed, or tell them no they can not do something.....so, that is changing. We are working on letting the kids help with taking care of them so that we can leave and not worry so much. So, anywho, my friend Margaret came with coffee in hand, and took me for a pedi :) wow, that was just about awesome. Then when we got home, my other friend Dawn brought me roses and chocolate. I am getting spoiled! Also, my church family is going to start up dinners a couple times a week again. Thank you Lord for all these blessings. Overwhelmed, but this time with love.
The boys are having a good week. They are learning that if they are naughty, they will have to sit in time out, or no dessert after dinner or sit on their bed for a while and think about their behavior. It has been a calm few days. I hope a storm isn't coming ;) but if it does, God will provide me with the wisdom I need to handle it. I felt and saw Jesus all day yesterday. Thank you all for all your emails, messages, comments, gifts, prayers and donations. Every now and then, we get a donation and let me tell you, it always helps. We are more than likely going to have to go outside our insurance and get the boys some help. We need someone that knows about adoption disorders and whatnot. I have been told that can be very costly so we wanted you to know that we are so thankful and grateful for the donations that you are sending and where they are going.
All of your advise and resources are just so amazing. We are looking into each and every one of them. I have chatted with some of you via email, and am grateful for the new friendships. I love you guys. And, I just wanted you all to know, we didn't get one single negative comment on any of the last few posts we put out there. We have got some that have asked us not to share, but every single one of them have been awesome and full of good advise and support and encouragement and kindness. I will continue to share, to let you all know how my whole family is doing. Sometimes I will be here just to vent, sometimes I will add pictures, but really, I just want a place where I can be free to express my feelings, give thanks, show Gods love, and be real.

Donnie and I at my 25th high school reunion

Carson doing his homework and learning patterns

Working really hard

Garrett found a quiet place to nap....the bottom of my closet lol...he even moved the shoes

Stepping away.......

2011-08-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

I need to step away for a bit. This is hard, but I need to step away. I visit here and there, go to my blog, my facebook, but I just can't find it in me to write right now. I need to sort things out. Find what it is that I am suppose to be doing. I have NO idea what I am suppose to be doing right now. I feel so lost, scared, unsure of anything. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would feel like this. I am sorry that I am letting some of you down, I know I am, but my words just won't come out. I don't want to share everything that is going on. I don't know how to share anything that is going on. The walls are coming in. I can't breath sometimes. I have to stop, and count to 10.....a lot......I take it not day by day, but second by second. I can't go to the bathroom and not come back to some kind of disaster, every time. Last week, I hadn't taken a shower in days.....I started to smell myself....that is NOT good when you can smell yourself. I am overwhelmed. I am not looking for any pity, or someone to fix anything. I am just sharing what is going on, without details. No details in this post. I feel that some have left my side. Like I have made them mad because I am having a hard time handling things. It shouldn't matter I know. But it does. I feel alone sometimes. I know that I do have some that pray for me every day, and check on me. I am so grateful to you. I should just take rest in that. But you all have helped us so much. I feel like I am letting you down. So many feeling going through my head and my heart. I am angry. Angry God didn't lead me to something that would have prepared us. Or, did He?? and I didn't listen. I have gotten some really good advise here and there. I really have. And we are moving forward with it. But I just can't seem to find myself. I need to get into the word, lean on Him. But I can't. I am going to read some tonight, but I don't want to just read. I want to feel. And I don't feel. I don't feel anything. I wake up in the morinng, and the first thing I say to myself is, oh, it wasn't a dream, it is real. This is my life. How did I get here? What was I thinking? Does HE really think I can handle this? Should I delete my facebook, my blog? Why didn't anyone tell me I could feel like this? I need to read all the books again. The classes we took online didn't say anything about what I am feeling, how I would feel or may feel. Did I really work so hard for THIS??? How many times can one get spit on and just take it.....what is the right thing to do? What is too much? Who do we turn to? Is there even an answer? Am I not listening? Am I in over my head? How did I get here? This is a lot of my feelings right now.....all jumbled up into one 115 pound person...ME....have I lost ME?? Will I ever find ME again???????
This is my life, my new life.....I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel right now. Yes, it has only been a month, but what a month it has been. Feels like a year. No really, a whole, entire, year.....I read some of the blogs and see how wonderful things are going....are they telling the truth, or are they painting a rosy picture of what they want people to see? Am I the only one that is drowning here?? Is anyone else with me.....can you throw me a life vest please. How can this be? Is the school system really this bad?? Why do they talk in circles? Why do they all blame each other, and even me? Hello, I told you I had no idea what I was doing...didn't you hear me? Ok, that is enough for now. I don't know when, if, how, I will write again. I look back at all my posts about working so hard for the boys, the trip over, the trip itself, and I know that God has some kind of plan. That I do know. Am I just hooked up with the wrong people to help us? Do they not see what we see? I could go on for days, but I need to go to bed, and rest for tomorrow. I pray that God blesses you all, and covers you all with his amazing Grace.........

Need some advice

2011-08-22T07:34:00.001-07:00

So, putting this out there, hoping for advice.....the boys, well, they wet the bed, and poop thier pants. I am just at a loss of how to stop this. We do put pull ups on them at night, because I just couldn't wash sheets and blankets and mattress protectors everyday anymore. Now, they go in the pull up and it is FULL.........they get nothing to drink after 6 every night........any suggestions????????????????

The Promise I Made

2011-08-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

God has brought it to my attention this morning that I promised to advocate for children to be saved. Please help these kids in some way. We can all pray for them, and share their story, but if you can donate, even $10, please do so. I have been there, I know what the orphanages are like. I have seen the children. They need us, ALL of us. And it can't stop because one or two have been saved. They all need to be saved. We ALL need to help in some way. Please do your part. We ALL have a part in this. The Bible is clear. It says to help the widows and orphans. Please don't look away. It is hard, I know. Even now, sitting here with our Ukrainian boys just down the hall, sleeping in their beds, and this journey for us has not been easy in any way, I still know that God expects us to save his kids. It is our job to do this. God put it on our hearts a year ago to save Carson, and then John. Has it been an easy road? No. But I know that He has a plan. A plan that I can not see now, but I trust in Him that His plan is great. All of these kids deserve a chance to have a family. And, without us, they do not have a chance. Don't let satan win this battle. We all know who wins in the end JESUS, but the little battles along the way, they save lives, they save souls...........help me, help these families, help these kids, get home to their forever families and learn about Jesus, Our Almighty God, Our Lord and Savior. Blessing to you.

LANDON for the Van Nice family — Grundy Center, IA

reecesrainbow.org

Joe and Brigitte have been married for almost 11 years. They have 4 children – three bio’s and one Ukrainian prince adopted in June 2009. Joe works as a quality inspector and Brigitte works part time as a Judicial Clerk. They are no strangers to the adoption process as Brigitte

PAUL for the House family–Quantico, VA

reecesrainbow.org

Charlie and Melissa have been married for 4 years. Charlie is an active duty United States Marine. He is a Gunnery Sergeant of over 17 years. They are fortunate that Melissa is able to stay at home with their children.

PHILLIP for the Lunnen family — Spokane, WA

reecesrainbow.org

Jeremy and Laura have been happily married for just over twenty years. They have six biological children, ages 3-17 years of age. They’ve known several families over the years who have adopted internationally, and with each one, Laura felt a tug at her heart.

Back Yard Camp Out

2011-08-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

Charlie was needing some one on one time with daddy. So, a good old fasion backyard camp out :) gotta love it!!

Doc appointments and procedures for the boys

2011-08-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

Got a call from the GI Doctor today. She got John right in :) He has an appointment next Thursday for his swallowing procedure. It will be most likely an all day event.
So, tomorrow, we have a follow up appointment with the boys ped. He wants to see them again to make sure he didn't miss anything and to get to know them and the condition better. Then, next Tuesday, John will have an esophagram so that the doc will what it looks like before she goes in on Thursday. Carson has his esophagram on Wednesday to see if he needs a procedure. Tomorrow, we will talk about Stanford, nutritionist/dietitian, dermatologist, hand surgery, dentist, and also optimologist. Lots on the to do list. Very excited for the boys :)
Now I can work on the educational programs and finding out just what we need to do and where we need to go to get the boys the help they need. I am getting more and more excited for them as the days go by. Over the rest of this year, the boys are going to look better, feel better, know they are loved, know they are cared for, know that we are there for them, and most of all, know they have a forever family......FOREVER!!!

Today was a good day

2011-08-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

First off, all I can say is WOW!! I am overwhelmed, in a good way, with all the comments from my last post. We are going to be checking into all of these resources and will let you know how it goes. We do have a few books....When Your Child Has a Disability, The Connected Child, Adopting The Hurt Child, and Parenting Your Adopted Older Child. We have read parts of all of these books and are breaking them out again....let me tell you, they mean a lot more the second time around. If any of you have any comments on any of these books, please let us know.

I have had a lot of private messages from people about how can they help with some of the cost of the boys surgeries and bandages. If you would like to send bandages, leave a comment and I will send you an email with my address. I know that some of you have asked what type of bandages, and if you send me your email address, or leave it here as a comment, I can send you a list of what we need. Also, I have received many emails over the past few weeks about sending us donations. I needed to pray about it, and see where the donations would help best. The boys are going to have a few procedures. One, they will both have a esophagram (spell). This will tell about the esophaguldialtation (spell). The boys have a hard time swallowing. In fact, John spends most of his time in the bathroom spitting up his food that won't go down...every meal :( He couldn't even swallow jello. How crazy is that!? And they will have to have this procedure for the rest of their lives. Every 3 to 6 months. This is the first thing on our list, and the GI Doc is calling us tomorrow at 9:30 to start us on the road. Carson will more than likely follow but John is worse off now. We also have another Doctor appointment on Friday with the Ped. to go over a plan of action. If you want any more details about this, please feel free to email me or leave your email and I can give you as much information as you would like. Each procedure usually cost us out of pocket a couple grand:/ but, I know that God knows this, and He will provide. Lord, hear our prayers......

Then, their teeth. Oh their poor teeth. John only chews on one side of his mouth. His teeth hurt too much on the other side. We have contacted a dentist that worked on our daughter Jaime, but just for the first visit where they look at them is $200 each. He is awesome, did a great job with Jaime, and she had all her dental work done in one procedure. They are put under, and stay over night in the hospital. This will be done in San Fransisco. It is very important that all the Doctors that work on them know about EB. Very important that the Dentist has worked on and knows a lot about EB.

Then we need to get them hand surgery so they have use of their hands. We need to get a referral to Stanford, to find out what type of EB they have. We need them to be looked over by the team there to help us evaluate their skin and hands. This is more than likely not going to be covered by our insurance. We are working on that. Both boys have fused fingers to a point. Just from not having the right kind of care. Again, Johns are worse off so he will go first. Carson has one really good hand, and the other, the fingers are just bent down, not fused to the palm of the hand. I will have to take pictures so that you all can see.

Those are the needs we have. We have been overwhelmed by the emails of people wanted to help and donate. You may use the donate button on the top right side of our blog. We do not get donations through RR anymore. We are done with that part of our journey. How blessed are the boys, and us, to still have people who love and want to help. Thank you so much. May Gods Blessings cover you....

Now, on with our great. We put a darkening shade up in the boys room. They would get up way to early every morning. It worked :) they stayed asleep till I got them up this morning at 6:30 yay!! The morning went great. It was a short day for all the kids, so I started picking them up at 11:30 and home by 1:00.......then they all came in, had a snack (ice cream cones ;) the boys had never had one before and we had to tell them they could eat the cone lol...so cute ) and played. Charlie, Sarah, Garrett, and Tyler had church tonight, so after dinner, John, Carson, Daddy and I played outside. It was fun and the boys love to ride around on bike. Can't wait to get them their own bikes for Christmas :) I think I may be more excited then they will be lol.....it was getting late, Donnie went to pick the kids up from Church, and I started baths. I find if I give John something to do while I am giving Carson his bath, he stays out of trouble. It worked for tonight. Yay!! One for the team ;) Baths and bandaging went well, Sarah read them their books, while Donnie and I where finishing up their baths, bandaging, and meds. The older kids helped with the little ones. I took advise and put the kids to work ;) I think they all enjoyed it really, and what a help it was to us. Look at Ashley! She even played dress up while changing and feeding the boys a treat. Very cute Ashley, your hired ;)

Look at how great their skin looks!!!

Ashley and Sarah in Garretts Thor head thing lol..................

Also, someone had asked about the boys parents and the orphanage. Well, we were told so many different things, and John as told us a few things too. As far as we know, their mom had her rights taken away, because she didn't take care of them. She had a very busy social life (if you know what I mean) drinking, and left them home alone. John was 2 and Carson was 1 when they were taken from her, and put in the orphanage that we go Carson from. John was moved when he aged out of that orphanage. We don't know really why Carson was never moved. We were told no one would take him because of his skin. He was so small that I don't think anyone said anything about it. Both of the orphanages seemed nice. I mean, they are orphanages, not where children should be, but comparing them to some places that I have read and seen, they seemed good. If you want to know more about them, leave a comment and I can go more into detail privately.
So, that is about it for tonight. We have felt your prayers today. Oh have we felt them. I feel so at peace, and the boys have been blessed by Gods Almighty hand. Wow!! What a difference a day makes, and my friends, and our God.

We are changed, never to be the same, never to be the same again. I am changed, in every way. I am alive like I have never been. I love life, and not afraid of death. How Great is our God!!! Oh how Great..........is our God!!! Praise Him!!!

Here are a couple random pictures of the kids :)

Ashley on her first day back to school.....Yay for Delta ;)
Love the coral Toms Ash :)

Carson loves loves loves to color....and again, check out his skin!! So super excited :)

To blog or not to blog

2011-08-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

I remember way back when....when I first found Carson. I remember the overwhelming feeling of wanting to save his little life. I remember finding out about John. I remember falling to my knees knowing that the boys, the brothers were torn apart. So very far apart.
When I decided to really start to blog, it was for me to jot my thoughts, fund raise, help others to see how the love of Jesus changes you, to save a life. Now it is to share my life with you. To share me feelings, to share my ups and downs. I am no longer comfortable sharing how I really feel. I know it was just a couple of people, but it seems like a hundred to tell you the truth. And although I have forgiven, it is hard to move on. I am so reluctant to share how things are going. But I feel that you deserve to know. It is all of you that helped us save the boys, and some of you may have some advise for us. So, here it goes.

