Update #Way-too-many

Mark's body is on it's way home. Heather and Mom will let me know if they can get out tomorrow or if they have to wait. Fingers crossed they get out!!! Prayers would help too. I'll give a yell when we know when they can escape.

I will post photos from Trick-or-Treat later or tomorrow. I'm tired...

Another Update

Just talked to Heather. Things are starting to move forward. She is headed back to Dubai today and hopefully home in the next couple of days. I'll let you know when things are confirmed.

Carving Pumpkins w/ Kieren & Ian

Today we went to playgroup then came home to play in the leaves and carve pumpkins.


"Eeeeewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!"
(But she loves "ripping out the guts".)

"Give ME the knife, Uncle Andy! I promise I'll be good!"

Admiring their hard work.

Cutest pumpkins around! Ian and Kieren showing off their work.

Cousins/Buddies

No words needed.

Kieren's Cheerleader Costume

Heather's Ian-Fix

"I don't kiss any girls, but Mommy!"

Little Devil! We were waiting for Kieren's bus.

Ian and Uncle Andy getting haircuts today.

Keeping his eye on his candy! Ian was a very good boy for his haircut. He only moved every time she cut the front! LOL!!!

Update From The Sand Pit

Heather has posted an update. It's not a good one either. One of the worst parts of trying to get Heather and Mark home is dealing with multiple countries and all their red tape. That's why I never get really excited when we are told a timeframe and I usually don't pass that timeframe along. Why? Because it's not a "done deal" until Heather and Mark are on that plane and in the air. That's the reality of this situation. It sucks and we don't have to like it, but we have no control of it either. Now go read Heather's blog and send her some love.

A Non-Update

So this is an update that doesn't have any updates. Heather is stuck in the UAE still. Red tape sucks! We still don't know when she will be able to bring Mark's body home. We were hoping it would be tomorrow, but as of today, no one really knows. She is hanging in there and totally pissed off at the bureaucrats and the system. I spoke with her earlier today and she is mentally with us still (for how long depends on how long this takes). She and Mom are physically well. We need a miracle now, dammit! We need to get her home!!!

Heather did a small update on her blog. She wanted you to know how touched she is that everyone cares and is thinking of her. She is amazed at the comments from people she doesn't even know! Thank you for doing that. You guys are the best! I love you for it!!!

I'll update when I have more.

Sam

To Heather

Dear Mommy,

I miss you! Since you are out of the country, I have decided to make some changes.

I've decided to try out a new hair style.

So what do you think???

I've decided that there are really only TWO food groups: sugar and chocolate! Don't I look so much healthier?!?!?!

But really, Mommy, I only want to give you BIG KISSES!!!

And to tell you that I LOVE YOU!!!

Love Always,

Ian

Mom and Heather called from UAE this afternoon. Mark did not make it. I will let you more when I am able. Please keep Heather in your prayers. She really needs us right now.

Update #4

Heather just posted another update. Please keep praying!!!

Update #3

Heather has updated from Dubai. Click here for the post.

Update #2

Heather is at the hospital with Mark now. Mark's friend Dave called to let us know. They had to sedate Mark again. The bugger won't stop moving around! Heather is supposed to let us know more when she calls later (after they kick her out and make her eat!).

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Update #1

Heather is on her flight to Dubai right now. She will land at 7pm Saturday. From there it is an hour's drive to the hospital. She will call after she sees Mark and talks to his doctor.

Mark's friends have been with him and kept Heather updated throughout the night and day. Last night was pretty dire. Today Mark is awake and able to communicate. He wants an iced tea! He is using gestures (I'm sure some of them are pretty rude!) as he is still ventilated. He is still in critical condition.

Please keep Heather, Mark and Ian in your thoughts and prayers. This is going to be a long haul!

Prayers Needed

Heather's husband had a heart attack last evening. He is a pilot working in the United Arab Emirates. Heather is leaving this afternoon and will arrive tomorrow evening (their time). They need your prayers. Last night was really bad. Today there is more hope, but it's still not good. Ian will be staying behind so we can keep him in his routine. I will be back when I have an update and time to post.

Incredibly Powerful Artist

Take a few minutes to check out this link. She is amazing!

(Thanks for the link, Katie!)

Cullen

*Blog music chosen by Cullen. What's playing? All the songs are by Mika:

Happy Ending

You Made Me

Instant Martyr

Loverboy

Big Girl (You Are Beautiful).

I know I don't do many posts on Cullen. He isn't real thrilled when I do! I also don't have too many photos of him either. Darn teenager! I'm just going to do this in bullets. It's almost 2:30am so give me a break!

