Merry Christmas from the Urbans...

Have a groovy Christmas!

Family updates

Simeon is in 9th grade now. Homeschooling high school gets tougher and tougher all the time. He is expressing an interest in science, particularly physics and astronomy. I love hearing him trying to explain things to me that he is learning, even though sometimes I don't understand half of it! He is taking Logic and Latin this year and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he will not be pursuing any fields related to either of those subjects. ha! Fourteen has been a tough year for all of us, but as he approaches fifteen he is really maturing and mellowing out. He adores Ava and she adores him. We have quite a few teenagers coming in and out of the house, and it is cute how Ava is always in the midst of them! Simeon loves riding his dirt bike, building things, and playing video games. 

Liesel is my little bookworm. Always wanting to learn a new skill, craft, recipe, or language. She has an inquisitive mind and is a straight A student. She is a big help around the house and with the little kids. She has a tender heart and is very protective of any siblings who are being left out or hurt. She lets Hope sleep in her room now, since Zoya's feeding pump was so loud in the night. I find that awfully kind, considering my sister never let me sleep with her! :) Liesel's favorite subjects are Latin and Literature. She is pretty good at math but she says she doesn't like it. She has really blossomed and come out of her shell a bit since we joined our homeschool group, Classical Conversations. Being in a small class of only 9 students has helped her to gain confidence in participating in group discussions and standing up in front of the class to give presentations. Her teacher made me proud recently when she told me that Liesel boldly confronted another student in the class who was using the word 'retarded' as an insult. Having three siblings with special needs, she wasn't going to tolerate that kind of language. I am proud of her.

Jude is the household computer genius. He is always pursuing the latest gadgets and the latest software, which is partially the reason I quit blogging for 6 months! I can never remember how to navigate through the most recent upgrades. And he is not too patient with me when I ask him the same questions over and over again. ha. He loves making movies in his spare time. He is a little bit of a loner, preferring to hang out with adults over other 5th graders. I was a little worried about this, but John tells me was exactly the same way at his age, and I think he turned out pretty well! Jude makes a great kitchen helper. He loves helping me in the kitchen and is fascinated how the different foods and flavors come together to make a wonderful meal. He is also good at fixing things. He is pretty handy to have around! He is great at saving money and spending wisely. He may make me a rich woman someday!

Hope is in second grade, creative, outgoing, friendly, smart. She loves to read, loves to ride her bike, play with Zoya. She is my most affectionate child, and I LOVE it! I get hugs and kisses and 'I-love-you-Mommys' EVERY single day. She really is a good sport about having so many siblings her age with various special needs. I continue to be surprised how well she has embraced each of them and loves them. Her very best friend her is her cousin Sebastian. I am always fascinated with how well they resolve their conflicts in a very mature fashion. Some adults I know could learn something from them. She loves Mermaids, dogs, and especially her little pet hamster, Winter.

There is something so special about Ava. She keeps the whole family smiling and laughing. She has become a little bit bossy, wagging her finger around and telling us all 'no' (one of the few words she knows). Her laugh is contagious and she is so very squishy and cuddly. We are pretty crazy about her (as if you didn't already know this!) Her hair never did grow back, and in fact she has lost her eyebrows and the hair on her legs and arms from alopecia. We hardly even notice the stares any more. I do wish she would keep a hat on, especially in the cold winters and hot sunny days. But she doesn't. We are still working on potty training. ugh, that girl! She is hitting and pinching less and less, which I feel must mean she is overcoming her severe sensory issues. She can RUN and jump now, and can keep up with the other kids when she is outside playing with them. I still can't believe how much she has changed.

Joseph is SMART, but still hardly says a word. He grunts and points a lot but uses sign language to communicate mostly. He absolutely loves school, and every morning when he wakes up he claps his little hands together, asking, "do we have school today?". He still has wild days and wild moments but he is doing SO much better controlling his behaviors. We have finally cured him of his obsession with tearing paper.  I cut a silky sash off an old dress and sent it to school with him. For some odd reason, this did the trick. Of course now he is obsessed with ziplock bags, but that is so much better than paper! Homework assignments are not written on ziplock bags, and money isn't made of them either! Joseph is starting to write his name, and we have nicknamed him Joe to make it easier for him to write his name. And boy can he write his name! Just the other day, someone put him to bed with a black crayon. I walked in to see, written all over the beds, walls, floors, mattresses, sheets, doors...."JO JO JO JO JO". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! He is also a great cuddler and, like Hope, loves to give me kisses.