THINGS SUCK!!!!
Yup, that's right, things suck. I mean, we love the boys, but they are so different than what we expected. What did we expect you ask??? I have no idea. But I had no idea I was adopting a child with so many special needs as Carson has. And John is defiant. He lies, steals, throws tantrums, spits, he even peed on the air conditioner at school.....wow really!? We have our good times for sure, but the bad times, over weigh them by far. BY FAR....now I have talked to other parents that have adopted, and some have gone through some of the same things we are. Did I think this was going to be perfect??? aaahhh, no.....but did I know I was going to feel like I do....ahhh, nope, sure didn't. I sometimes feel that God picked the wrong person for the job. Because of what someone else has said??!! Maybe, I mean, I never felt that way till it was said to me. And yes, I know that they have no idea who I am. And maybe some of it is just overwhelming. Am I asking for a quick fix?! No!! Just time to share and vent.
Ok, so let me tell you about the last few days.....Friday we had dinner brought to us by some good friends and they stayed to share it with us. It was great but the boys had some issues. Before they even got here, one of them was screaming in their room. I don't even remember what it was all about now (that is why I should blog when it is fresh in my mind ;) but it was no fun. And just try to enjoy yourself with all of that going on. And by the end of the night, Donnie had the other one in time out. I don't even know what happened but it was chaos for sure. That was when we decided that maybe company wasn't such a great thing yet. Company and two kids that just came from an orphanage equals chaos for sure. Well, it does in our house anyway. So please don't get your feelings hurt if you are turned away at the door. It is just too much at this point and no fun for any of us. We are all learning how to get along and make this work. The after math of visitors is just way too much to handle.
Ok, so on to Saturday. Saturday was good. We swam, and played out back for most of the day. I can not remember any real mishaps. So we write this one in the books ;)
Sunday was another story. We went to church and that was great. Church is always great :). After church, my parents were coming over to celebrate my dads birthday. They got here around 3 or so and John was in time out. He was crying and cursing us out in Russian banging on the wall, picking at the paint on the wall, picking at his shoes......that, was no fun. So, he sat in time out, and he sat till he stopped screaming at us and cursing at us, and could sit there being good in his time out. Then, when he was ready, the timer started. He didn't want to miss out on any of the fun, so as soon as he saw all the food, and fun going on, he was cooperative. He wants control. He manipulates us for sure. His behavior has to stop. It is no good for anyone.
By Sunday night, I was beat. Beat to the core. Just wanted to go away. Far away. With a book and some chocolate. And maybe a glass of wine, and I don't even drink lol. Finally, Monday, a school day. Now, I feel sorry for the teacher. I think Carson's teacher may be overwhelmed :/ I feel really bad. I just wish they would test them already and put them where they need to be. I know more and more each day that there is NO way I could ever give them what they need in a school system. NO WAY!! Am I against homeschooling??! No!! But these kids need special attention that I can not give them. And I am not talking about hugs and kisses. They get that from us. We teach them too....I work with them all the time. Coloring, their colors, writing, letters, numbers, math, all kinds of things. But still, NO WAY could I give them what they will get in school. Even now, the boys are learning how to socialize and function in public. I am so looking forward to them being tested and evaluated. Can't wait to start on some sort of program that is best for them. Now, do I like everything about public school??? aaahhhhh, no....not even close. But, it is what it is and it will help them.
Ok, so now we are at today. Well, today was the worst. The worst by far. And I wasn't even here when it all started. I am not sure what happened, but I will say that it always happens when I am gone. Am I blaming my husband, no!!! I am just saying that I have no idea what happened but it was a mess when I got home.
UGH!!! I am drained. I am so drained. My husband needs to go back to work, the kids all need to be in school full time and I need a brake. Ha! Sound selfish? Yes it does!! And I am okay with it for a while. Maybe a week.....just having the days to myself to clean and cook and bake and run around getting stuff the kids need. Now, that is my kind of week :) the way it use to be. But it isn't like it use to be, we have added two more to the mix, and they have lots of needs. Where we prepared?? No, we were not. Did we think everything was going to be great and easy and wonderful?? NOOOO!! But I just wish I knew about the needs Carson had, and some of the other stuff that is going on. So, I am here to share with you, not to scare you, but to share with you, so that you can be prepared to go over and save a life. It is hard, it is not easy. It is tough, it is draining at times. I don't know if I have had any joy at this point. But my life is not for myself. It is to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. It is to give Him the glory, to do his work. That is what I am here for. So, as hard as my days have been, as much as I just want to run away at times, I know, it is what He wants me to do. I CAN and DO find peace in that. It is my only peace at this time. I know God will not forsake me. I know that He will put His arms around me and hold me in my time of need. That is how I make it through. Through Him. It is all about Him, and I love Him.

First day of school

2011-08-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

The boys had a good first day of school :)
When we got there, I walked them to their classrooms to meet their teachers. I had met them yesterday and just love them both. They were both aware of the boys skin condition, and had talked to the kids in the class already about John and Carson coming. That made me feel so much better knowing that the teachers were aware, and that the kids knew the boys were coming and a little about their skin. So, I dropped off Carson with his teacher, and off to Johns class. She was on her way out, so John put his stuff on his desk and went out to play with Sarah till it was time to go to class. I made it back to the office, told them I was leaving and if they needed me to just call. Ha, it was hard to leave them there knowing that they had never been in a classroom before and didn't really know what to expect.
I got a text from Johns teacher in the afternoon. She said he seemed to be doing good, but went to the bathroom a lot. When I went to pick the boys up after school, Carson's teacher said the same thing. I was not surprised because they try and do that here or wherever we go for that matter. We limit their bathroom time and go with them. They like to get into everything, or put a whole roll of toilet paper down the toilet or pee on the floor, so we are very careful of there bathroom time. We feel it is a form of control that they want to have and we just don't go there. They both have had problems with pooping in the pants, so we made them clean their own pants and guess what. Hasn't happened since ;) yes, they like to manipulate/control as much as they can, and when they find out that we don't work that way, they stop the behavior. Well, that is how it has worked with us anyway. Both boys had bathroom issues when we first got them, and on a scale from one to ten, ten being the worst, things are about a 3 at this point. When we first got the boys, on a scale from one to ten, ten being worst, they were a 20 ;) big improvement. Looking forward to the day they can just go by themselves, and it's not a game.
Carson fell and skinned his knee. Nothing major, and his teacher handled it. All is good. I picked them up, picked up the other kids, and home bound we went. Guess what, while we were pulling into the driveway, a song was on and John started singing it. IN ENGLISH....Emily, Tyler, Sarah and I just turned around, looked at him, with our mouths to the ground. Wow, and it was a Christian song of course :) God is good....Loving my Lord so much, finding peace in him.
Got home, washed up, had a snack, Carson down for his afternoon nap, John and the other kids doing their homework, laundry in the washer, Charlie watching Thomas, Garrett watching UP....God is good, and all is well in the Cannell house.......at least for tonight ;) Praising Jesus! Blessings on you all tonight......

The boys first day of school

2011-08-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Boys first day of school :) They were so excited this morning. John was just about to jump out of his skin. Carson had no idea what was going on, but he was happy and smiling. We explained everything to the boys over the past few days. I met the teachers yesterday, and love them both. John will more than likely stay in the class he is in (3rd grade), Carson will more than likely be moved at some point. I am excited to find out what avenue to take to help Carson.
They had their physicals yesterday and 4 shots to get them started. In four weeks, they will get another set of shots. This will go on over the next couple years till they get caught up. We are getting a referral to Stanford, and getting referrals for all their needs :) I will update tonight to let you know how their first day of school went.......

Getting back on Track :)

2011-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! I miss you all, but enjoyed my family so much this weekend. The boys did good over the weekend, we had our ups and downs (to be expected ;) but all in all, it was a busy/good weekend. Tyler's birthday was Friday. Happy Birthday son!! We let him have a facebook for his 13th birthday. He is so happy :) haha....my friend Karyn Bussman brought us dinner Friday night...thanks Karyn for the yummy dinner. Later my parents came over with an icecream cake :) yum yum yum!!!! And they also brought Dave Wongs....ha.....we ate so good ....I think I may have gained back the 15pounds I lost while in Ukraine ;) hahahaha....need to do some Zumba with my daughter Ashley Jeffery.
Saturday I took Emily, Tyler and Sarah to Vine and Branches because Tyler wanted a new bible. I just love that he asked for a bible for his birthday :) Spent way too much there like always, but what a great way to spend money. I just love that place :)

The kids spent time swimming, riding bikes, playing and helping around the house. Carson loves to ride this bike.....

Carson loves to ride this bike.....

John is going to get his own bike for Christmas....ssshhhh, don't tell him ;)

The cat was having fun too ;)

Garrett was not having a good time :( he wanted the bike that Sarah was riding :/

Charlie loves baseball.....

Church went great again. Carson likes to rock out when we worship, and the boys do great while we listen to Pastor Perry Kallis teaching us about Gods word. I love my church family....have I said that lately ;) well, I do. And I so enjoyed meeting Polly Schmidt in person. I love you Polly :)
I got the boys some new learning books. Learning colors, shapes, spelling, letters, numbers, all kinds of stuff. So cool, so fun. And guess what......??!!! I signed the boys up for school on Monday.....well all the kids started last Monday and I got the registration forms but I wanted to make a few phone calls to make sure I was putting them in the right grade/place/school.....ok, I have no idea what I am doing lol....but, I told them our concerns and about the boys skin, and anywho, I got a phone call this afternoon and the boys start on Thursday :) so excited, you should have seen Johns face.....I don't think he believes us lol.....I am so excited for them. I could never give them what they need in the learning area of life. I mean, I can teach them to add, and their letters and numbers and whatnot, but when it comes to other stuff, and learning English, well, I think someone else is way more qualified to help them then me. And, Carson will need some special attention and I don't know the first thing about how to help him. Yes, we have things in play, and he will be evaluated in the next week to a month, and we have also called Valley Mountain Center and they are also going to make an appointment to come out and evaluate him also. I am so excited for the boys. They are really going to grow with all this love and support. Praise God for the wonderful people helping us help our boys.

See you in a couple of days :)

2011-08-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I just wanted you all to know that I am taking a break this weekend. I just need to catch my breath. I am on overload and need to get things organized and in order before Donnie goes back to work. I also wanted to let you all know that Andrea wrote me a private email. She apologized for her words and felt very bad about how she hurt my feelings. She told me a little about her life, and why she felt the way she did. I would like to ask all of you to join me in praying for her and lifting her up to our Lord for peace and forgiveness to those who have also hurt her. I forgave her long ago, knowing that she must have been very hurt in such a way to feel the way she did. I don't know her, but I hope she knows she has a friend in me if she ever needs one :)
The boys skin looks amazing. Carson doesn't have one single bandage as of yesterday. John only has 3 and one is because he plays rough and fell on his back, typical boy ;). I wish I would have taken pictures of them before so we could compare, but I guess that doesn't really matter. All that matters is that they are getting healthy. Carson is almost done with his antibiotic and he doesn't have any more infections. John is infection free too! As for the mental state, I think they are doing okay. We do lessons everyday, and they both improve everyday. They sleep through the night, thank goodness, so if I get to bed at a decent hour, at least I am getting my sleep. The weather has been perfect over the past week. Yay for that!!! We have an appointment with the boys pediatrician on Wednesday the 10th for both boys and will be able to move forward with Johns procedure. He needs it so bad so that he can swallow. We are looking for a local dentist that has experience with eb. The closest we know of someone is in San Fran and that is just too far for us to go back and forth. We may have to do it however, so if any of you are close and know of someone in this area, pleas let us know. Blessing to you all, I will talk to you all soon :)

Thank you

2011-08-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for all the emails, messages, and phone calls you all have given us. We again are amazed at the support and encouragement you all have given us. We are blessed once again by our Lord Jesus Christ.
I read each and every one of the emails, and am trying to answer them all. Please give me some time to get back to you, I have been reading them all but just need a little time to answer back. It may take me a week, but I WILL answer each of you. I am so encouraged by your words. So blessed by your love. We feel your prayers and know that we are in the hands of God. The boys are doing great. John really needs his procedure so he can swallow, please pray for that to come about fast with our insurance and the doctors to accommodate his need. I'm off to start my day. Gods Blessings on you all......

found a couple more

2011-08-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures I came across. This is when we were still in Ukraine...

Back to school they go....

2011-08-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

All the kids were so excited to go back to school today :) they love school and then again, they love their time off. Emily is in the 10th grade this year and a cheerleader. They haven't got their uniforms yet this year, so they couldn't wear them on the first day of school, bummer.....

Tyler is in the 8th grade. He loves school and doesn't have to work real hard to get good grades. He helps the others with their homework sometimes. Maybe he will be a big help to John and Carson :) they both love their big brother.

Sarah is in the 6th grade and went to a new school this year. She was nervous, but when she got there, she knew a couple girls. She said her teacher is a Christian and talks about God :) she said it seems like the whole school is Christian. I think we are going to love this school.

Charlie is in Kindergarten. He was so excited. He said the funniest thing this morning.....he said, "this is real, it is really happening, it isn't a dream and I'm not dead, it's for real" lol. I guess he had been dreaming about going to school. This kid keeps us laughing :)

I am so blessed with all my kiddos :) they make me smile from ear to ear. After school, we went to Target and bought all their school supplies. They love doing that.

John wants to go to school so bad. He is going to be so excited when his time comes, and he is so smart. I worked with them today. John wrote his ABC's and his name and his numbers to 10. Tomorrow he will try to do it without an example. He also did a picture color page by number. Carson colored a picture, and used different colors and didn't scribble. I showed him to use brown for the hair, and red for the shirt and so on. He did so much better today with staying in the lines. He also drew circles, squares and triangles. He could only do scribble a week ago. Didn't even know how to hold a crayon. Today, he did great. Tomorrow we will practice again. I also had them sit in front of the TV and watch Blues Clues and Barney. I want them to learn English as much as they can before school starts for them. They don't like TV, so it was a challenge to get them to sit and watch, in fact, they fell asleep lol....but if I can get them to watch TV for an hour a day, I think it will help along with all of us talking to them in only English. Things went really well today. We had dinner brought to us, and the boys loved it. So did we :) We have the best friends and support group. I love you guys so much. When we were at Target today, I bought a bunch of workbooks for K-3rd grade. We are going to do lessons while the other kids are in school. It worked really well today and gave them structure. They do so much better with structure than just running around not knowing what to do next. Looking forward to tomorrow and it adventures. I will try and remember to take picture. I sometimes forget, and posts are so much more real with a picture. Gods Blessings to you all......

2011-08-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to church and it was great to be back and see everyone. The boys were wonderful. Carson would dance in his chair with the worship music, and then when we sang, he would sing along. Well, not English words but he would just sing with us. It was very cute. We can't stay for Sunday School at this point because the boys can't go into their own class yet. It will be a while for that. So we stayed for first service and the other kids stayed for their Sunday School classes. The boys, Donnie and I went to the grocery store to get lunch stuff and then home. I went back to pick up the kids from Sunday School and when we got home, everyone went swimming.

John loves the pool :)

Carson loves the pool. He didn't really leave the step, but I think he had a good time :)

Sarah and Emily :)

John and Charlie in the spa <3

Charlie was showing off his underwater swimming skills he learned while we were in Ukraine.

The kids had a blast! Nana and Papa came over too. Then we ate hot dogs,hamburgers, homemade salsa and chips, Tatar tots, and the boys loved it all. The family missed Donnie's Birthday while we were in Ukraine, so I bought an ice cream cake and we celebrated his birthday. Bed time was early. We are still getting over jet lag and the kids started school today so off to bed we all went. It was a great day....I will update on the kids first day of school later tonight. Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers. I know that satan will use people to hurt us. I know that if I wasn't doing His work then satan wouldn't be so mad and so after us. I pray for poor Andrea and her child. I pray for how she must be hurting to want to hurt someone else. I hope you all pray for those who think they have the right to post hateful comments on peoples blogs or in life. I don't know what makes people think that is okay. I can only pray for them. There is nothing I could say that can change who they are or what they say. Please join me in praying for them and lets move onto how Great and Almighty our God is and how the boys are doing and the progress they are making each and every day. You will all really like my post tonight :) The boys are going to go to public school, but until we can get them in, I am going to do my best to teach at home. They are learning fast and they are so excited to be learning. You should see them smile................

These are just extra pics that we took in Ukraine after we got the boys.....

HA!!!

He loves the water, little fish ;)

I am praying

2011-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

This morning I had reached a point of enough is enough with the negative comments. I spoke my mind and I am not ashamed of it. I removed my post just so it wll all end. I have put on moderation so we can control what is said from here on out. We just spent six weeks in hell-on-earth and we are dealing with not only physically handicapped children but one who not only has 'orphanage behavior' but is emotionally disturbed. Anyone who pretends to know half of what we have and are going through is delusional. If you have gone through this then you do know. Anyone who really knows us realizes that we are giving them more love than they have ever seen before. They respond to it and they are returning the affection. Yes, Carson does act evil sometimes. He otherwise is a 3 year-old in an 8 year-old body. He has been taught nothing by the orphanage and he not only has mental delay, he has mental issues that need professional help that we will get for him. To say he acts evil sometimes is not condemming him or saying we don't love him as some of you have implied. My wife pretty much does the blogging here and I just put in my two-cents worth from time to time. But when she is personally attacked and meant to be hurt I WILL NOT keep my mouth shut and I WILL say how I feel. Any man that loves his wife will defend her. I wouldn't even consider telling someone else how to raise their children or tell them that I know better than they do when I haven't personally been there. All I can say is that it is in God's hands and I am praying for those of you who do not understand the truth.

