Staying Busy

With fewer events on the schedule, our clan has been enjoying time doing things that normally don't fit into the school time routine.

The boys worked with Kids Against Hunger and helped make food bags for kids in Africa and here locally. The event was hosted by our football team, the Colts (AKA the worst team in the NFL). However, the kids were pridefully wearing their team shirts, so they managed to land a spot on the news and on A Colts promo video. Aside from those extra bonuses, they really enjoyed working hard and serving knowing that they were helping kids at aren't as fortunate as themselves. I loved the hairnets. Notice I did not take my own picture in such hideous garb.

We have also enjoyed family art time where we all create art in the style of our featured artist of the week. Look real hard and you might see some Picasso. Squint and stand about 50 feet away from the computer and you might see it. Maybe. We may need some lessons.


My latest interest is Pinterest where I get all kinds of crazy ideas. I recently decided to merge a couple of pins to create my own monstrosity. Nisha loves her Toms shoes, but now that she has burned holes through two pairs, I needed a quick fix. Thanks to a lovely pin, I saw that one can decoupage anything. Throw in some glitter ( Nisha's favorite) and we now have better than new, original Toms. what do you think? My Toms are next on the glitter band.















So this week we are finishing up another craft project that will be donated to a sale to benefit The Gathering Place, a ministry to the dying. The kids have made ornaments, embossed candy boxes with a heat gun, and have carefully ( and not so carefully) packaged their goods. I almost didn't make it through the heat gun part. Hopefully the ornaments will bring in some money to help others, although if they don't we won't let the kids know. More pictures of the finished product to come.





There you have it. . . In a nutshell.

Swan Lake, Here We Come!

This is Nisha at the Indianapolis Ballet School (she is the youngest student and couldn't walk in a straight line without tripping two years ago).

She continues to add a little flair. . .

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Hello Again

Hello, nice to see you again, old friend. It has been a time ridiculously since updating. However, this is the easiest way I know to chronicle life's happenings. Perhaps a bulleted list is the best way to update. More details and pictures to follow. Probably. Maybe.

1) Nisha is doing quite well in public K. Her fan club awaits her arrival to school each morning waiting outside of the school. She still doesn't know all their names. They walk in like they own the place, dressed in their bright tights, sparkling shoes, and fluffy skirts. Parent teacher conferences went well as well as the IEP conference. The new school is better than I expected in many ways. I pleasantly find Nisha correcting her own speech and showing signs of caring about diction. Good news.

2) There is nothing new on the health front. She won the perfect attendance award for the first quarter, which was incomprehensible in years past. I haven't taken out my ruler to measure the ear spot ( or any others$, so this could be blissful ignorance. Why wake a sleeping baby? She goes back to the clinics in January.

3) The boys continue to homeschool with an eclectic mix of classical materials. We are pushing through grades 2 and 4. The kids still attend classes one day per week, which sucks up much time and efforts. We have learned much and had great experiences, but I constantly struggle with balancing what we need to do at home with the work of keeping the "school" running. To everything there is a season. We changed a lot of curriculum this year, which has been fun and added new challenges. More on that later.

4) We continually think of all the orphans world wide and feel compelled to do something. While we don't think international adoption is on the radar, Aaron and I both agree that we are called to help. We didn't adopt to expand our family, rather because we feel that all people who are able to (especially Christians) should do so. We can't ignore the ugliness of homelessness and rejection by turning the other way. So, we find ourselves in the think tank. Life is short and we aren't promised tomorrow. We both realized that we need to continue with something. At this point that is a big first step as we didn't think life after the first adoption was possible- seriously there are still days that we wonder about surviving the teenage years. :) We trust that God will lead us in only His timing and provide clear guidance.

5) Extras. It is my firm belief that every child should have some sort of hobby, passion, or interest in which they can feel successful. Nisha is being trained at the ballet academy in ballet and tap. Parents aren't allowed in class as it is a hard core program. However, tomorrow Aaron is permitted a sneak peak. He will video, and I will post. It should be entertaining. Both boys are three songs away from being level three students, which they feel is so close to level 10. Optimists they are. They recently played for their biggest audience yet at the Riley Fest. They did well despite the panicked look on their faces from the pressing crowd. I will post a couple of videos from the recent solo recital soon. They continue with their Suzuki training and practice about one hour each day.

6) Aaron continues teaching at his high school. After winning his Teacher of the Year Award last year, he has been asked to sit in on a number of committees. Don't you just love committees?

I think that he only attends the meetings that offer free food or beer. :) I am sure he will enjoy reading that line. He continues to enjoy his job, which has been a true blessing. He may join me in my grading efforts and score the AP tests this summer. We continue to tag team juggling work, kids, and household duties. Tague Team, back again, party on , party on. . . How do you like that flashback?

I think that covers it. That covers the majority.

Signing off. See ya real soon. . .