Zoya is a sweet, loving, compassionate girl who is well loved by pretty much anybody who meets her. Her medical issues have been so challenging! I've spent so many hours and hours driving her to appointments, on the phone with doctor's offices and insurance company. I have a love-hate relationship with the feeding tube. On one hand it has helped her gain TWENTY pounds (!!!). On the other hand, that feeding tube has given us a lot of grief. Between waking up in the night silencing the pump, cleaning up the vomit and bile daily, washing formula out of her hair and sheets every morning. And worst of all, having the feeding tube has completely decreased her oral intake. We now have a feeding therapist coming every week to work with Zoya to get her to be able to swallow the foods which are so difficult for her. Sometimes I think I shouldn't have pushed to have the feeding tube. I wonder if she would eventually have learned to eat and gained the weight on her own. Anyway, feeding difficulties are top on my list of things I would never wish even on my worst enemy. Besides this one issue, she is a lot of fun to have around! This past weekend, Zoya went to the Nutcracker with her school nurse. She has been talking about going to the ballet for months, and just when I thought I wasn't going to have to hear about it anymore, she said today, "I want to go to the ballet again!" Sigh....

John and I are doing very well. He does a wonderful job of managing all his work responsibilities and still managing to give the kids and I his time and attention. He initiated weekly dad-night, where he takes one child out alone every week to have some one-on-one time. Of course the kids love this, and I get my turn every now and then too. We love attending Lifechurch.tv, where they have welcomed our unique family with open arms. We have made some precious friendships with some precious families, both through our life group and our homeschool group. I appreciate that a few of you have emailed or messaged me to check up on us over the past few months. I hope to get back to blogging regularly again but I've had a hard time getting my groove back!

Happy 8th birthday to my nephew, Sebastian!

Family times

These two unlikely cousins are pretty fond of each other.



At least most of the time.

Simeon is such a good sport. He was in charge of managing the little ones while we took the following photo:

The grandmas with the girls....

The grandmas with the boys...I love that Simeon wanted to sit on Grandma's lap and that Grandma was OK with it.

And the grandmas with the big boys and the little boys...(I'm pretty sure Juan is checking his fantasy football status)

It's been so fun to have the grandmas here! We will miss them when they both head home tomorrow. One to Old Mexico and the other to New Mexico.

Thanksgiving

We had the privilege of hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Both grandmas were here, (which means lots of wonderful food!), plus my sister and her family. I'm pretty sure I gained several pounds. ha. Weight Watchers, here I come!




The cooks….

Although it was quite windy here, we decided to have the meal outside on the driveway for several reasons. It would probably be the last outdoor meal for awhile, it's easier to clean up, and best of all, we live in the country so there are no neighbors to complain!

Among the many, many things I have to be grateful for, I am thankful for my dad and my husband who helped me set up the computer and sort the photos so that I can (hopefully) start blogging again! I hope you haven't given up on me!

Kenneth McCullough - My Grandad

My grandad!  He sure taught me a lot of really important things in life, like, how to play! We called him Bampa. Bampa and Kaka, my grandmother, loved to fish for crappie! They took me on occasion when they got older to help them load/unload the boat and do some of the harder tasks. Bampa would have to get into a boat at 75+ years old, and many times there would be a giant step from a rock to the boat. I always got nervous and wanted to help him, but he just said "Get out of the way!" He would some how make the leap and land in the boat safely.

He was a great granddad. He helped me take apart a lawnmower one time that was not working. We tore it down to the piston, then, put it all back together again. And, wouldn't you know it, the thing started right up. I remember NOT putting a single new part on the thing, we just took it apart and put it back together again. He had a name for that lawn mower that resembled what someone might call a donkey, because it had a rear grass discharge. It was my dad's favorite lawn mower and mine too! I had a great childhood. Bampa - I sure do miss him!

So cute.

Oh, and this is cute...The little girls are "tube feeding" the little favorite baby doll. I guess they have no idea that is what bottles are for! ha.

Thank you, Mission iPossible!

Look what Zoya won this week! Her very OWN iPad! A BIG thank you to Heather and Mission iPossible for selecting her, and for the gift of communication. We are so excited about it opening a new world to her! We are still in the process of getting it figured out. If anyone has any great communication/learning apps that they have discovered, please share!

Dear Winter....

Hope wrote about her hamster in her journal yesterday:

Dear Winter,

I love your snowball shaped tail  small body and cute ears. Your so soft and snuggley your even as soft as peter bear. I love you Winter and if you were in the snow I wouldn't see you because your so tiny and gray I love that you can stash stuff in your cheek's I love that your nose always move's and your eye's are so cute your feet are so cute too. I also love that your favorite place to stay is the stove when you escape from your cage. I love you Winter.

I was pretty mad when I saw someone had cut off all the hair off of one of the baby dolls. I questioned all the kids to find out who did it. I found out they were trying to give the doll alopecia to match Ava. She does only love the bald babies. :)

Joseph loves books. I had to laugh when I caught him reading War of the Worlds on the pot the other day.