The boys :)

2011-07-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

A lot of you have asked how the boys and the other kids are adjusting. They are doing good. Carson is coming around, he has a bowel problem and we are going to have that checked out when he goes to his doc appointment. I think he has the same issue as others with eb have so he is using MiraLax and it seems to be working. We haven't noticed a problem in this area with John, but if he does, we will be sure to have him on it too.
They seem to be doing fine, but I have never done this before so I am only going by what we see. They love to run around the house laughing and chasing each other. They love to go outside and ride bikes and scooters and trikes and skateboards. The like to draw and color. They don't sit for a long time doing these things, but they enjoy doing them. John LOVES the water. He loves to swim and would never get out of the pool lol. They both LOVE to eat lol....and would eat all day if we let them. This boundary is hard for me because I don't want them to be hungry so when they ask for food, I just want to give it to them. but I know I can't. It really makes me feel bad. John wants so bad to start school when the other kids do tomorrow :( they have to get all their shots first. They have never had any at all. I don't know how long it takes for them to do all they have to do to place the kids in a program, so in the mean time, we are going to have school at home. I am no teacher but I can surely teach them their colors, shapes, a few words and whatnot.
The other kids LOVE the boys. John really loves Tyler and Sarah. Carson loves all of us. He is always hugging and kissing our checks and rubbing our arms. He loves to sit on my lap no matter what I am doing. If I am sitting, he is right there ;)
The older girls are in and out with work and their friends but when they are here, they are adjusting as well. Jaime is also here. She has been so much help with the boys wounds. Sometimes I am not sure if a blister needs to be bandaged or just to let it be open. She always knows and helps so much. I will be sad when she leaves :(
Donnie and I are doing ok. There is a lot to still be done. Things do not end just because your kids are home. That is when the REAL journey begins. We are learning, the kids are learning, the boys are learning, but all in all, we are all good. Things are settling in and are learning about each other. John knows who Jesus is and talked to us about Christmas. He wants a bike for Christmas ;) He can communicate with us through google translate. Carson can't communicate through translator. He just says yes to everything we ask him on it. How do we know you ask? We have asked him questions that he would have to say no to and he just says yes. He does talk to John, but John doesn't always know what he is saying and we can tell that Carson doesn't always understand what John is saying. We have a long road ahead, but we are encouraged by his little progress each day. Oh, Carson drew circles yesterday. This might seem silly to you, but it is great :) He would only scribble before, and he also tries to stay in the lines when he colors. It is so cool to see him progress everyday. He can go into the bathroom by himself now and sit on the toilet. I still need to wipe him but everything else he can do :) very cool to see him doing these things.
John seems like he has always been here. Now don't get me wrong, they touch everything and anything. We have had to baby proof the house so to speak, so that they don't hurt themselves. But all in all, they are learning.
Well, that is about it for today. I am off to get ready for church. I am so excited I can not even tell you. I need to hear Gods work, worship with my family, and just sit in a holy place. Love to all.

This is my blog

2011-07-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

You are welcome not to follow my blog if you do not like what I say. These are my feelings and my words. There are so many families that blog and have told me that they get really nasty negative mean things said to them. Do people really think this helps? You do NOT walk in our shoes. I would never judge someone else's situation. I don't know their situation. People can have evil in them, children too. Satan can control people and I have seen it. So, if there is a way to block people, please someone let me know. Our family is dealing with enough, we don't need some hateful person telling us what they think we are doing or saying is wrong or that the boys deserve better than what we are giving them. Who in the world do people think they are? Why do people think in any way that they know a situation in any way without even meeting a person (child). I am now going to let this go. God give me peace in this. This is Satan at work again. I will not let the enemy get to me. That is just what he wants.......ha, he loses again.......we are at peace in what we do and say. God thank you for your peace and knowledge to know what is best for our kids and to know when to reach out for help and to say how we feel. Thank you to all of you that help us and support us. We love you all for your kindness and support.

About John

2011-07-30T06:09:00.001-07:00

John is 9. He wears a size 7. He seems very typical, as typical as a little boy from an orphanage can be. He acts like a 7 year old. He can read and write. I don't know what he is saying, but he seems very smart. He doesn't seem to have orphanage behavior. He loves to eat, and will try everything (after he smells it ;) He does "test" us. He is learning the boundries. He likes to push it a bit more than Carson does when it come to stepping over the boundries. He loves the kids and he loves to swim. We talk to him via translator on google at times. He says he understands English but can't speak it. He also told us Carson doesn't understand or speak English. He wants to go to school. He likes to sleep in, we have to wake him in the morning. He craves attention and likes to hang on everyone. He is a rough and tough little boy, loves to run, wants a bike, doesn't much like T.V. Has a cute laugh. He is learning how to have a family, and LOVES it. Always wants to be included in everything. Doesn't seem overwhelmed at all. Loves to be outside. Learning bathroom skills (flushing the toilet, putting the seat down, closing the door when using it). His teeth hurt him on one side. He only chews on one side. He will have dental work done first as well as his esophagus and hands. He is worse off in these areas than Carson. All in all, he is doing well, and knows we are his parents and where he is and what has happened. He misses his friends but doesn't want to write them. He loves his new life and looks forward to each days adventures. We had a little bit of a rocky start, but as soon as we got here, he just started fitting in. He always wants to be involved in everything that is going on (we have to set some more boundries for him in this way ). I know he will be such a huge help with Carson once he gets settled into his new life. God has sent him with Carson for a reason, to help us heal Carson. We are grateful for these two boys and still in awe that God choose us for this amazing journey. I may have to remind myself of that from time to time, but I know that my life is to glorify God, and that is what we plan to do.

about Carson

2011-07-30T06:08:00.001-07:00

Carson is 8 years old and wears a 5t. Crazy! He is smaller than Charlie and acts like a 3 year old. He has orphanage behavior. We are going to contact the school district to help us evaluate him as well as his ped. We had to shave his head to get to his wounds and treat them. He gets treated baths everyday and bandage changes. He loves to eat, and like all foods. He is taking juice plus (and loves it). He loves his brothers and sisters, but no real connection to anyone. He would go up to anyone and treat them like family. He doesn't like to take naps, but it is best for everyone lol. He rocks when he is falling asleep or when he doesn't get his way. He is learning that not everything is his, and there are boundries. He likes to use stickers and to color. He is learning how to use the toilet properly. We have him on meds to help him have regular bowel movements and antibiotic to help with any infections he may have. He will need to go to a special dentist to fix all his teeth. He has never brushed so you can only imagine what a mess that is. He will have surgery on his esophagus to reopen it so he can swallow easier. He will have surgery on his hands so he has use of his fingers. We are not sure how much he understands in his language or ours. He only speaks Russian. He doesn't really try to speak English at this point but seems to be starting to understand some things we are saying to him. Sarah really loves him and is a big help to us with both boys. I don't really know if he understands what has happened or if he just knows he isn't where he use to be. It is hard to fall in love with someone that has spit in your face and slapped you and seems to be evil at times. but we are trying and know we will fall in love with him in time. This is his home, he is our son, we are his parents and his only hope. Please keep us in your prayers, we will be needing them in the days and months to come. God Blessing over all of you.....

The trip home

2011-07-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a long trip home that is for sure. We left the apartment at about 3:00am on Wednesday morning the 27th of July, got to the airport, said goodbye to our amazing Alex, and boarded the plane. We left about 5:30am, the first flight into Germany was about 2 1/2 hours, where we had a 5 hour layover, then onto the next plane for an 8 1/2 hour flight into DC, with about another 3 or 4 hour layover, and off to Chicago with a 1 1/2 hour flight then about a 2 hour layover and boarded the next plane. We boarded, the captain came on and said that there was something wrong with one of the engines so we had to wait for it to be fixed. That took about 1 1/2 hours. We pulled out on the runway and the storms were too strong so we had to sit another hour and wait til they passed. We sleep for most of that 2 hour delay and then off we went. Carson and I slept most of this flight if not all of it. We landed at 2:20am and we still had a couple friends waiting for us. Wow, I thought for sure we would be walking home lol but my family and friends stuck it out, thanks you God for such amazing friends and family. We feel so loved. I will post a video once I figure out how to get it off facebook and onto here. I will update about the boys soon. There is so much to tell, and so much advice we need in this time. The boys did great during the flight and layovers. I was very proud of them. I can only imagine what fear they must have felt to be going so far away on planes that they have never seen before with people they hardly know. They did great considering. This part of our journey is over, and a new one begins. We are so excited to see what God has planed for us with these two boys. I am sure it will be an adventure :)

Donations

2011-07-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been emailing me and asking me where or if you can still donate for the boys medical needs. Yes, that would be amazing :) the best place to donate is our paypal that you can find here on our blog. Some of you have also said that you have donated on Reeces Rainbow and yes we still get that too, for now, but when we get home, that option will stop. The best way to donate is to go straight to our paypal account, and if you don't have a way to use paypal, you can send it to us directly. Leave a message with your email address, or email me and I can send you our address. Some of you have also asked if you could send supplies. We are in deep need of supplies. We are going through what we have very fast. Also again send me an email and I can send you my address. Thanks you so much for loving our boys. They thank you too. Their skin is already looking better. We have them both on antibiotic and ointments and baths everyday and bandage changing everyday. We can not change bandages today, we have to wait til tonight because we only have enough for one more change and they need if for the flight home. God has blessd us with each one of you. You are all blessing to us. I can never be able to put into words just how much this all means to us. For you all to just start donating again because God has called you too!! Wow, amazing is our God. Blessed our we. Amazed and humbled of the love you all have for our boys. We are forever grateful as are they.

my saddness, you need to know.....~

2011-07-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was all about medicals and visas. Today, we pick up the visas and pack for home. I can not wait to get home, in my bed, where people speak and I can understand them, where I can read the signs, go to church and worship, call my friends, text, use a shower with water that isn't yellow, drink water from the faucet, have a dryer, dishwasher, microwave, drive my car, go to Target, eat food I love, clean my house, kiss my kids, pay bills, cook dinner and pray at the table ( no one prays here), us my AC, smell clean air and feel the Lord around me. Oh how I miss these things and so much more, Oh how spoiled we Americans are and guess what, I AM TOTALLY OKAY WITH IT, TOTALLY OKAY WITH THE LIFE I HAVE!!!!! We will need more than bandages and money, we need prayer, and lots of it. Kids from orhphanages are just that. They have no idea what a normal life is....they don't know how to act in public, they call everyone mama and papa. They will go up to anyone and ask them to buy them something they want, and they want everything. They ask if everything is theirs. They don't understand. They don't obey, they don't know when to stop, they will eat all day if you let them. They don't take care of anything. Nothing means anything to them. They have no respect. They have to learn all of this. Some of you may beg to differ with me, and that is okay. If you have adopted and you didn't get any of this. Consider yourself lucky. Because we have all of this. Did I think this was going to be easy? No! But did I know it was going to be this hard? again, No! Can I handle it? Sometimes I wonder. But this is one thing that I know. I can only handle it through Christ. He is the only one who can get me through. These days are now filled with stress and crying. That is what it is right now. I miss my life, my kids, my mom and dad, my church family. I miss all of these things and so much more. I miss seeing animals treated with respect. I miss feeling and seeing God in everything all around me. There is so much sadness and satan around me. I didn't expect this. I didn't know I would feel satan. I hate it. I feel deep in darkness. It is scary. I need to get out of here. We leave in less than 24 hours and it can't come soon enough.
In all this darkness there is some light. We met some really great people here. Yesteday at the boys medicals, we were waiting at a park and there were 3 ladies sitting on a bench. Carson was going up the stairs of the slide, and wouldn't go down so she went over and grabbed him under his arms, I went running over saying no no (in Russian) and she stopped. I showed her his skin and she felt bad, but that was the start of us talking, well, trying to talk. We talked for over an hour. One of the ladies called her daughter that speaks English, and she translated for us. They were so excited that we were adopting the boys and that we were Christians. Two of th women are moving to America this year. They are getting their visas and moving to New York. Good for them. They said they want to leave this country. I don't blame them. I do too. And I can' wait.
All of this, doesn't mean we won't be back someday. I want to bring the boys back where they came from. I want to come back and get that little 11 year old girl and let her see what a real life is. In the orphanages, no matter how loving and clean they seem, they are not real. These kids need a real life.
I will tell you, Carson is going to be very hard. There are times I don't want to do it. But we are their only hope. Will my life change? Huge, it will be a huge change. Will I be able to ever leave my house alone again, maybe not for a while, but some of you better come and friendnap me. I will need all of you to help me through this. Please don't leave us now when we get home. I will need you all more now than we did when we were fundraising. This is hard. Long and hard. The minutes seem like hours. The hours like days. What I have seen, has changed my life like NOTHING else has. The little things we all take for granted, I will stop and think before I complain about anything or my kids fighting, oh how I want to hear Sarah and Tyler argue lol.....no really, you don't understand the last few days, nothing happy to write about. Nothing happy to say. If it wasn't for my wonderful husband, I wouldn't not be standing. He is my rock. God knew I needed this man. Let us see what He has in store for us today....I hope there will be some joy. I miss the joy, laughter of happy people. I will not miss the smoke, the smells, the food, the uglyness of this place. I see no beauty. This all makes me so sad to feel this way. Please, these are my feelings. If you don't agree, that is fine, keep it to yourself. Write about your own feelings if you don't like mine I really can't and don't want to hear any negative comments here. I am not in a happy place so I need prayer, not negativity. I am so sorry to write about my saddness, but I am not telling the truth if I don't. I am just pretending all is well if I don't share the feelings I have been having these last few days. I love you guys for your support and prayers. You have no idea how much.

Finally, Carsons Gotcha day :)

2011-07-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Carsons Gotcha day was Friday the 22nd. We got up, feed John, (he was so excited that he was going to see his brother :), and took off for Carsons region. We were all so excited for so many reasons. First, the boys were going to see each other for the first time in over 3 years. This was by far my favorite part of this whole journey. Seeing their little faces light up when they got to see each other again. And as you can see by the pictures, I was right :)

It takes about 3 hours to get to Carsons region. When we first got there, we had running around to do, paperwork stuff ;) Then, we finally got to go to the orphanage. I had butterflies I was so excited. We pulled up and some of the kids and caretakers were outside in the play yard. They were all saying, Vanya, Vanya...that is what everyone, including us, call John here. It is going to be hard to call him John when we get home. As we pulled up, Alex told us to get our cameras ready. I think it's so cool that he seemed excited too. We stepped out of the car, and all the women were still calling his name, Vanya, Vanya, haha. He was all, what and who the heck are all of you lol. He went into the play yard, and they told us that Carson was inside and they were getting him ready. When he came out, and by the pictures I am sure you will agree, I was all, ummm, what were they getting him ready for?? He had on a girls straw flower hat, some spiderman underwear, and a tank....um, hello lol, we are taking pictures here lol....he came running out yelling Vanya, Vanya...I could barley keep it together. You can see the video for all the details and emotions of the reunion :)

Then, we went into the directors office, signed some papers, and off we went to dress Carson for his big day. He was leaving the orphanage forever. I really don't think he had any idea what was happening. I mean, he knew we were Mama and Papa, but they call everyone that, and he knew he was leaving with us, but I think he thought he was really coming back, and he knew he was going to America, but I don't think he really even knows just where or what that means, for all he knew he was going to the store lol.
We had left with Carson one day already that week so he already had clothes that they promised they would put in a bag for him. Well, they didn't, and I had to go through all the piles of clothes to find them. I mean, I had other clothes with me, but I wanted his other clothes back lol....they did find them and all was good. On the way out, they were all crying and hugging us. Alex was getting mad because we didn't have much time to get the last thing done ha. So he had to step in and break up the party. The women just wouldn't let us leave lol. We got in the car, and they ALL followed us out. I don't even think there was anyone left inside with the kids lol....I will post the video soon ;) Then, off we went, both boys with us, so excited to be together, we were just beside ourselves that it was almost over and they boys would be coming home with us.
For the first, I don't know, maybe half an hour, things were fine. Then, they were playing around, and Carson hit John in the mouth. Blood everywhere :/, so, I had to get firm, already. Then, Carson decides to throw up all over. Wow, this is not starting very well lol. We had to pull over several times to let him out. Yuck. So, we had him sit in front with Donnie. Yes, there are no rules here in "U", well, for driving anyway. He didn't get sick again after that. Yay, because I hate throw up ;)
We drove the 3 hours home, and by the time we got here is was getting late and a storm was coming in. A crazy storm at that. Lighting and thunder louder than I had ever heard it before. Must be something that always happens because the boys didn't even react to it. We gave them baths, feed them McDonalds, and gave them some melitonin to get a good nights sleep. It was a great day all around, the boys really love each other, but also get on each others nerves, just like our kids back home so they should fit in just perfect ;)
It is Sunday night for us now, sorry I have been so behind on blogging and posting. It is so much easier to keep up than to catch up let me tell you. We again want to thank all of you for your continued prays, support and donations. We wouldn't be able to give these boys a home and proper care without you all....It is so great to see how God has worked through this journey. I am amazed everyday of how many of you pray for us and donate to the boys medical needs. There are just no words.