Meet the Special Olympics Fitness Crew

That's my crew. Station 7. Ring Toss. Indiana Special Olympics. Family volunteer opportunities are few and far between, so we jumped at the opportunity to serve at the state competition. Truthfully, the prep went something like this: "Nisha, be sure to keep any comments to yourself. The people you will see may look or act different than we do. Just smile and be friendly." After a recent incident where she told the cafeteria workers at school that their cheese burgers tasted like poop burgers, I thought that we should cover our basis. Back to the story. All went well. Nisha and Eden chased errant frisbees, Asher led people through the competition, Aaron was in charge of traffic throw, and I cheered wildly when an occasional frisbee landed in the bucket. How I miss working with that population on a full time basis. We all agreed that the day was well spent and that we should all strive to be more joyful enjoying even the simplest pleasures. We will be back next year. Aaron and I are super proud of our crew!

Playing Penrod

They boys were asked to play at The Penrod Art Fair this morning, which is a large, outdoor festival displaying music, dance, visual arts, and artists from all walks of life. Both kids played in their respective ensembles and Asher soloed playing Handel's "Chorus" from Judas Macabeus. As previously stated, I have one kid that can pull off a solo without worry. In fact, he rarely fumbles and even plans funky outfits and hair styles to spice up his performances. However, Asher playing in public is like tossing the dice. Sometimes he wows, sometimes he bow wows. I know it is just a matter of experience and recognize that consistency is coming with more stage time. Admittedly, I almost have a panic attack for him when I know he is scheduled to solo. Seriously, I pit out my clothes ( interesting verb choice, huh?).However, I am happy to report that this morning he approached the lime light with confidence and pulled off the song with a smile. In my few minutes of nerves ( without breath), I forgot to record it. Kids, please accept these after shots as documentation that you did an amazing job! So, I think that a new era is upon us- one where both kids approach the stage with joy and peace and their mother goes home with a dry shirt.

Afterwards we visited several artists and dabbled in a few projects like Japanese paper printing and painting. One of my goals for my kids is to appreciate and enjoy things that are lovely- art, dance, literature, music. With continued exposure and experience, we are gaining ground in this area. Until then, I continue to drag them to concerts, storytellings, art displays, and museums. Let the fun continue.

In addition to their classical music studies, the kids joined a fiddling group. Asher is the lone cellist carrying the bass line and Eden is the tiny violinist. They are scheduled to debut in the spring. While I am not a fan of country or mountain music, the kids get a hoot out of playing songs like "Boil Down the Cabbage" and "The Old Cluckled Hen." Consequently, Eden's Bach piece ended with a "shave and a haircut" yesterday. Good times.

She's Six!

On Sunday, Miss Nisha turned six! At our church, if your birthday is on a Sunday, you are serenaded by the congregation. Nisha had her bows planned put for weeks. She ended up being shy, but relished the attention of a couple hundred people for her few minutes of fame. This year was much more exciting than others because she now plays with toys. Her all time favorites are Playmobil, her dolls, princess items, and craft supplies. How refreshing not to have a "shadow" at all times. :)

I think this will be a great year of progress in all areas for Nisha. She continues to loose her teeth, grow taller, make social gains at school, pursue friendships, improve academically (she is still completing an abbreviated homeschool program after school), and the negative behaviors at home are subsiding. Sometimes I look at her and can't believe how far we have come. I still need to post before and after pictures so you can stand in awe with me. God has done amazing things this year!

Health Update

I officially fired the dermatologist. Although she is a highly sought after practitioner, she got the axe. We went for a check up two weeks ago and she said it was too difficult to tell if Nisha's skin had changed (pretty important for stopping Melanoma). On some levels, I can understand the difficulty, but she is the one paid to spot it, not me. Keep in mind 60% of Nisha is covered in one giant mole that may be smooth, textured, knotty, fleshy, hairy, variegated, or strange. It is difficult to monitor. However, the doc looked her over in about 5 minutes (that was my first clue) and deemed her fine. Despite almost three years and several surgeries of history, I decided that I could do a better job. I just saved myself several hundred dollars per year. :)

Today we went to the plastic surgeon, AKA the best doctor ever for any issue. He is tough to get into to see, but has a special fondness for Nisha and served her well in lieu of oncologists and several other specialists when we first started this journey. He photographs her, takes precise measurements, and keeps detailed drawings. After 5 minutes with him, he quickly pointed out a new spot of concern INSIDE her ear. Who looks there? Not me. Not the skin specialist. Good thing he did though, because on closer inspection the spot looks just like the other troublesome places that were previously removed. It looks like another surgery is on the table, but he agreed to wait until the spot grows or March (when our schedule calms down), whichever is first.

Additionally, the doctor still tried to look around to find that large tumor that miraculously disappeared last July. I told him that Jesus took care of that one, and although he will classify it as miraculous, he still ponders the reasoning. In good time. Maybe another miracle would be good proof!

All in all, it looks like we are likely in the clear for a bit. Any new malignant areas may pop at anytime, but for now we know that some sort of surgery to remove the ear spot will be in the near future (March, March, March).


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