Thank you Miss Kelly for the clothes you sent. The girls love them!

We found homes before Christmas for all nine of the puppies (and Nellie has since been spayed....we will never make that mistake again!)..

Anyway, this is one of the Chesapeake bay/great pyrenees puppies, "Peter Bear". He came for a visit last weekend. He is only three months old. Oh my word, he is huge! Look at those paws! What a sweet boy he was though. It was such a fun treat to see him and see how spoiled and how loved he is!

As you can see I am back on a blogging roll.....Maybe it will stick this time? There is lots more to blog about, so check back soon....

Stairs before and after....

It was a lot of work, bless his heart....

.....but I am very proud of my husband for doing this all by himself (that is, with a little help from his boys). 

No more carpet! Yay!

Kids keep growing....

My oldest turned 14 a couple of weeks ago. How is this possible?

We are so blessed to be a part of a wonderful homeschool community where Simeon has made some really great (and hilarious) friends. We told him he was too big for a party, and then while he was gone to Walmart with his dad, his friends mysteriously appeared behind the couch when he walked in the door. It was so great to see his surprised expression, and we had a great time.

I love, love love, that my teenage boy insists on celebrating his birthday every year with his sister, Ava. Their birthdays are three days apart. Maybe this is why they have such a special bond. I wish you could see her face light up when she hears his voice or his name. She adores her brother! (And vice versa).

Ava's second favorite person is her little brown cousin. Well, it goes without saying that her favorite birthday present was a little brown baby from her Aunt Marlita. So sweet. 

Ava has now been a part of our family longer than she was ever an orphan! What a great milestone to celebrate. Happy Birthday Simeon and Ava!

A lot of catching up....

I have thought about quitting blogging. Because who has time to blog, really. But then my little friend Macey Marrs told me that she used to be my 'biggest blog fan', back when I used to blog that is. So Macey, this post is just for you.

Jude got me set back to iphoto, so I went back all the way through September and picked out a few of the highlights. Which made me realize that when I'm not blogging, I'm not taking many photos. In fact, when I went to get out my fancy camera yesterday, I realized that I had forgotten how to use it on the manual setting! Now that is sad!


So here are some of the (few) pictures I've taken over the past few months. I promise I will do better, Mom and Dad, now that I have iphoto back. At least I 'think' I will.

Here are the two September birthdays...Hope and Joseph. Both age 7. Next month I will have FOUR 7 year olds!

We had all three of these little munchkins on a little special needs soccer team, briefly. They were the only ones on the team! And after about the 4th week of practice, we realized Zoya would rather dress up in butterfly wings, Joseph would rather write on his face with magic marker, and Ava would rather keep her little bald head in the shade. Needless to say we didn't finish the season, but at least I got this really cute picture.

Hope learned to ride a bike! Thanks Aunt Lisa!

The guys tore out the particle board stairs and replaced them with beautiful oak...I can't believe I haven't taken an 'after' photo yet. And I can't believe we survived over a week with our staircase looking like this!

The cousins from Minnesota came to visit for Thanksgiving (yes, in the midst of the staircase chaos). I took a look at the above scene and said, "Man that's a lot of kids!"....And grabbed my camera.

Only four kids went trick or treating. The other rode in the van and made fun of the kids trick or treating...(Ugh, teenagers!)

We literally threw costumes together in five minutes,  because I really  had no intentions of trick or treating, which is why Joseph is technically wearing PJs as Spongebob. Hope was my favorite, as cafeteria lady, "Marge", complete with apron, pot, ladle, and hairnet. 

This was really special. About fifteen years ago, before we ever had kids of our own, we were foster parents. This beautiful young bride and her sister lived with us for about nine months as their parents were going through some tough times. Fifteen years later, this September, Kim got married, and she asked John to walk her down the aisle and give her away. It was really an honor for him (and for me too). We have learned first hand that there are some really neat kids in the foster care system. And neat foster kids turn into neat adults. It's been a blessing to keep in touch with these girls for all these years. We love you, Kim and Teri!

And now, for the most unexpected and exciting news of all!!..............................................................................

We found ourselves a few weeks ago, with a VERY pregnant dog. The neighbor dog got to Nellie before we got around to getting her spayed (which was on my long list of things to do eventually). 

Regardless, here are the newest little mouths to feed.  They will ALL need new homes, so if you or someone is in need of a Christmas puppy, just let me know!

The kids gave them temporary names to differentiate who was who.

Just imagine nuzzling up into their soft warm fuzz, hearing their little whimpers in your ear, smelling their sweet puppy breath. Just picture how cute one would look with a big red bow around its neck, sitting under your Christmas tree. :) Your kids will love you forever!