Our Amazing God! The Blessings continue

2011-07-23T02:36:00.001-07:00

Ha, just woke up and saw all the comments on my post about some other amazing God news. I was so tired last night, and overwhelmed by peoples love, and I wanted to word it all just right. I will try....
You all have been so amazingly supportive in so many ways. I know a lot of you pray for us daily, and we feel it, I promise we do. Sometimes we don't feel like we are deserving of things, and it's then I realized that it's your prayers that are seeing us through and blessing us, just like this one I'm about to tell you.......When we first met Carson, like I had said before, it took us back a step. It is hard to say that, because a lot of you have deep feelings for him, even before we met him. He is so mentally delayed, and it's not just that. There is some kind of mental issue too. I don't know what it is. I can't put my finger on it, and it is only sometimes that we see it in him. Well, we always see it in him, but sometimes it is more than others. And Johns skin is a lot worse than the pictures we saw. It doesn't matter to us of these things. I mean, altering our lives, to fit theirs is going to be difficult at times, but we are on Gods journey and that is that. No questions asked. Both boys will need a couple surgeries of some kind. And we are going through the bandages faster than I thought we would. I have prayed and thought about the expense, but not in detail, or adamant about it. Well, one or some of you must be doing that because a few days ago, we started receiving donations again. I am just blown away. Did I say something that led you in this way? I hope no one thinks that they have to help with this, but I know God leads us to do things. Well, we had a few hundred donated and then last night, someone donated $1,000! I had to have Donnie come in and look at the email because I couldn't believe it. So taken by all these wonderful people that love our boys. And the donations haven't stopped. We got another donation this morning. I am feeling so blessed, like God new our need, lol, well of course He knew our need, ha, silly me ;) I hope this amazing God news doesn't disappoint you all?! I think this is amazing news to share the generousity of others and the love for these two boys that God, and only God could have brought to us. We will for sure be needing daily prayer for so many things. So many things.....patience is one of them lol. Changing our lives, to fit the lives of these two boys, the lives of our kids at home, our extended family and friends as well as the changes that these boys will be going through. We love each one of you so much. Now, Donnie said it was his turn for the computer, ha, so when he is done, I will post more pics, the videos, and Carsons Gotcha day, and, the reunion of the boys. Gods Blessings upon you all.

John's Gotcha Day!!

2011-07-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

First I just want to let you all know how amazing your support is. I can't believe that we are still getting donations that are going to help with the boys bandages. You are all truely blessing to us. We again, stand amazed at how God has put it on your hearts to help us and the boys. I don't know how you all knew I was starting to worry, after seeing their little bodies, they were going to need so much medical attention. Again, stand amazed!

We left on Wednedsay the 20th to head to Johns region........quick side note: I know I have confused all of you about his name, so I am going to try and clear that up. We named him Ivan John Cannell, with the intention to call him Ivan, but John has just seemed to stick, and when we got to his orphanage on Thursday, we asked him if he wanted to be called Ivan or John, and he said John, so John it is :)
Now, on with the story....we stopped in Odessa to meet up with Alexs' (our facilitator) wife Julia and have dinner with her. I love our team. They are like family not people that are working for us and the boys.

This is Julia :) and her sweet daughter that was also adopted years ago :) they make me smile.....

This is the crazy bathroom with a glass floor...............

The toilet was square............

..........but it was a cool bathroom ;)

We got to his region very late, got to our hotel room and jumped into bed to get up again the next morning very early to run around for hours getting stuff done. First, we went to Johns region, talked to the director and gave my sweet friend a gift.

She is 11 and we fell in love with her. We will have to see where God takes us with this one ;)

They got John dressed for us to take him to get his passport and some other things done, and again like Carsons day, it took all day, but we got it done, bought some treats for his friends back at the orphanage, and went back to say his final goodbyes.

Us waiting at a park for Alex to return. He is always telling us to stay put and he will be right back lol....but it always takes him a very long time to come back ;) what is he doing lol lol......we love you Alex!!

John and his buddies

A lady that seemed to love him very much, she cryed as we left, but I think she didn't like us much ;)

This is a nurse and the director

Then out the doors we went...

They all just came out with us lol

ha, I had no idea they were going to walk us all the way out, I thought they would stop at the door...

But nope, I thought they might even hop in the car, how loved is this boy :)

So off we went with our new son John. It was so surreal I tell you. God is so good and I felt Him the whole day. I love you All Mighty God.

After an 8 hour drive back to "K", we didn't get home til like 2:30am or something like that and John was very tired. When we got home at that late hour, the elevator didn't work so we had to climb 6 flights of stairs. Wow, with two suitcases and a tired, and scared little boy, by the time we got into our apartment, he was in tears. He just kept saying something in Ukraine over and over again and he held onto me so tight, so Donnie called Alex and had him talk to him. After that, he calmed down, I sat on the couch til he fell asleep (at 4am :/ ) and then off to bed I went. Well, it wasn't half an hour and he was tapping on me that he had to go to the toilet, so I took him, then put him back on the couch, and he fell asleep again, to wake again in another half hour, so I put him on the couch again and I am guessing he fell asleep because I didn't see him again til morning when we had to leave to go get Carson......yes, Carsons Gotcha day coming up tomorrow........thanks for following our blog, and loving us. We feel all your love and prays. God Bless~

Our day with Carson

2011-07-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our day started at 4am. Got up, sweating, took a shower, I am sure I even sweat in the shower lol. We got ready to go, packed a bag for Carson because we are getting his passport pictures taken, and off we went. Carsons region takes 3 hours to get there. The first thing we did was go to the courthouse and pick up the adoption documents. Then we headed to Carsons orphanage. When we got there, all the kids were outside playing and hanging out.Here are some of the beautiful children that we love so much at Carsons orphanage :)

Charity :) love her

They took Carson in for a bath, and dressed him in the clothes we brought. He looked so cute :) And off we went to get some more documents and his passport. Well, Carson was so excited to get into the "machine" that is what they call a car here. But after about a minute, he was not having such a good time. He was sitting between Donnie and I, and had a look of fear on his face the whole time. He started to cough, and I thought for sure he was going to throw up. Well, I think he just talked himself out of if, but he does not do well with car rides. I hope that changes, because we spend a lot of time in the car back at home :/ He never threw up, but we did have to pull over once and then we bought a bag for him. I think he did a little but it didn't come out, if you know what I mean ;)
So, we went to get their birth certificates, and that took forever lol...it was so hot and we were sitting in the car waiting for Alex to come back and it seemed like he was gone for hours. Carson was all over the car. Then we went to some other places, I don't really know what all we were doing, we just sign where they tell us too ;) Finally, we were at the passport place, and got Carsons passport. Thank God too because Carson was really giving us a run for our money let me tell you. I'm not ready to go into detail about how the day went, but just know, Carson has been the oldest child in his orphanage, and a favorite. Not a good thing :/ he has a hard time with "no" among other things. I really need your prayers tonight and for the days to come. So does Carson.

We leave in the morning for Ivans region. It will take about 8 hours to get there, so we won't see him til Thursday. Gotcha day!!! We pray to get Ivans passport on Thursday and head back to "K". Then on Friday, off to Carsons regions for his "Gotcha day". If all goes well, we will have the boys for the weekend here in "K" and Monday and Tuesday medicals and visas. That would put us on a plane on Wednesday heading home!!! Please pray for that. For all to go well with Ivan's passport, and the medicals and the visas. And our flights home. Please pray for safe in country travel, home travel, for the boys to be able to adjust well with our family back home, for us to have the patience to see what God has planned for us, and to know the right way to handle things. I am feeling a little overwhelmed after todays outing with Carson. I know there are other families that have gone through this type of behavior, and I have reached out to them. God has us in His hands, He knows what He's doing, and I trust in Him to help us see what Carsons needs are.
I'm headed to bed now, have a lot to do in the next couple days. Take care and God Bless

Back in "U"

2011-07-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

We are back in the "U" :) Flight was a little rough. Alex picked us up at the airport and brought us to our apartment. He is great, we just love him. I am so super duper tired ;) and it is so super duper hot :( Going to take a shower and head for bed. It is 8:00pm in the "U", almost bedtime. Up at 4am to head to Carsons region to get birth certificates, and other document stuff....not sure of what all we have to do ;) but we will bring Carson some clothes, and take him to get his passport picture taken, then a short visit with him before we head back to "K"...then on Wednesday, we go to Ivans region and do the same thing, paperwork, passport pics. I don't know if Gotcha day will be the 20th or the 21st for Ivan, but he will come back with us on this visit :) Yeah!!!! We will find out on the 21st how long it will take for Ivans passport, it might be 2 days, or it might be 10 days. Please pray that we get the one day passport, but if not, even 5 days is better than 10. We will more than likely come back on the 21st sometime, and then depending how things are going, we should go back and get Carson on Friday :) then both boys will be with us forever!! Wow!! This is really happening......for real lol....so excited....

Needing some prayer

2011-07-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

Needing some prayer. As excited as I am to go back the "U" to get my new sons, I am having a really hard time getting ready to leave my beautiful 6 kids at home. I am going to miss them more this time for sure. Coming home has been a blessing. We got so much done at our new house, and 3 weeks was a long time to be away. I have really realized how awesome my kids really are. How loving, caring, kind, beautiful on the inside and out, they really are. I mean, I knew that before, but it just stands out more now for some reason. I am impressed at how they handled us being gone and how they pulled together for each other. I am proud of each one of them. God has blessed me with such great kids. I hope I remember that the next time someone decides to give me lip about something lol....
We are leaving at 5am to head to the airport, our flight is at 7:25am tomorrow morning and we arrive in "U" on Tuesday at 4:15pm, or something like that. We will be there about 2 weeks this time. Not exactly sure of the date we will be coming back yet. We have to wait and see how long passports will take. It's a wait and see game.
The kids all start school on August 1st, and I am going to home school the boys so they won't start til sometime in September. I am going to do the private homeschooling for at least the first year, til they get used to their new life, and can speak English.
Over this last week, I have called schools, set up appointments, talked to Doctors, payed bills, got supplies and food for the house while we are gone, bought some clothes for the boys, unpacked, cleaned, fixed, organized, cooked, played with the kids, ate, and took care of lots of business. It has been a full week and I have loved every single minute of it.
We will be updating our blog and facebook just like last time. Things will be different this time however. We will be spending a lot of time traveling all over "U" to get the boys passports, birth certificates, medicals, visas, and the boys. I am not sure if we will be staying in one place for to long so we will have to see how much internet we have.
Love to you all, hope you all have a great rest of your summer, take care of each other, praise God for everything, and smile

Just a silly little post

2011-07-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, I have not been able to post a comment on my own blog lol....I did at first, then every time I would try, it would just keep taking me back to sign in. I also couldn't post a comment on anyone elses blog. Someone told me to uncheck the box for auto sign in, so I did, and it worked! Well, I could comment on other blogs, just not mine. This morning, I tried again, and guess what!? It works!!! Ha, so I am going down the line of my posts and answering all the questions that you all have asked over the months :) yay!! It may take me a while, but I will get them answered ;)

From home.....

2011-07-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

We went to church on Sunday, and it was so good to see everyone. I knew we missed our church family, but I didn't realize how much. We love you guys more than you will ever know. Some of our church family, is painting the boys room. Let me tell you, it is no little job. There was paper bags used as wallpaper, over wallpaper and boarder. No texture on the walls, and it all has been there forever. A big job for sure. I am not sure they knew what they were getting themselves into when they asked if they could paint the boys room for us.Tonight I think there were 5 people working on it. I have no words for how this makes us feel. So grateful, so so grateful. Then, my friend Brianna brought over a dresser for the boys. Wow, we are blessed. Oh, and before we left, a friend of mine, Albert, gave us bunk beds that could also be used as twin beds. So amazed at people generosity. I am humbled by how God is bringing this all together.

On Monday, we made a lot of phone calls and did work around the house, and took care of some business. Not much to really tell about this day ;) but it was a day at home with my family, we are blessed.

We went to Santa Cruz yesterday for the day. My parents just bought a moterhome, or hotermome if your Charlie lol, and we all piled in and took off for the beach. It was a little cold, and windy, but it was the beach so how could you not have fun :) We got home around 10:30 and everyone went straight to bed. Tired I would say.

Today we did some more work around the house. Remember, we just moved into our new place a week before we left for "U" so we are still unpacking and getting pictures on the walls. And, the whole house needs painting. We had to have someone come out and spray for bugs. We had tons of spiders and ants. A job in itself to keep the ants away. The kids and I went out to find Carson some pants. Not having much luck finding things that wouldn't hurt his sweet little skin. So off tomorrow to look some more.
Another busy day tomorrow. More phone calls, I need to get a hold of Sarah and Charlies new school before we leave so Ash knows what to do with them on the first if we aren't home yet. God, please let us be home by then. I really need to be here for Charlies first day of school, and for Sarah's first day in a new school.
That is about the size of our boring week lol.....looking forward to getting back to "U" to get our boys. We will miss our kiddos at home of course, but wanting to get the boys home and the medical attention they need so very much. Both boys will need surgery on their hands, a dental procedure, and who knows what else. They will need to learn English, and Carson has no schooling what so ever and hes 8. He is so far behind. I have my work cut out for me, but I know that God will give me the resources to take care of it all. Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity to grow and learn so much about you. I love you :)

Made it home

2011-07-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

We left our apartment in the "U" at 4:15am and headed to the airport. Stood in line for about an hour to get checked in and get our seats changed so we could sit together. Then boarded the plane for our 3 hour flight. Landed in Germany, where we had to show our passports when we got off the plane (kinda weird) and then had to go through several check points lol....showed our passports I would say a good 6 to 8 times. Then had a 3 hour lay over. We ate at a little soup and sandwich place that cost us an arm and a leg lol, and got ready for our 8 hour flight to the US. We landed in Washington DC, where we had a 5 hour lay over. I ate Wendys, and was so excited about being in America and eating food that I love, I just can not tell you how excited I was. I ate, I napped for about an hour or so, then we boarded out last plane to home. This was a 5 hour flight and the home stretch. We were so tired and excited all at the same time. We landed in Sacramento at about 10:00pm and were so ready to see the kids, but we still had about an hour ride home. We got our luggage, and headed out to find our friend that was picking us up. So good to see a familiar face :) Got home, and the kids came running out to the car :) We didn't even get out before Ashley was climbing in, crying, and hugs and loves. Oh how I love my kids. Then we came in to find the boys sleeping in our bed all on top of each other lol, and it took us 10 minutes to wake them up. They had big smiles on their faces but were ready to go back to bed. This morning, they were so happy we are home. Church was awesome, I just love Pastor Perry, and we really had missed our church family. I am really feeling great, I am not tired at all. I slept soooo good last night in my bed. I really do love being home, but I left a part of my heart in "U". I am missing the boys we left behind. Gotcha day can't come fast enough. I hope you all have a great week, we will blog here and there. We are going to Santa Cruz for a day, and who knows what else. God bless and don't forget to get into the word as much as you can this week. It really makes a difference in life when you start it with God. Love and hugs to you.........

Its a boy, and another boy :)

2011-07-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

Oh how Great is our God!! He has woven two precious boys in another womens womb, to be our sons. His plan, His perfect plan. We are so blessed to be the ones chosen to be the parents of.....Ivan John Cannell and Carson Dmytro Cannell.
I wasn't nervous until we were sitting there in front of the judge. He had kind eyes and a warm face. There were 11 people present including us in the court room. It was basic really. Took about an hour. He asked us a few typical questions, and we stepped out of the court room for about 20 minutes. Then came back in, and stood before the judge as he read that we would be the parents of the two boys we have fallen in love with over the past 8 months. One of the best parts of the whole process was when the judge said, "God bless you" and then I knew we could have told him that this was a calling from God, and a journey that only He could have come up with.
We are getting our bags packed and ready for our 4:15am pick up to head for the airport to fly home to our kids back in America. Bitter sweet I would say. So excited to see my 6 kids back at home, but will miss Carson and Ivan. And really, in some sort of way, I will miss the "U". This is not the end of the journey by far. We will keep you updated how home is, and then back to the "U" for Gotcha day. Wow, I am so excited for Gotcha day!! I can hardly wait. After court today we took Carsons orphanage some treats that our facilitator team bought for them. We really do have the best team. Julia really cares about us and the boys. I just love them and will miss them dearly when we go.
I want to thank you all for your kind words about us going home for the 10 days. We are so blessed to have you to encourage us and support us in the choices we make. Love to you all, and may God's blessing cover you and your families.