• Cullen is going to be 13 years-old in just over a month.
• He is in 7th Grade at Emmanuel Christian.
• He LOVES school!
• Cullen joined Drama Club this year (this is the first year ECA has had one). He loves it!
• He will be in 2 plays in December. (Kieren will even have the part of an angel in one of them.)
• Cullen ref'd soccer all Spring and all Fall.
• He saved all his money and bought himself an awesome laptop that just makes me want to ground him for something so I can take it away from him! (Last year, he bought himself a Wii.)
• Cullen still has quite a bit of money in his checking account! The kid CAN save!!!
• Cullen made the ECA Jr. High Basketball team!!!!! We are SOOOOO proud of him!!!
• Cullen loves to play baseball. Hopefully he makes the school team in the spring.
• Cullen swims like a fish!!! He loves it!
• He is having a flare-up with his CVS (Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome) right now. It bites. Today was really humiliating for him. For the first time in 10 years, Cullen didn't make it to the trash can/toilet in time and puked all over himself. The worst part: it happened in the lunch room in front of the entire Jr. High. I felt sooooo bad for him that I let him come home. Usually with the CVS, Cullen toughs it out and goes back to class after resting in the clinic. He rarely ever complains about the CVS and he NEVER uses it as an excuse!!!
• Cullen also has a learning disability called CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder). He had to relearn HOW to learn. He does an amazing job! He never uses it as an excuse.
• Cullen is incredibly sweet! He is so caring and does what's best, even if it means it's not best for him. The boy has a HUGE heart!
• Cullen and his dad do not mix well some days. Cullen is laid back and Andy isn't most of the time.
• Cullen loves little kids. He works in the Children's Church at our church every Sunday. He is so patient!
• He is over 5'6" tall!!!
• He wears a Men's Size 13 shoe!!!!!
• Cullen ADORES his little sister! He will do anything for her - including dressing up and having a tea party! He wanted a sister for so long. He has NEVER wished for her to go away. He is known to put her on his lap and continue what he's doing (Wii, computer, homework, you name it!) without missing a beat.
• We call Cullen our giant lap dog! He would sit on my lap if it wouldn't crush me! He sometimes sits on his dad's!!!
• Cullen LOVES to read.
• Cullen never complains when I ask him to help me with his sister. He once dressed her for ballet (without my asking) when I was busy with a job. Watching him figure out the tights and put them on Kieren was absolutely hysterical!!!!!!
• Cullen still wants to have birthday parties at home with homemade cake/cookies!!! Most boys would rather die! Cullen looks forward to them so much he starts planning the next year's with me at the end of the current party.
• Cully (as Kieren calls him) is my baby. He will be no matter how tall or old he gets. He is just fine with that!!!
• And finally, Cullen is a HUGE New York Yankees fan!!!! HUGE!!!!

Cullen is such a wonderful young man. We are so proud of him and love him so much!!!

Yes, SHE Is!

A couple of weeks ago, we were at the mall for our Panda Cubs Playgroup. Andy and Cullen were reffing soccer games so it was me & Kieren, Liz & Danielle, Katie & Jake & Sarah. Just a small group. As is our habit, we played in the play area, ate lunch together in the Food Court, and were window shopping (Okay! I bought Kieren some more clothing! I wasn't the only one!).

As we were walking toward the pet store (I hate them - the kids love them), one of those pushy kiosk saleswomen accosted us to try her lotions and potions. Um, no thanks! Just as we were walking away, she stopped, pointed at Kieren (who was walking with Danielle in the middle of the mommy-pack), and (ARE YOU READY???)

says in a really loud voice (YOU SURE YOU'RE READY?)

"Is THAT yours?!?!?!?!"

Yes, you just read that correctly. She pointed at my daughter and called her "that". My calm and very cold (could've frozen The Great Lakes in seconds) response (said just as loudly) was:

"Yes! SHE is!!"

My friends were as ticked-off as I was. I thought Katie was going to jump the girl and shove all her lotions and potions down her rude little throat! (Katie, I wonder if the lotion works from the inside-out too? Ooo, maybe it's also a laxative!) Liz was also irritated. The funny thing is Kieren and Danielle were right next to each other, but the woman never saw Danielle too??? (Liz, I wonder if Danielle has special shields that make her invisible to rude idiots? We should test this theory!)

I refuse to stoop to the same IQ as THOSE people. A long time ago (after many rude comments - did I ever mention She-who-shall-not-be-named?), I promised to not lose it in front of Kieren or Cullen. I will calmly educate someone (put them in their place), but I won't come unglued. It makes that person and their nasty little comment too important.

SHEESH!!!

Spinning

Check out Kieren's hair in this slide show!

Ignore the weird stripes on my wall! We have been looking for the right color. The green was a major "NO!" as soon as we put it on the wall. I want a gold color, but some of them look like baby-poop, some of them look orange, and some are just scary!!! Just when I think I find one I like in the daytime, it looks awful at night! We think we have FINALLY found a winner.

Poetry (This One Is Pretty Cool)

I was surfing the blog world tonight and came across this post by Diane at An-Ya. I decided to check out this cool link that asks you questions and then creates a name poem for you. So I cheated (big shocker there!) and made the poems for my kidlets from me.