A change of plans

2011-07-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Back in November of 2010, when we first committed to Carson, I had no idea what God's plan was for us. No idea what kind of journey He had us on. All I knew, was He had called us to adopt this little boy, and that was what we were going to do no matter who supported us, or who didn't. This wasn't about them. It was about listening to the calling of God and being obedient. And then when He told us that there was a brother, we didn't even hesitate. Almost like we expected it. This whole journey for us has been so amazing. I have little to complain about. I could do without the smoke, and it would be nice to be able to read the sighs here so we knew if we were walking into a bar or a grocery store, but all in all, things are good. We have learned to ride public transportation, and even though it smells bad and can get stuffy and crowded, I have enjoyed the experience and wouldn't trade it for anything. It's all about the journey. I am soaking it all in.
Tomorrow we have court at 10am. We are very excited about it. This takes us to the change of plans. We have decided to come home for the 10 day wait. We are keeping it a surprise for the kids. Well, we had to tell Ashley because we didn't want to freak her out when we come in at 12 midnight Saturday night lol....but the other kids don't know and we would like to keep it a surprise. We are so very excited to see them. We have missed them very much.
It has been brought to our attention that some may have a problem with us coming home over the 10 day waiting period. When Donnie and I decided to come home, that didn't even inter my mind that people would give it a second thought. I mean, Lots of families come home over the 10 day wait, or at least one parent anyway. I guess when you haven't really walked this journey, you just don't know all the details of it. I know I didn't. I was quick to judge. But this I will tell you, no matter how detailed we get in our blogs, or how many pictures we post, until you have actually been here, you just don't know. There is no way you could, and we don't expect you too. But after it was brought to our attention that some may judge us or have something to say about it, I haven't been able to think about anything else, and it has somewhat stressed me out. So, with that being said, just to let you all know, we are using our own money for this unexpected trip.We have some personal things that we need to be taken care of at home, so here we come. For those of you who want to donate your flier miles, we would love to have them for our trip home with the boys. I will contact those of you who have already let us know you have miles for us. Donnie is going to get the details of how that all works, and we have an account so you can trasnfer your miles. Thanks so much. You don't know how much this will help. After we got here and found out details about the boys, we see that both boys will need surgeries, so the money will all go towards the boys in some way. I hope you all understand, that there comes a time that we just can't stress about what others may think. It is that time. There is always going to be someone who doesn't agree, someone who has something to say about everything no matter what it is. I can not concentrate on those people anymore. They are just going to have to take it to God, and figure it out themselves. I have to many other things to be doing, then to always be worried about those who want to cause drama. Leave your drama at the door, or don't come in. I got that from one of my favorite Aunts :)
I can not wait to go to chruch on Sunday. I miss it so very much. So so very much. I want to hear people speak in English all around me lol....oh how I miss that. I will come back here someday. Maybe to adopt again, or maybe to bring the boys back to visit their birth country. God knows, and I am sure He will tell us his plan. He always does if we listen ;)
Just so you all know, we will be leaving on July 17th to come back for the boys. We will be here for about a week or so to do all the remaining paperwork. We should return home on the weekend of the 30th if all goes well. Can't wait to see you all and worship with you on Sunday. Blessing

how we spend our days

2011-07-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, and it's a "free day".........Donnie napped, and I read blogs. I love reading about everyones experience and how different they all are. So far, we have had it pretty easy I think. When we go to the orphanages, they seem nice, as far as an orphanage goes anyway. I know that some of our friends have seen so much worse. Things we can't really write about, and maybe never can. The experience here is sometimes overwhelming, but it is hard to put into words the smells, the sounds, and the "real" picture. I try very hard to write everyday to share with you, to show you in our pictures, our days. It is important to me to do that because if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. We could never have done this without your prayers, encouragement, donations, and support. We love you.

a house I think

Markets up and down the streets

sidewalk parking

how they dress everyday

So, I decided to nap with Donnie instead of going for fries and a soda lol.....it didn't rain much today. That was nice :) almost warm too. We naped for a while then got up to go to dinner with some friends. It is always so nice to meet our friends and new friends. We ate at a little pizza place near TGI Fridays. It was good. They have more than pizza, I had a chicken veggie bake type of thing. YUM!! and Donnie and I shared a little pizza. The Goldens were there, it was nice getting to know them and I think we will be spending a lot of time with them over the next couple weeks. They know this place well and love it here. Shelly is leaving tomorrow and I will miss her. She lives close, so I know I will see her again sometime. A new friend Missy and her cutie pie son. Oh how sweet he is. We also got to break bread with the Evans again too. Their sweet daughter Vera and Daniel (Missys son) were very cute together. The ladies from the pizza place brought them both a balloon and Veras popped. It was SO loud lol.....Daniel, came over and gave her his balloon. Oh my goodness tears filled my eyes. How sweet is that boys. Rachel and I both had tears. Touched our hearts. Missy, you are blessed.

After we ate, Rachel took us to a little coffee shop and we got some cheese cake to go. YUM!! Mine was chocolate :) all smiles. Then we walked to the trollie, got on and rode home. Oh how I wish we bought more movies the other day. We ended up watching Narnia again before we went to sleep. Oh, Donnie fixed skype and the kids can see us again. :) :)
That is about it for our day today. Tomorrow we may venture out and go get some movies to watch. The rain is crazy. I can't believe how much it has rained here. Hope you guys are enjoying the HOT weather back home. So funny, if I was at home, I would be complaining about the hot weather lol.....never happy, but I miss home very much. I miss being a mom.
Ha, a funny little side thought......Donnie and I have always had kids. From day one. Always. The only time we haven't is when we are on our little weekend trips or maybe a long weekend of 4 days. We were gone a week once for our honeymoon but that is about it. We love each other very much, and get along great. But I do think we love our busy lives. We do find things to do here, and we laugh a lot, but the mix of "us time" and the kids back at home is perfect. Now is when I am really glad we have kids. They sure put the spice in your day, and give you something to do on those rainy days. And we have no T.V.here either. That is killing Donnie I think lol.....he turned on the T.V. today to ukrainian news lol.....I just laughed and asked him what he was watching lol....so cute he is. Oh how I love that man. He is my anchor to life. I am blessed to have such a wonderful man to spend my life with. And our kids, well, if you haven't read my daughters blog, you need to. She and all of our kids are just so amazing. I am so proud of each one of them. My life is wonderful, and I am so happy. This journey/adventure/mission trip is just perfect. God is so Great. So amazed at what He is showing us. So blessed by what He has given us. The people that have chosen to leave our lives at this time, those who have come into our lives at this time, my new friends, my new faimly, oh I have butterflies in my stomach. The old friends that I have known for so long that I have become closer with over the months. New friends that are really family in my eyes. Those that live very far away, close by, it doesn't matter. My old friends that may see me in a different way then they used to. God plan is perfect. So very perfect. In the years to come, Donnie and I, and maybe even Ashley will be writing a book. A book about this journey God has us on. I will be based on our faith and love for the Lord. I have happy tears in my eyes today as I close with this note. Thank you oh Lord for the gifts you have given me. In your precious Holly name, Amen

My daughters blog......AMAZING :)

2011-07-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

My daughter Ashley is taking care of the kids while we are gone. She is amazing, and I love her so much. I am so blessed....go to the link to read her blog, you don't want to miss it :) Ribbons and Pearls I am so proud of her. The person she is, and is becoming. I love her love for Jesus....

Todays visit with Carson

2011-07-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

This visit was important to me. When we first got here, we were very excited to meet the boys, and get to know them. We were told that this was going to be a very complicated adoption with lots of travel between regions. When we first met Carson, it was just surreal to be here, face to face with the little boy we had only known in a photo. It was almost like I was watching someone else walking this journey. It has felt like that from time to time during this whole process really. When we first committed to him, then the fundraisers....sometimes it just didn't seem real. But it was, and it is. I think that others felt that way too. Like we weren't really going to go through with it or something. This is totally and completely God's calling to us, and along the way, we fell in love with these two boys.

Carson baby house

Back to our first visit with Carson. He is VERY small. Really took both Donnie and I by surprise. He has such a tiny little body, and a tiny little voice. We knew he was small, but it took us back a step or two. And he has an infancy about him. He is very delayed, almost seems younger than Garrett at times. But we love him :) and we know that getting him out of the baby house is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to him. He might not know it, but we do. Today I wanted to watch him and see some of who he is. I know it is on his "turff", but I really wanted to watch him. The last time we visited with him, he called the shots so to speak. Today was a bit different. After visiting with John, Donnie and I decided that the boys needed to know that we are in charge. That they can count on us, but they didn't make the rules. For example, when I first met Carson, he took my purse off, and started going through it. I just let him because we were being watched and you just don't know what they expect from you. Plus, the whole thing was just so surreal, that we just didn't really know how to act I think. Well, it was like that for us anyway. But this time, I left my purse in the car, and when he tried to get into Daddys backpack, we just said no, that's daddys. This is yours. He kept trying but after a few tries, he gave up and moved on to something else. Just like any other kid would do. So, battle one, won by the parents ;)
We hung out with him for a few hours today. Our morning visit, then we had to leave while they had lunch and a nap, so we went shopping for the boys some clothes and a blanket and had some lunch. Well, if you could call it lunch lol....

A little taste of America in my mouth ;) and lunch for the day ....

........and did some people watching....that is always fun...

There are dogs everywhere....like in the movie all dogs go to Heaven :) We were waiting for them to start talking lol.....

Always taking pictures of ourselves ;)

This us us in a mirror :) fun times heehee

This was at a park, no joke, right in the park...

in the same park

same park

....then our late afternoon visit. In just this one visit, we could see a difference in him. Not a huge "Hey mom, lets go buy me some cool duds and call it a day change", but small little change like he sat and played blocks with daddy~o....and he understood that we didn't understand what the heck he was saying lol...but, when I told him that the tree is called a tree, he just kept saying no, and then the ukrainian word for tree. He is going

to give me a run for my money I tell you ;)

We found out that court will be on Friday at 10:00am. This is how it should go from there (subject to change in the "U" ;)
Court on Friday at 10:00am, 10 day wait, that takes us to July 19th (Donnies Birthday), so on the 19th, we will travel to the villiage where the boys were born and get their birth certificates and Carson's passport started. Then back to" K". Then the next day we should travel to Ivans region and get his passport started, that may take up to 5 days :/ then we brake Ivan out, and head back to "K". Then, the next day we travel to Carsons region, pick up his passport and Carson and head back to" K". Then, here in the "K" we do medicals and visas.....that is how we have been told it will go more or less. So, if my calculations are right, we should be on our way home around the 28th to the 30thish.....So, if all goes well, we should be back on American soil by August 1st and I get to take my little sweet Charlie to his first day of school

Here are some pics of our new friends we had dinner with last night. We have met some really amazing people here in the "U" that are saving kids left and right. So proud of these wonderful God loving parents willing to follow Gods commands....I love you guys with all my heart! Peace out y'all !!!

Over the weekend

2011-07-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Not much is happening here in the "U"......it has rained for most of our stay, and today is very cloudy. Yesterday, we ventured out and went to a mall type place. It was fun :) and it had a Walmart type store in it, so, we bought some grocerys. We had walked to the mall, so we had to walk back too. With all our bags of grocerys lol. We bought a suitcase for the boys, and filled it up with your food and off we went in the rain. We are going to have to find out what bus or trollie comes this way...so, is trollie, trollie or trolley....I have seen it spelled both ways, and I am NOT a good speller so I went with the way I thought it looked best ;) ???
I had tried some soup in a bread bowl at the mall. Not too bad. But I am really not a fan of the food here. Taste SOOO different. Most people here are very skinny and fit.....that is because there is no fast food except McDonalds, and their portions are WAYYYY smaller. They also don't have the variety of candy and snack food here. Lots of fruits and veggies and sausage. LOTS OF SAUSAGE LOL LOL. :)

We miss our kiddos back home, and the boys here too. We are not staying in their regions, only visiting now and then. Donnie and I are REALLY getting to know each other lol....we have never been alone so much before. We have only had a week maybe of " just us tine", but now, we have lots of "just us time". I love it, but I also miss being a mommy......
skype camera isn't working anymore for some reason so the kids can't see us :( The boys are going to need to see us so I am hoping Donnie can fix it. He can fix anything so I am counting on him...no pressure babe ;)
It is Sunday afternoon here, and we have dinner plans with another family tonight. We have slept for most of the day. I guess we needed to get caught up or something, because I never sleep during the day unless I am sick or pregnant. Ha, no to either one of those to all you, "oh my gosh, is she pregnant" people out there lol lol....not yet anyway ;) Ok, need to go and take showers and get ready for dinner. I am excited to meet Amy and her family. I love all my new friends here in the "U"....taa taa for now!!
This was written yesterday, but it wouldn't post....dinner was great and our new friends are amazing, Love Amy and Jon Evans :) Going to visit Carson today, will post later with pictures......can't wait to see him :)

We said goodbye to John til "Gotcha" day

2011-07-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

I have mixed emotions today. Going and seeing John and knowing we won't see him again til about July 20th or so. That seems like a long time away :( And I am missing my kiddos back home too. Ready for this part of the jouney to be over. For so many reasons. Being here has tought me so much. For one, I LOVE AMERICA!!! I love the food...oh what I would do for a taco lol....and some rice and beans and a hamburger, oh how I love ground beef hahaha, and I love the way we drive, even in San Fran is better than here. Ok, so, our driver that we have been driving around with for 3 days is the worst driver I have ever seen. Doesn't take into consideration that there are people in his back seat that he is resposible for thier lives if he hits that mac truck he is playing chicken with. No, it IS that bad. Bad enough that Donnie was pissed. We didn't say anything but he will not drive us anywhere again, for that I know for sure. He was watching TV on the way home while he was driving like a maniac. I know they said that they drive crazy here. But I almost asked him to pull over and let me out. Walking the 500+miles would have been better than staying in the car with this guy. I think I hit my head on the window a few times from him dodging in and out of traffic. I just kept praying and praying God let us get home safe. And He did. We are home. Got here around 1:30am Friday morning. I have kids at home, and two kids expecting us to brake them out so because of the fact that this man doesn't consider life as precious as we do, we will not get in a car with him again. I will take the train thank you. And is that alcohol I smell on your breath? Are you kidding me????? You drive like a mad man in the first place now you mix it up with alcohol?? Nope, done with that. NOT going to happen for us ever again.
Ok, on with the story, just had to get that out before I exploded. Oh, and we paid him $600 too. $600 to almost kill us several times and age me 10 years. Do I sound ungrateful? Why yes I do. I am not grateful for him driving us. We could have taken the train and yes that would have taken longer, but safer for sure. Ok, now I'm done ;)
Like I was saying, he was so excited to see us and we were so excited to see him. Oh how we love these boys. We walked around the whole orphanage. John rode a scooter, and we walked. He talked to us a lot, and even though we have no idea what he is saying, we laugh and figure it out. As we were walking, we came to a bunch of girls playing on the playground. One of them stole my heart. I just love these kids. They are just normal kids with disabilities. They want to play and talk and love and have a family just like any kid does. There is no difference at all. I will post pics of the girls. One of them is 11 and was taking care of the little 5 year old girl. She will forever be in my heart and I will try and find her a mommy and daddy if she can be adopted. I want to take all of them home with me.

God, what are you showing me? What do you want me to do? I know you know I can't take them all home. I know there is something you want me to do. What is it? I will share my story, and share what I see.

John loves to listen to music. We gave him donnies little mp3 player type thing and bought Donnie a new one. He loves it lol. We gave him a bag of little goodies and he carries it around. It has cars and note pads and bubbles. It is his own things so it is special to him. He is really going to do well in America.

We had to leave around 12:30 or so, so he could eat. Then we could come back at 4:00 for our last visit til "Gotcha" day. When we got back, we walked into his classroom, and the smile on his face, you should see it, it lights up the room. He is so happy to see us. He is so ready to become a Cannell. He is trying to learn all his brothers and sisters name. He really wants to learn. He repeats everything we say like a parrot ha. There was a caterpillar crawling on my foot and I sceamed lol. He thought it was funny and he picked it up and pretended to throw it on me lol....just like my boys at home would do. Then he killed it :/ we need to teach him to be gentle ha, and to slow down, and take a breath lol......He is counting down the days til he gets to leave with us. Wait til you meet him. You are all going to love this charming kid. He is charming I tell you
We get to go see Carson tomorrow.I am excited because we didn't get as much time with him as we did John. Carson will need more time with us to bond. He likes to hug and love on us, but not much talking or interacting as much. I am very excited to spend time with him, and to see if we can get more pics of the other kids there. We will see how it goes.
When we left Johns orphanage, I had tears in my eyes. It was hard to leave OUR SON there. He is, without a doubt, our son. No doubt what so ever. He is our son. We were walking out, and he was walking back up the ramp to his classroom, I stopped and ran to him calling his name and hugged him and kissed him and told him " I love you, I will miss you. We will be back I promise, we will be back to get you." I wanted him to know, we would not leave him there, and I was his Mom and he is my son.

We met John !

2011-06-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Beakfast before going to meet John. We are so excited :) Can't wait to hug that little sweetheart.

This orphanage is way different than Carsons. It is very big. The women all seemed so nice. They smiled at us as we walked in. Both orphanages were clean and we didn't notice any foul smells at all. I mean, it's an orphanage so they weren't baking cookies but no foul smell ;)

First we went in to an office and sat down. I think there were 9 of us in there. Everyone was speaking Russian/Ukrainian. That always makes me nervous because we have NO idea what they are saying lol. The social worked wanted to make very sure we wanted him. She asked a few times. She said if we changed our minds, it would be really bad for John. We assured her that we were positive that we not only wanted him, but we LOVE him! Nothing could change our minds. No one could change our minds :) He is our son.
So, they brought him in. He is a cool cat lol.....he came in like a big boy, sat down, gave us a little smiley look, and talked to our translator. Alex (our facilitator/translator and friend) asked him if he wanted to be adopted and he said yes :) He asked him a bunch of other stuff too but I have no idea what lol. After that was all over, we went into a little room, I call them "show rooms" where we sat and they watched us hang out with John.

We painted, talked, gave him a few little gifts, and then we went outside walking around. He was showing us off to his friends ;) haha. John is very smart, clever, kind, cool ;), friendly, and is alway checking stuff out. He checked us out for a while. He is a regular 9 year old little boy that just so happens to have a skin disorder and lives in an orphanage. He will fit into our family so well. He cracks me up. When we went back for our late afternoon visit, he made sure Alex would remember to bring him a watch on our visit tomorrow that he promised him, and he wanted to know how many days til we leave to America. Alex told him between the 18th and the 20th of July, we would be back to pick him up. So John was counting the days out loud lol......we all laughed and I got tears in my eyes and hugged him. He is so cute I tell you. And just a crack up.

He kept saying over to us before we left, "ok, see you on the 20th, don't forget! And don't forget my watch tomorrow. And tell Papa to put music on my Mp3 player lol....we bought him one because he loves music and loved Donnies Mp3 :) The kid is great.
We also spent time with all the boys in his Groupa. I love them all, as you will be able to tell in the photos I will be uploading. Oh, and guess what!? Every Tuesday, they go to the River or the Sea. How cool is that. The people here REALLY love these kids. And John and his friends will write letters to each other, and send pictures :) I am so happy I could just scream!!

Donnie says, " It is hard, the language barrier. It is frustrating to not understand what John is trying to tell us, and hard for him to understand us." He will be writing his own note tonight. Keep a look out for ut ;) I am excited to see what he has to say.....

We made it to John's Region

2011-06-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

We made it! YAY!! We are in Johns region :) and it only took 7 hours in the back seat of a car lol lol....we stopped a few times, but here we are. Can I just say that, " these people drive like crap!!" Ok, got that out. But really, not something I am going to miss when we leave ha.
It has been a long day. Got up early to finish my online traffic school, then got everything we needed for 3 days, and walked out to the curb and waited for our ride. It was raining so Donnie ran back in to get another umbrella and they came while he was gone. I hopped in the car with two guys I didn't know and sat and waited for Donnie to get back. It took him forever lol...ok, so, we drove around looking for a place to exchange some money, then off we went. We stopped for lunch and had a sandwich. They are not like back home. Very different, but yummy :) we took lots of pictures on the way. I will post them in a bit.
we are now just hanging out in our room. It is a cute little place. A log cabin and it cost a whopping $39 a night lol. We are here for 2 nights for sure and if we are done before Friday, our facilitator wants to stop in Odessa and show us around :) that would be very cool! So we may stay the night there for one night. Such a great mission/journey we are on with such great people to help us do Gods work. I just am loving the trip and the people the Lord has brought into our lives. Thank you Father for trusting us to these children and for giving us such great people to help us along the way.

our rainy day adventure

2011-06-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

It is Monday night, and we stayed in for most of the day. However, I got a great idea to go out in this storm and get some McDonalds and head to a store I saw on the way to the center yesterday. NOT such a great idea lol. Well, we never made it to the store. The streets here are like rivers when it rains and my Toms were soaked and so were my only pair of pants I brought. The unbrella was useless lol. The cars would drive by and soak us lol lol.....it was a sight I am sure. I don't know how close we got to the store, but we decided to head back because my ears started hurting from the cold. I did however get to take a picture of a butterfly garden that I had seen the other day.

We leave in the morning for Johns region. It will take 5 hours to get there by car and we will be staying in a Hotel when we get there. We won't meet him til Wednsday, and we will only be staying til Friday. We will get all the paperwork done over these 3 days, and hope for court next week. We will have court between the 6th and the 8th is what we have been told. Then a 10 day wait, then about a week to wrap up the boys medicals, visa, and passports. So if I had to guess, we should be home around the 25th or so. That would be awesome because we would be home before the kids start school and I could take Charlie to his first day of school. That would really be great :)
Donnie is just the best husband ever. I slept 4 hours this afternoon and he didn't mind. He also made me dinner. Mashed potatoes, corn, buttered noodles, and fried sausage. It was great. Well, I didn't eat the fried sausage. I tried it, but just couldn't do it. The meet here is not the same at all. The only meat I have liked was the ham for sandwiches that Nico stopped and got us on the way in the day we got here. I will have to call him and ask him to tell me where that was ;)

This was breakfast that my wonderful Hubby made. I just really love this man :) He is the best!!

I took a hot shower when we got home from our adventure, and went straight to bed. It is now 9pm and I am not tired at all. Maybe not such a great idea to take such a long nap lol....
I don't know if we will have internet where we are going, so updates could have to wait til the weekend. I hope you all have a blessed week. Keep us in your prayers as we head out for this part of our journey.

From my heart

2011-06-26T23:41:00.001-07:00

As I sit here on this cold and rainy day in the "U", I am reading blogs, and going over in my mind what I have seen here. What I have seen in the orphanage. What I have read and seen other families see in the orphanages. I will never just sit and hope that SOMEONE ELSE WILL TAKE CARE OF THESE KIDS. I know that all my post have been full of fun and smiles. But still, some of what I have seen is not. I haven't posted about them. I don't know who is reading. But I wanted to say that it is not all smiles. We have to be careful what we share I guess. I don't really know if anyone ever sees what we post. I don't know if that is just a bunch of talk, or if it is real. I know that some people talk about how everything must be hush hush, I don't know first hand, I haven't seen or been told by anyone who really knows that we can't say certain things. So I will be as careful as I can, but you all must know that even if the orphanage seems clean and good and loving, as our does, there are things that just don't add up. Our goal is to "SAVE" Carson and John,( BTW Carson will be named, Carson Dmytro Cannell, and John will be, Ivan John Cannell ). I never really took the word SAVE and expressed it, but that IS what we are doing and you all must know that. Carson is sick, not just because if his sores, but he has a cough and sounds bad. His voice is small, very small. He will need to learn to eat normally, he will need surgery on his hands, he will need to learn to love for real, he will need to learn to brush his teeth that have never been brushed, he will need to learn to share, he will need to learn to trust, and play. He will need to learn to do so much more than to just know how to survive. That is what it is now. Survival. These children that I have met, seen, with my own two eyes and held with my own arms, are disabled in some way. They need us, all of us in some way. There are soooo many children here with disabilities. Things I have never seen before, or even know what they are. It is beyond what I can explain. Before we left, I read blogs, and saw the children on RR, but when you see it with your own two eyes, and feel it with your own two hands, it is different. I am going to try and get some pictures of the children at Carson and Ivans orhanages. This is real. These are real kids, not just pictures. Back home I sleep in my nice big bed with a matress that cost over $2k and a pool in my back yard and healthy beautiful children. I have to be honest, I have thought about how bringing the boys home will affect my life. My selfish, all about me life. How am I going to go to the movies or away for the weekend or whatever. Who do I think I am??? This is for REAL!!!! Not only do I love the boys, but they deserve to be saved. ALL of these kids do. So all my followers and readers and supporters and friends and family and whoever you may be.......open your eyes and see what I see. I want you to feel what I feel. The best you can without being here. Now it is different when you have that hands on experience, but this IS for real. THese kids all need to be saved. So, if you don't think you can handle all what you are going to hear or see or feel with me, you better delete me now because I will advocate, talk and help save each and every child God calls me to. So if we decide to come back over and over and save a child and bring them home with us, you better not say a word about how many times we do this. This is our calling. I can not stand here and think that someone else will do it. How about you? Are you going to do it? Are you going to come here and save a child, or advocate for one to find a family??? Well, you should. These kids need us, ALL OF US! In some way. I don't know how you can help, pray about it. Ask our Lord what He wants you to do. I do know this, He expects us all to do something. It doesn't just say, Karrie and Donnie or Hansina and Mark, or Shelly and Barry in the bible does it? No it doesn't! It says ALL OF US ......get this. I just read a blog, and it talked about her daughters orphanage and what the kids do all day. THEY SIT!!! UNDER A TREE, ON A BLANKET, ALL DAY. They get up and walk a couple times, but they don't get to stop and smell the roses, or play in the dirt, or eat some berries or run, they don't get to run, play tag, cowboys and indians......yes cry here, cry hard the next time you see your kids riding their bike and playing in the back yard or at the park. Cry knowing that there are thousands of kids that will NEVER do this. Pray for these kids, advocate for these kids, come save one or two. DONNIE AND I WILL BE BACK TO BRING ANOTHER CHILD HOME. OH YES, WE WILL RAISE THE MONEY AGAIN, AND SAVE ANOTHER CHILD!!! Then we will advocate for thousands. We will help raise money for them, give money ourselves. This country is SOOO poor. THey have nothing compared to us. NOTHING!!! and these kids that I have seen, almost doesn't seem real. Like they are from a movie, or something. But they are REAL!! and helpless, and hurting. You should have seen them cling onto Donnie as we tried to leave Carsons orphanage the other day. We had to peal them off....no joke, peal them off!!!!!!!!! poor babies....poor children of God.......pray with me, help us save as many of these kids as we can. Open your hearts, listen to God. Don't be affraid of these kids, or this journey, or what it may do to your life. Yes, your life will be changed, and God will bless you, and you will never be the same. Open your eyes, see what I see, feel what I feel, know what I know. These kids need you......

A slow day in the "U"

2011-06-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

It has been raining all day today, but that didn't stop us from going out and having a good time. Donnie cleaned the apartment this morning, love him, and he did the laundry, gotta love him ;) and I sat around. Ha, what a husband I have.
We got on the trollie and took off to the center. We were hungry so we went to TGIFridays. It is safe there ;) ha! Then we went shopping for a hat for Carson. He has lots of sores on his head and I don't want him to feel bad when people stared at him. We also wanted to find him some kind of shoes and pants.We found a hat, some socks, and some undies, but no shoes or pants. We are going to have to find the boys shoes before we leave, so if anyone knows of a good kids shoe store, please let us know. Anyway, they were having some kind of street fair thing, with bands and all different kinds of activities. Spongebob was there lol lol.

There was one big concert, very loud, and we were getting soaked lol, but we stood and listened for a while, so much fun. We finally bought an umbrella, but it was really too late. Our shoes were soaked down to our socks. We shopped for little gifts for our team and for a couple of the workers in the orphanage.

There weren't many people out today. More people during the week and we were suprised because it was some kind of party festival.

We went to the underground mall and had some gelato. Very yummy!

Then we stopped and had tea and coffee at a little place like a starbucks would be back in the states. It was very yummy.

We caught the trollie home, and stopped at a little sidewalk store type of thing. They are on every corner. They sell cigs, alcohol, sodas, water, lunch meat lol, and all kinds of things. It is cold here and I had to wear pants and a sweater. I didn't bring clothes for this type of weather lol. I hope it gets warm soon, but not to warm ;)
We will be leaving on Tuesday morning to meet John. I don't know if we will have internet access there. We will be there for about 3 days or so. We have to do all the paper work for him during this time. He is 5 hours away for "K". We are taking it day by day, but we probably will only be going there this time, and then to pick him up after the 10 wait after court. The cost to travel that far is very expensive.
Oh, Monday and Tuesday are "Holiday" here, so that is why we won't be doing much for the next two days. But what I can tell you is, we will have court by the 8th. Everything has to be completed by the 11th when the SDA closes. So this is good for us, because we will be home faster....we hope....again, you just never know here what is going to happen. I will post a few pics from today. We had fun, laughted alot, walked in the rain, shopped, and ate. All in all, a good day in the "U".......

We Met Carson :)

2011-06-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, we didn't go to bed til 2:30am, just too excited I guess, or maybe we shouldn't have taken that 3 hour nap :/
We got up at 4:00am, got dressed and ready to go. We got picked up at 5:00am, and off we went to Carson's region.

I just love our facilitator team so much. They really care about the kids, and us, and want to make sure we are understanding the whole process and comfortable with what is going on. Just love them. Makes it nice.
We stopped for a bit to eat, but we were too excited so I just had tea and Donnie had a Pepsi, that's right, we finally found pepsi :) Then off we went for our 3 hour drive to Carson's region.We first stopped and picked up our social worker. When we got to the orphanage, it looked just like the pictures we had seen on the website. Friendly and clean. We went into the directors office, or I guess it was the directors office, and sat down with several people. Talk about nerve racking....anywho, everyone was talking at once, and all I heard was Donnie saying, "they are bringing him in, just getting him dressed up!" After that, it was like watching someone else sitting in that chair. They started telling us about him, things like how long he had been there, when John was transferred, about their mom and dad, his skin, then all of a sudden, they said, "there he is!" I turned to my left, and he was standing right there.

I just said Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi, lol lol.....then came the tears.

We didn't even have time to get out the camera. This in not how we were told it would go ha....we were told we would meet with the social worker, his doctor, and the director, and they would ask us a bunch of questions and then they would bring him to us. Well, they told us a couple things, and that was it. The social worker didn't even say one word to us. Not one word, and the director wasn't even there lol...it was his assistant or something, and the doctor talked to us the most, about his skin, and then asked Donnie if we believed in God and if we were Christians, and if we has some connection to the Ukraine.

Carson looked so small, he is smaller than Charlie. The first thing he did was say, "Hi Mama" I thought that was so cool but he calls all the workers Mama lol, and yes he can talk, and he talks A LOT!!!...then he hugged me and started going through my purse lol lol lol....he loved my purse and thought it was his :) Then we went outside, but it was raining so they took us to a room where we could get to know him. He loved to paint and he LOVES to scribble in my notebook, in fact, just try and get it away from him lol, he is stuborn ;)
Ok, so while we were visiting with Carson, Julia, our facilitator took off and ran around like crazy getting stuff done for us, like documents, court stuff, stuff that usually takes days, but she did it all in one day :) she is amazing!! We are all ready for court and she has talked to the chief of the judges or something like that lol.....and guess what?! ONE COURT DATE!!! Ha, she said they are 99% sure of one court date, it just has to be offical next Thursday !!! Amazing news, God is SO GOOD, SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!!!