Kieren
It means small dark beautiful,
It is the number 8,
It is like vibrant strong feminine,
It is meeting your forever family,
It is the memory of Cullen,
Who taught me love happiness,
When he made me laugh for the first time,

My name is Mom Mommy Momma,
It means You are mine. I am yours..


Cullen
It means handsome strong kind,
It is the number 3,
It is like deep warm male,
It is laughing together over a private joke,
It is the memory of Kieren,
Who taught me patience love,
When she trusted me to hold her for the first time,

My name is Mom Mommy Momma,
It means You are mine. I am yours..

So, anyone else want to give it a try?

**sigh** - UPDATED

Really???? I guess I should've expected it this week. Back to back night terrors tonight. The past three nights have been bad, but tonight is by far the worst of the week. Kieren was doing so well for so long. Damn. Just when you think you will FINALLY sleep throughout the night...

*sigh*

Poor sweet baby...

UPDATE: Once the night terrors stopped last night, the nightmares began. I finally got Kieren back to sleep for the night at 4:30am. UGH! She was finally able to tell me (at 3:30am) that she was scared of burning and fire. It was Fire Safety Week at school. Her class had a visit from the firemen in their big truck yesterday. Thank God she is now able to tell me her fears!

Pretty Little "Pumpkin"

Yesterday Andy had a "meeting" (playdate) at Young's Dairy. Since it is literally right around the corner from Kieren's school, we dropped him off and had lunch there. We had a little time to kill so we walked around the farm for a bit before heading off to school. Of course we HAD to come back for Andy and score some ice cream!

BTW, why is it all my photos are now uploading in really crappy quality??? Anyone else notice it happening to them?

Farm Fun

Could Someone PLEASE Hit The Fast Forward Button?!

(This is the 2nd time I've typed this post!)

Seriously. This week needs to end. Since Saturday, this week has been a mess. If you don't want to hear me whine or complain, leave now and check back in a day or so.

Still here? You were warned.

Please excuse typos. I am typing left-handed. The dog decided it would be entertaining to trip me today and I can't move my right hand, wrist or fingers without major pain. Yippee. The dog also woke me from a dead-sleep at 7:15 this morning by falling head-first off my bed. I swear he has more lives than a cat! I'm trying not to let today's events color my decision on when it's the right time to put him down. He has horrible arthritis, is deaf, is mostly blind, is senile (gets stuck behind the door in Kieren's room and can't figure out how to get out), and probably has cancer. He keeps me up most nights by being neurotic and licking his legs or snarling whenever anyone moves!!! Poor old guy (he's 14 years-old, I think...).

But wait! There's more...

Heather (my evil twin) has to have her dog put down tomorrow. He has a bad liver and many other issues. It's so hard to make these decisions, but even harder when your husband works on the other side of the world and you have to do it alone. (H, you are doing the right thing - no matter how badly it sucks! I'm here for you, sweetie. The "sister rule" is in effect - no one cries alone! Love, S.)

We are still without a furnace. Now the heating-guy is avoiding me. Time to call in the "big guns"! He's my brother's friend. I am calling Sean in the morning. My kids are cold and I'm getting ticked off!!!

I'm feeling better (except for today's battle wounds). The food poisoning was mild, but the pulled muscles from the dry-heaves (TMI?) took three days to heal. My TMJ also got really irritated by the 'heaves, but I can finally move my jaw again without too much pain. I don't think I'm going to be eating at the Japanese place again!

To top off the week, my parents called tonight. Their well pump died. They have been without a furnace since last March or so. They were going to order a new furnace tomorrow, but now have to wait until the well pump is replaced to see if they can afford it or if they have to wait a little bit longer. UGH!!!

Please have mercy and hit the fast forward button!!!!!


...This concludes the test of my emergency WHINE SYSTEM. This was only a test. If this was a REAL emergency, you wouldn't be able to find my butt because it would be on it's way to an undisclosed location! Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog....

How NOT to Spend a Special Day...

...with food poisoning! (Be glad you didn't have the Japanese place at the mall today, Liz & Katie!) 'Nuff said.

4 Years Ago Today...

4 years ago today, we saw Kieren's face for the first time! It was an incredible day!!! We have loved every second of watching her grow. We have loved every second of seeing her bloom. We have loved every second just being her parents! We are so honored to be her family!!! (To read more about our Referral Day, click here.)
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You can still see glimpses of the baby we "met" in this photo.
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Those eyes! Those beautiful dark eyes!!!
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10-tons of personality packed into 35 pounds of sweetness!!! We had no idea she would be so amazing!


Kieren,
We love you! Happy Referral Day Anniversary, Stinkerbell!
Love Always,
Mommy, Daddy, & Cully

Referral Anniversaries Over The Years