We played with Carson, then he had to eat, I sat with him while he and his friends ate. All the ladies at the orphanage were nice to us. They let me see and hold and visit and carry around any of the kids I wanted. And I got to see where Carson sleeps....

After he ate, we had to leave and do some paperwork. We sat and waited, and signed, and sat, and waited, and signed. Then they took us to a restaraunt and told us they would be back in a couple hours lol....we ate slow, and then went for a walk, and about an hour and a half later, they came back to pick us up. They had to go to the villiage that Carson and John were born in to do something, I don't really remember what they had to do lol....but they got done what they had to do and that is all that mattered. We went back to visit Carson for a little while longer, and when it was time to go, he got his "man purse" and headed for the door. He thought he was going with us :( We had to say bye for now little man, we will be back to get you I promise.

My daughters "I'm the Mom" blog

2011-06-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

You guys have got to go to my daughters blog and read it. She started a blog the day we left, about taking care of the kids for us while we are gone. She is so funny, and we are so proud of her and how she is just doing it ALL so well. Her and Emily will need a big gift for doing such a great job. Show her some love, become a follower, and watch my sweet Ashley in her jouney being "the mom" !!!click here give her some encouragement because the weeks to come will, I am sure, get harder and harder. It hasn't even been a week yet so it seems like a small vacation away from mom right now lol.....it will hit them soon, and she will need all of you to help hold her up. Thank you my sweet followers. Much love to you!

Got our Referrals and off to see Carson in the morning :)

2011-06-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

It got dark at 10:00pm last night, and light at about 4-4:30 this morning. We have been doing well with sleeping, but we go to bed late and get up early because of the short amount of time it is dark. On our way home last night from the Center on the trollie, it was like 9:30pm and there were people everywhere, kids too, and even a dog class going on lol. Such a different way of life, but I am falling in love with "K" :) I didn't think I would ever say that, but the language is so beautiful, and I LOVE that all the women dress in dressed, and all the men in nice clothes. I just love that.
So, we just hung out this morning ( and remember, it is night here for us, but morning for you ) and I was on facebook when I got a call from Valentine to be ready at 11:30am for my hair appointment. Our facilitator made an appointment for me when I told her I needed to get my hair done. I really like her, she is great. Doesn't really speak English very well, we have a hard time, but she is sweet. So, anywho, Donnie and I got ready fast and Valentine called us and said to come down, and he and his wife picked us up. I am not sure if she wasn't happy that they were taking us, or if she just drove like the cops were after us lol, but I had to hang on for dear life or I would have ended up in the front seat with her and Valentine. Donnie was so cute, he knows how I hate crazy drivers so he looked at me, and put his hand on my knee and said its ok :) I love that man.
We got to the hair place, I have to admit, I was more nervous about letting someone I didn't know do my hair, then I was at the SDA appointment lol. She was nice, but didn't speak a word of English. Valentine speaks English very well, so he came in with us and I told him what I wanted, and he told her. Very cute really, watching a man telll about how a women wants her hair done. I don't know why I think that is cute, but I do ;)
She started mixing up the colors and it was BLUE, I almost pooped my pants but didn't make a sound and just prayed it would all turn out. She finished my color, and asked me if I wanted coffee, I told her I wanted water, and I got tea lol.....this happens a lot for me. And I ask for "vo-da" that is water in Ukraine, and I get all kinds of different stuff lol....I don't get it, are people messing with me lol. But she took me to the back, and showed me the chai and it was the best darn cup of tea I have ever had. I sat out in the waiting room with Donnie, and he took pics of of me sitting there in my foil and pink smock, and sipped my tea. He looked over at me and said, " Are you enjoying yourself?" I told him yes, very much and he smiled and said, " Good, I like it when you enjoy yourself!" He loves me so much and care so much about me, I just love that man :) I am blessed to have him as my husband. Tomorrow is our Anniversary, and we will see Carson for the first time tomorrow. God is good!!
Ok, on with the story, she washed out my color and dried my hair and straightened it. I LOVED IT!!!!!! It was so cheap so I tipped her good! We forgot to take an after picture with her, but we have some during.

I must really love you guys to post these pictures lol...lol....lol....but I was having a good time and wanted you to see it :)

Valintine called and told us that Julia's son would pick us up, he was about 16 or 18, very young, very nice, and drove very normal, well, until we got pulled over by the cop standing there. In America, if a cop that was standing in the street told you to pull over, how many people would have just drove away?? I mean really, what's he gonna do, run after a car lol.....I wouldn't drive away, but I am sure lots of people would laugh and drive away. So, Vaska ( I think that was the kids name) was upset about the cop pulling him over, they spoke in Ukraine but you could tell he was upset. The cop took his info, and Vaska got out of the car. We were headed to the SDA to sign the referral documents for the boys, and it was just up the street a block or so. There was an "exchange" and the cop let him go ;) I gave Vaska 100 grevna to cover the "exchange" and his time. I felt so sorry for him. I guess that's the mother in me.
We got to the SDA, Julia told us to go eat pizza lol, so we looked around, ate pizza, ran into some families also waiting for their referrals, took some more pictures, and waited for it to be our turn. Thank God Donnie was on top if it, he said to them, "is this for both boys?" they only had one referral for Carson, so we would have left without Johns referral. That would not have been good. She smiled at us, and said thank you and we signed and got our referrals and dossier. When we got outside, I said, wait, this only looks like one dossier, so we talked to Eugen and he wanted to take our documents and told us he would take care of it. I said, Um, no, we will wait here till you figure it out. I would not hand them over lol.....the turn out was confusing, but I guess we only took one and if we have two courts, we will get the other one. We will see how that goes. I would think it would have been smarter to have both dossiers, so we didn't have to come back to the SDA if we have two courts, but whatever.

Eugen asked us if we wanted a ride, we said no we would walk then take the trollie, so off we went. We haven't had to pay for rides yet because we take ourselves everywhere. I am not sure how they feel about that, but it is saving us a ton of money now, which is good because we have been told that in country travel between the boys is going to be very expensive, more than what we have raised so we are watching our pennies. Also, we know that the facilitator fee is going to be at least $15K no matter what. That was not what we were told, but we feel that it is far as of right now. We will see how it goes, and keep you all updated. Thank God we raised enough money, at this point, I hope it will be enough :/
So, we got some bottled water, rode the trollie home ( it took an hour this time, usually takes 45 minutes) and I went straight to bed at 6:00pm, but I woke up to Donnie talking on the phone with Valentine making plans for tomorrows visit with Carson. I can not tell you how excited I am. There will be posts, pictures, and tear tomorrow for sure as Donnie and I step into these boys lives for real, and celebrate our 6 years of marriage. God is SO GOOD!!! Have I said that lately, because He is, and I am hopeful you see Him in us. Love to all....untill tomorrow night, have a good day, rest well, and next post will be us with one of our boys.........

Ours SDA appointment

2011-06-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

We had our SDA appointment today, and we had it for both boys :) We are going to head to Carsons region (about 3 hours from "K") on Saturday morning at 4:00am to meet him and spend some time with him. Then, back here in "K" til Tuesday at 4am to go to Johns region (about 5 hours away from "K") and will be there for a while I guess. Not sure of details yet, don't know if it will be one court date or two. Don't know how long we will be in regions or what region we will be spending most of our time in. Lots of don't know, taking it day by day. After the SDA appointment, we walked around, took pictures, saw really cool buildings and chruches, went to dinner with some really great people, took the trollie home, and now heading to bed. Tomorrow we will go back to the SDA to sign papers and get our referrals. So excited. Godspeed, pray for Godspeed...

Our first full day in country

2011-06-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

We took the trollie to the center today and walked all over the place. I think it would be safer to walk in the street than on the sidewalk. They drive on the sidewalk and park on the sidewalk. If you are a person walking on the sidewalk, they will honk at you to move lol lol....strange.......

There were so many people walking around in the middle of the day. And everyone dressed nice and had briefcases or purses like they all had somewhere to go, but there were hundreds of people like it was a weekend. Again, strange.

I think I smoked 10 cigs without ever touching a cig....everyone here smokes so you don't have a choice but to get that second hand smoke, my chest hurts today :/
The women dress up here for the most part. They like to show skin....alot of it ;) And the men dress nice too. Most have nice pants and shirt tucked in with belts. And I would say 99% of them have nice shoes. Refreshing compared to the"pants on the ground" USA lol.
We ran across a couple families not with RR that helped us find TGIFRIDAYS and the SDA. We walked miles I tell ya, but it was nice.
Today is our SDA appointment. I am not nervous, and that makes me nervous lol. I am ready for this, and ready to meet our sons. Taking it day by day, because here, you never know what your going to get.
We saw some homeless boys today. Made me so sad. They were teens, dirty, raggy clothes, coming out from behind a shack type thing. I just wanted to hug them and give them food. I know it's not safe but I was just overwhelmed with sadness for these boys. I know they must have come out of an orphanage or bad place and my heart aches for them. Odds are against them and it's just not far.
Every time I saw a pregnant woman, I prayed for her and her baby. Prayed the baby was healthy so she wouldn't leave her baby in the hospital. Prayed that she would love her baby and want her baby. Almost made me sad to see a pregnant woman here. That in itself is sad. I didn't see many kids around at all in fact. Some, but not many for as many people as I saw. I wondered as I walked around....She could be Carson and Johns mom....you just never know....
We had dinner with many familes last night at TGIFRIDAYS. Very cool to meet in person the people that I have been talking to via facebook/blog for so many months. I loved it very much.

McDonalds is NOT like home. I has a sausage mcmuffin and it was not the same. I couldn't eat all of it. Haven't tried anything else there yet. Donnie said his bacon and egg mcmuffin was good, and the OJ was good. We will try it again sometime.

The smells here are SO different. It's crazy how different they are. Not bad, just different. This is a VERY poor country. Breaks my heart, but also is changing my life. I will take home with me a new way of thinking. A new way of living. We have WAY to much stuff. These people have nothing, however, not many seem very happy. They don't smile much here. It is a different way of life that is for sure.

I am grateful for this journey God has us on. I know there is much more He wants us to see and learn. I am excited to see what today holds for us.

Our Trip To The Boys Country

2011-06-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

When we got to the airport, on time, early even, we went up to check in our bags and guess what?! Donnie bag was to BIG!! No, not to heavy TOO BIG lol lol. She was measuring it with a tape measure and everything. How can a bag be too big?? She said it would cost us $200 there and $200 back if we took that bag. So, we had to buy another bag at the airport :/ Our friend Dawn brought us to the airport and I had to call her and ask her to come back and pick up the "TOO BIG" bag. She was already half way home, but she did it. You Rock Dawn <3

Ok, now on to the flights. The first one was 5 hours to Washington DC. Donnie and I didn't get to sit together :( But I had an emergancy exit seat, with lots of room and GUESS WHAT??!!! The sweet lady that sat next to me asked where we were going, and I told her, she donated $200 right there on the spot!! Can you even believe that??! Fundraising on the plane to get the boys lol lol lol.....We will be giving this money to the Mickschls. They still need money for the trip home. Then we had a 2 hour layover in Washington DC.
The second flight Donnie and I got to sit next to each other. Or, should I say on top of each other lol.....packed in like cattle ;) This flight was 7 hours :/ I was OVER IT by the time we were done with this flight. We landed in Germany and had another 2 hour layover.

Then on another plane for our last 2 hour flight to "K". Got through customs fine and exchanged money, and our driver picked us up with another family, stopped by the store on our way to our apartments, dropped off the other family, then we drove around looking for our apartment lol...it was out of the way, but we are staying with a gal that worked in Carsons orphanage and knows the boys. She has direct contact with the director and he is so excited we are here to get them :) He said Carsons wounds are bad right now :( We can take supplies to him and bandage him up while we visit him in the orphanage. This is good news. We didn't think that we would be able to do that. I don't think we brought enough supplies for the whole time we are here. We thought we could only bandage the boys after we got them. But, we will make it last. We will make it work :) Anyone want to send us supplies over in country lol.....
Our apartment is close to McDonalds. I will learn to love it ;) Got a good nights sleep, and ready for what the day holds for us today. We have no plans today, just rest, look around, and get ready for SDA tomorrow. We don't know when we will se the boys. Could be this weekend, or could be sometime next week. They have holiday next Tuesday, and some take Monday off too. We will see. Leaning to be VERY flexable, and take it one day at a time. Love you all, and please keep praying for us. We still have a ways to go before we get to come home <3

Getting it all together...

2011-06-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

This is crazy getting ready to go to country, moving, getting my daughter ready to be "mom" for two months, bills, unpacking, packing, banks, kids, school.......so much to do, I wish I had more time. But....I don't.....and I have to make it all work somehow. I know it will all come together, but I am not ready to leave my kiddos for two months :( I guess I would never be though.

The Stockton record is coming out on Sunday afternoon to do an interview. Then, we will have another interview via skype while in country. I think one when we come back too....so excited...the boys will be so excited :)

Finding time is a trick. Time to spend with the kids before we leave. Like everyone else that goes to country and leaves their kids behind for a little while, missing them will be the hardest part.

HANSINA AND MARK STILL NEED OUR HELP!!! PLEASE SEE MY POST FROM YESTERDAY AND HELP HELP HELP......LOVE YOU GUYS.....

THIS FAMILY IS TRAVELING WITH US, PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

2011-06-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

OK FRIENDS!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!!!! THIS IS MY BROTHER AND SISTER IN LAW AND THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO TRAVEL. I HAVE 1126 FRIENDS, AND IF ONLY HALF OF YOU DONATE $20, THEY WOULD HAVE $11,260.....I KNOW WE CAN DO THIS, IT'S JUST GIVING UP A MOVIE, A LUNCH, THAT THING AT THE STORE YOU DIDN'T NEED ANYWAY....PLEASE THEY TRAVEL IN 4 DAYS, WITH US....

LYDIAH for the Mickschl family–Elk Grove, CA

reecesrainbow.org

The Mickschl family of eight is wanting to grow by one more child. Mark is a painting contractor and Hansina is a stay at home mom who home schools the four older kids. The Lord has put it in their hearts to adopt again, and when they saw Lydiah in #10, they knew she was the one.

THEY CAN NOT DO THIS WITHOUT US.....AND WE LEAVE ON MONDAY!!! PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU TO SHARE THIS LINK ON YOUR BLOGS, ON YOUR FACEBOOKS, AND DONATE WHAT YOU CAN.....HELP SAVE LYDIAH, SHE HAS NO HOPE WITH OUT US!!

Emotional!!!

2011-06-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Just sitting here and realizing that we are going to get our boys. The boys will come home in a few weeks FOREVER!! And........we get to see the reunion of the boys after 2 long year apart. Praise God, OH PRAISE GOD!!! Tears flowing down my checks, all the people that have helped this happen, all that we still have left to do, all these emotions coming out. I look at their sweet faces in a different way today. I look knowing that we will meet eyes in just over a week. My love for them is so strong, like I have been pregnant with them for 9 months and now they are coming into the world to be my children. So excited for the days to come. So nervous, and so excited. Gods plan is so awesome. We get to fly out with Hansina and Mark, we get to spend time with them over in country. How Great is our God!!! He is so Great, so awesome, so amazing. We are blessed..........

WE HAVE A TRAVEL DATE!!!!!!!

2011-06-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am just in shock!! We have our travel date and it is Monday!!!! YES, you heard me right, Monday, in six days. Our SDA appointment is on the 23rd.....so.....here we go....I will update later to give details of what is going on......praying for a smooth travel, oh, and guess what??!! WE ARE TRAVELING WITH THE MICKSCHLS!!!! WOW! They are family. My ex husbands brother....God is so GREAT!!!

Still no travel date...

2011-06-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

We still don't have a travel date, and we know we won't hear from anyone til at least next Wednesday. It is all in Gods time, not mine, so I will sit and be patient. Hard when you know that you are all ready to go and your boys are just sitting there. But God has His reason for it to be just a little longer.

So excited that Kirill is home. How loved is he!? So loved that's how :) makes me smile.

Our church is having our concert benifit on Sunday. We are really looking forward to it. All the money raised for this event will go to Donnie's lost wages while we are gone, and needs for the boys.

I have a question, I can not post a comment on anyones blog, including mine. I know that others have had problems with this too.....does anyone know how to fix it? I have been wanting to post comments on our blog but after I write my comment, it takes me to sign in, then I click post, and it takes me back to sign in again....very strange....so thank you to all that follow us and support us and encourage us. We would love for you to add us on facebook if you would like.....Donnie Cannell and Karrie Fisher Cannell......Love to you all!!

WE ARE FULLY FUNDED!! This is how we got here :)

2011-06-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

In Large part, this is who God chose to use to get us funded ~

It all started here ~

Williams Family Blog: IMPORTANT

patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com

And then~

"EB"ing a Mommy: Tripp's Follow-up story on WWL Ch.4

randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com

...........and then ~

Our Eyes Opened

oureyesopened.blogspot.com

‎

And then last but not least by any means~

much rejoicing

Yipeeeeeeee!!!!!We're so happyyyyy.....The Cannell family is now fully funded!$20,000.00 has been raised as the RANSOM for Carson and John's adoption. They are coming home and their lives will never ever be the same again. Hallelujah! How can I ever thank you all enough?

source: No Greater Joy Mom

There are no words to express the gratefulness we feel tonight. We are amazed. In awe of what we have witnessed over the past few weeks, and over the past few days, God has shown His face. We are so blessed to be so cared for, our boys so love, by so many. And the blessing continue. Even fully funded, our dear Church Family that is putting on a concert to benefit us in bringing the boys home, are still going forward with the event. The concert was to help raise the funds to bring them home, but that ransom has been raised. So now, they will raise money to help pay for the medical needs of the boys when they come home. Special seamless or flat seamed clothes for the boys. I saw on Patrice's facebook page that she found some seamless socks. Might seem silly to you, but to someone with EB, this is a great thing that won't rub blisters on their toes. We are so grateful to each and every one of you who have prayed, donated, shared, whatever you have done to encourage us, inspire us, hold us up when we were down, came to the events, gave us items for our garage sales, worked at an event, donated items for raffles, held your own event to benefit us, listened to all my questions, helped us fill out paperwork, flew us to get documents, posted on your blogs, posted on you facebook pages......and the list goes on......we could not have done this without all of you. I have made friends that I will be friends with for life. I have found my sisters that I never had. I have found a new trust in God that I never even knew I could have. This journey has been just as much for me, as it is for the boys. God, thank you for this journey. Thank you for these friends. Thank you for bringing us to these boys. We can not wait to make them a part of our family. In your precious Holly Name ~

All the Orphans~

2011-06-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

This Mommy, has helped us all throughout our adoption. She was the first one to donate to Reeces Rainbow for Carson. She is who I call when I am having a hard day. She has become my best far away friend. She is my sister, not only in Christ, but in my heart and eyes. She needs us all to help her bring her son home. Please help me in helping her. I know you have all just helped me, but even just a little goes a long way. For this I know. I have watched it over the past few weeks. $5.00 turning into $5,000.

I love you Gretchen for all you are ♥

IAN for the Stewart family–Suwanee, GA

reecesrainbow.org

Adeye's Blog post and love for our boys :)

2011-06-02T07:49:00.001-07:00

raising the ransom

It all began with an e-mail which I received a few days ago, sent to me by a sweet lady who is so burdened for another family. As I read the e-mail, my heart sank. How can this be, I wondered? H...

link: Full Article...

Loving watching God do his thing :)

2011-06-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Watching God at work is just amazing. Our boys will be home in our arms soon. We are so very close to bringing them home. Thank you Lord for your constant reminder that you will not leave us in our time of need.
Tonight there was a hateful comment left on our blog. For a moment, I was hurt, mad, angry....I couldn't figure out what would cause a person to say such things. Then I realized that Satan has his people that do his work. But I have my God that does His, and God will overcome all evilness.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Romans 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Today was a good day. Some of it was spent on a roller coaster ride, lots going on here at the Cannell house. But things are starting to fall into place. I trust in Him to take care of things. I need to trust more.
We are getting very excited for the weeks to come. God, do your thing...............

Front cover of the local paper :)

2011-05-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, the local news paper came and did an interview with Donnie and I about the adoption and an upcoming concert that our friend Linda Opp is hosting for us at our church. That was the same day that we got our "Golden Ticket" so it was a good day. Things have really been happening fast since that day. Here is the article, it came out this last Saturday:

Lodi couple work to adopt orphan with rare skin disease and his brother from Europe

www.lodinews.com

We have been blessed beyond measure. I can not believe how many people love our boys. And something else, I got an email via facebook from a family that has not only met Carson, but spent time with him. She said he was sick when they saw him in 2009 but he happy and played with them. She said they prayed over him. She also told me some information that the nurses from the orphanage shared with her. We know that the boys dad also has EB. We know that Carson can not talk. We don't know what all that is about til we get him home and into the doctor. They did not meet John, he was already transferred when they were there. She has pictures of Carson and she is going to send them to us. I can't wait to talk to her again and get more information. She had a lot and wanted to get everything together and call me back. She was going to give us info about the town and a place to stay. She is a blessing. God is so awesome how He is working all this out for us. I need to learn to trust in Him ALWAYS. He never lets me down. I always see the blessings in what He does.

And to all of you that have donated, or are here for the first time to donate. Thank you! Thank you so very much for caring and being touched by our boys. We could not do this without you.

How loved are our boys!

2011-05-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

To think that our boys are so loved. We are not the only ones that love these boys. So many of you love them. Some loved them even before we knew of them. And most of all, God loves them more than all of us do....... ♥

Kirill's Miracle Story

networkedblogs.com

But some of you have listened to God, in sharing our story to bring these two precious boys home. Yes, they are with wounds. Yes, they need love. Yes, they need a family. Yes, they desperately need medical care. But most of all, they need to know the love of Jesus! And we get to share that with them.

I am beyond excited, and I have to say, a bit nervous. I have never been to another country. I have never been to an orphanage. I have never adopted before. To be honest, I am sure that most people didn't think this would really happen. But it is. We are almost there. Almost ready to fly across the world, spend up to 2 months away from our children here at home, ready to take on whatever these boys needs are. I am nervous, and excited, and a little scared. But I trust in my Lord. I trust that He alone brought us to these boys and this journey. I trust that He will take care of us, and the boys til we come to bring them home. Thank you Lord for this gift of this journey and these two boys. I am honored to be the one that is chosen to be their mommy.

THE BREAKDOWN!!

2011-05-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

$13,415 is what we have on Reeces Rainbow.
$1,000 deposit,~ if you will~ that we get back from RR.
$1,052 is what we have in Paypal.
$645 money on hand.
Total: $16,113
We still need: $ $21,155 to fully fund the adoption,
However~
Donnie is going to be gone from his job for 8 weeks, and he doesn't get vacation pay for his time away. The reality of it is, we have to cover his time away. That is another $10K ....that one is hard to swallow....we are going to cut things down and out of our monthly expenses while we are gone. So that will help. Praying the funds will go over and beyond to cover Donnies time away from his job. Thanking God for giving him such a great job that he will still have a job when we gets back. Some that go over to get there kiddos, have job issues when they return. We will keep them all in our prayers. It is hard to ask for money, it is almost embarrassing, but there is no way that we could fulfill God's calling without help. We make plenty of money to take care of our kids, and our two new sons. It's getting them here that puts us in a pickle ;) So please help us...Donate~Pray~ and share our story......thank you from the bottom of our hearts ♥

WE ARE SUBMITTED!!!!

2011-05-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that we got submitted today!! Wow!! God is so amazing!! This has happened so fast. We just got our officer on May 13th and now we are submitted??!!! Really?! I stand amazed....

We are so grateful to Patrice and Courtney for sharing our story on their blogs. Thank you is just not enough. I will meet both of you someday for that I am sure. We love you and your boys with all our hearts. And thank all of you that have shared our story on your blogs, and facebooks, and all the donations, and spreading the word, we are blessed to have such great friends.

We want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement. There have been many times because of ridicule, worry about funds, stress over paperwork, that I just wanted to run and hide. I just wanted everyone who had negative things to say, or the never ending paperwork, or stress over money, to leave me alone. But at the end of the day, it is all worth it. Doing Gods work is not always easy. Mostly when you have family that don't support what you are doing. But God has a way of putting people in your life, and taking them out. As sad as it is, I know that what we are doing, is the best most wonderful God calling I have ever done. Thank you Lord Jesus, for choosing us to be the parents, the mommy and daddy, the ones to love and hug and kiss on these boys. I can NOT wait to get them home and tuck them into bed. Take them on trips to Target to get an icee lol......we love to do that......and so much more. We love you boys, and mommy and daddy are on our way....hang tight just a little while longer sons....we love you......hang on......it won't be long now......my sweet boys...

NEED TO MOVE FAST!

2011-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

God, we need you. We give this to you Lord. We know that you brought us to this and you can get us through this.

We could very well be submitted the day after tomorrow. I know that sounds crazy, but it is very true. We could have a travel date in the next couple weeks, and leave by mid June. I can't believe this is really happening. I am nervous. I am worried about my kids that are staying here. I know everyone feels this way. I know that we all share in the stress.
I need to ask everyone again, to step out, to share our story, to donate if you can, to pray us to receive these funds to save the lives of these two brothers.
We still have so much to raise. So far to being fully funded. I trust in God. I trust He will touch someones heart to be able to do this for us. I trust that He will provide enough for the time Donnie will have to take off work. We live month to month. We make plenty of money to pay our bills, and to provide for these boys. But we don't have enough to bring them home, and for Donnie to be off work with no pay for 8 weeks. We don't have that kind of money. Then why, you ask, did we do this? Because God called us to it. And, because Carson and John need us. And, because we love them. And, because God says that we are all to take care of the orphans. I really can't explain why He chose us. I really don't know why our hearts have been touched in such a way. I really don't. I just know, that this is what God has told us to do no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT!!!! And we are obedient.......we love you Lord God! Please help us find a way to raise this money. Show us, show us what to do. I will do whatever you tell me to do. I love you Lord Jesus.....
If any of you could hold fundriasers where you are. If you could share our story with everyone. If you could email our blog to everyone you can think of. In order to save these boys, and bring them home, we need you.
It is very likely we will be submitted by Thursday........PLEASE HELP US!! PLEASE HELP US GET OUR BOYS HOME.

IM GOING TO BE ON AN ONLINE TALK RADIO SHOW TOMORROW MORNING!!!!!

2011-05-22T21:59:00.001-07:00

My guest on Excellence Worx Radio at 9AM (cst) Monday morning is Karrie Cannell.
Join me as we continue the series on "Fertility and Adoption Families," and this family, my friends, is in MAJOR need of your support, encouragement and prayers. Find out why when you listen in: 714-464-5259 (thank you, Shelly Rice for this life-impacting introduction)...

ExcellenceWorx Online Radio by Excellence Worx | Blog Talk Radio

www.blogtalkradio.com

Yard Sale ~

2011-05-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our yard sale at my parents.....

Lots of stuff let me tell you.....

We made $433.40

Thanking all of our friends for donating their treasures.

We had piles of clothes.....

Charlie found some skates, helmet and pads ;) he is just so cute!

Garrett found a safe hiding spot away from all the crazy shoppers hahaha!!!!

All in all it was a good day. Lots of laughs, lots of people, (some a little crazier than other) , lots of food, and a whole lot of love <3

Puzzle Fundraiser ~

2011-05-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here is our puzzle for the fundraiser~

What you do is, donate through paypal. There is a donate button here on the right side of the blog. Each piece of puzzle is $5.00. Post a comment here and let us know that you sponsored a puzzle piece. Or send us a message through paypal. Then we will write your name on the back of a piece of puzzle. You can sponsor more than one piece if you would like ;)
As the pieces get sponsored, we will be making the puzzle. When they have all been sponsored, we will glue them together and hang it on the boys wall. We will make $5,000. This will help us in a big way to bring the boys home. Thank you all so much for helping our boys. Much Love and Blessings~

New Fundraiser!!!!!

2011-05-21T21:41:00.001-07:00

With the post from Patrice, and the amazing people that follow her blog and have donated to us, we have made, over $3K......that is amazing and we pray it continues. We had our last garage sale today and made a little over $400....our next fundraiser isn't til June 4th, so we need to do something over the next couple of weeks. This is what I was thinking. I have seen that the puzzle fundraisers do well, so I have picked a puzzle, and we are going to start that tomorrow. This is how it works. We will make an event page, post a picture of the puzzle, and every time someone donates to our paypal account, go to our event page, leave a post, and we will start putting that puzzle together. $5.00 donations per piece of puzzle, and we will put your name on the back of the puzzle piece. When we are done, we will glue the puzzle together, and it will hang on the boys wall. I think it's a great idea and we can't let one day go that we don't do something to get these boys home.
This was from my facebook account. If you would like to friend me on facebook, I am Karrie Fisher Cannell...otherwise, you can donate through paypal, and leave a comment here so we can add your name to a piece of puzzle. Thanks and God Bless.

So thankful to you all!!

2011-05-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

We are so overwhelmed with the out pouring of donations. Thank you just does not seem to be enough.
How amazing is our God!! How Awesome is He to move in people, people whom don't even know us. People that we will never even know donated to our boys to come home.

I think about them sitting in that orphanage, waiting, wondering if anyone is ever going to love them. Wondering if they will ever be the ones chosen to go home to a mommy and daddy. I think of them going to bed at night without enough to eat, without hugs and kisses. Without a teddy bear to cuddle up with. It just brings me to tears to think of them all along. And they have been alone for 8 and 9 years. Alone without a mommy to gently bandage their ouchies. Alone without a daddy to build with them a Lego car, or ship. Never been to the park, the beach, Disneyland.....do they even know these things exist?? Oh how that just breaks my heart.

As I sit here and cry, because they have missed out on so much already. As I sit here and wonder if they cry themselves to sleep at night, I am so grateful to be the one that gets to be their mommy, FOREVER!! I get to show them the beach, take them to Disneyland, but the best part, I get to give them hugs every single night and put them to bed with a full tummy, hugs, kisses, and tuck them in to sleep. How blessed am I!? How honored am I!? I can not wait to go get them. We are almost there, and with all of your help, we can make this happen very soon, weeks maybe :)
We can't do this without all of you. We need you. We need you to help us bring our boys home. Thank you so much for your love for our boys.

One of the most exciting things I can't wait to see, is when they see each other again for the first time after two long years apart. Won't that be an emotional, amazing moment. Let's together, bring these boys back together, home to us, to our family that already love them. Mommy and Daddy are coming Carson and John. We love you. Hold on, it won't be long now.....we love you <3

My Emotional Rollercoaster Ride

2011-05-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged for such a long time. It's not that I don't want to, it's finding the time between facebook, fundraising and life. Finding time to do it all is overwhelming at times. We have a large garage sale tomorrow, so I am trying to get that all ready. Emily and Charlie have pictures tonight for hip hop, I need to get over to buy their recital tickets, I need to go to the grocery store, laundry, clean house.....well, you get what I mean.
So to update everyone on stuff:
We got an officer Friday May 13th. I called and she said we would have our approval by the end of the month. Well, we had it on Tuesday May 10th. On that same day, Lodi News Sentinel came out to interview Donnie and I about the adoption. Wow! What a day.
This is where all the emotions started, should we send off our Dossier's?? Should we wait?? I prayed and prayed and it just wasn't coming to me. Then, on Thursday, May 12th, I called my friend Corrie Koenig. She listened to me, talked to me, and showed me that our Lord will provide. I apostilled all 62 documents, and FedEx them to Corrie. She received them this morning and they will be on their way to country in the morning. God is Good!!
So now, we pray that the funds will come pouring in. We have so much money to raise to bring Carson and John home. Oh Lord, we give this to you. These are your boys. We are so honored that you chose us to be their earthly parents. I am humbled by the amazing friends that have not only donated, but are putting things on for us, like Linda Opp....she is putting on a concert at our church on June 12th. And the Hooper's, they had a garage sale for us. So many of you that have reached out and helped us. We love you. I will post soon with some details on some things we have coming up. We have a pancake breakfast coming up on June 4th at Fields Family Winery. Thanks Russ for supporting us. And to my friend Jeff Uecker, thanks for your support. You have a heart of gold my friend and I love you. Ok, I am crying all over the computer so I will go for now. I love you all <3