Thursday, May 28, 2009

TB TESTS  

Well...  Micah's test site was clear (which we knew).  Matthew's test site is abnormal, thus inconclusive.  They'll both be tested again either in a week or a month (the doc was checking to see what the protocol was from CDC...  Health department told us 1 week, he thought it was 1 month).

As for the veins, the doctor (his regular pediatrician) said again that he felt that it was nothing and hoped that it was but that if the other doctor (who he respects as a good doctor) thinks it needs to be looked at then it should be looked at.  That'll be a process.  Nothing we're worried about now.

So at the end of the day, we know nothing new.  :-)

The appointments  

Micah and Eli had an appointment for a surgery consult for tonsillectomy and ear tubes. The doc noticed Micah's veins (which of course we've asked the docs about before) and asked if we knew what they were. Of course the docs have said they don't really know and that's the end of it. The doc today said, "I don't want to scare you, but..." Don't you love it when a doctor says that?

Anyway, it could be related to a respiratory problem that creates hard coughing. He had pneumonia a lot when he was a baby (so we are told). He said it could also be a brain problem that causes the veins to have these characteristics. He's going to consult a neurologist he knows and see what the next step is. It's all in God's hands. We're not worried that God doesn't know about everything and we completely trust Him and His hand.

Matthew's surgery has been schedule for June 15. The others have yet to be scheduled but they will probably have to stay in the hospital for observation following the surgeries since they don't speak. They want to be sure they will be able to swallow. They both have tonsils that pretty much close off their throats so it will be quite a change for them both.

We have our appointment at 4:30 to have the TB test read. We'll update you when we know the results from those.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

TB Tests  

We find out this afternoon about the TB tests. One of the boys appears to have reacted to the test.  One doesn't.  If one of them has it, and the other doesn't, the negative will be retested.  If they both are negative they will both be retested.  We'll post later to update.


Meanwhile...  Micah and Eli have their consult for their upcoming surgeries this morning.  We've seen a lot of docs!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A quick update...  

I was going to post on Saturday, but never did it.  I've been waiting to download a video from our video camera and some pictures from our digital cameras before I post, but that still hasn't happened so I decided to just give an update without pictures.


I wish I could put into words the joy that has come into our home with Matthew & Micah.  Matthew, we assumed, would bring joy and delight to our lives.  Micah is another story.  When we first met this little guy, we honestly didn't think we could go through with it.  We seriously considered not adopting him.  But even in the same afternoon we discussed this (through many tears, I might add), we also said that we couldn't leave him in the institution.  So our decision was made to regroup and go forward.  In the next 12 hours, we made plans and formed a strategy for the next visit with him and things got better almost instantly.  While we wouldn't have left him there, there was a fear that we couldn't do it.  That he would be too much of a disruption to our family.

Today, we can say without hesitation that without him, there would be a void in our lives.  Not just a void, but a physical ache.  That's not to say that both boys haven't been challenging at times.  There have been moments when our love for them wasn't as perfect as God's love for us, or even the love we have for our biological kids.  Hard to admit, but there it is.  There did come a time, though, in the last 2 months (though we can't pinpoint the exact moment it happened) that they became ours.  Really ours.  It happened pretty early on, but it was a process to be sure.

Before we left Ukraine with them, they were ours in our minds and mostly in our hearts, but an even greater transformation has happened that we are thankful to God for.  A transformation that we couldn't plan or force.  Simply a gift from our Father.

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW???
Mary and I are doing well.  We've been so careful to protect our relationship and to still make moments for romance even when they are sometimes rushed instead of lingering together for an evening on the town.  We have some dear friends who "forced" us to let them come over once a month so we could have a date.  That's been sweet.  When we got home, we assumed that it would be months before we could go out by ourselves.  Thankfully, that was a wrong assumption.  We look for those quiet moments that come along every now and then and enjoy them while they last.  Even with the added responsibility we have with our kids, we still put our relationship on the front burner.  Not that we put the kids on the back burner (okay...I'm speaking metaphorically here...we do NOT put our kids on the stove for punishment), but we know that if things aren't good with US, things can't be good for THEM.  So things are good in our relationship and we're as madly in love with each other as always.

Our five biological kids are doing so well.  They finished the year in school with all A's and a couple of B's.  They have adjusted so well to the new boys.  They are in love with them and treat them as if they've always been in our family.  They have astounded us with their compassion and gentleness and patience.  Seth, our 7 year old boy who is ALL BOY and is always on GO becomes a tender and gentle caregiver for the boys.  He sits with them on the couch and puts his arms around them and hugs them and kisses them.  He holds Matthew's hand and rubs it (Matthew's favorite thing in the world).  He tells them He loves them (when he thinks no one is listening).  Sometimes he tells them in Russian (I think he thinks when he does, he thinks no one knows what he's saying so as not to lose the all boy persona :-)  ).

Eli has opened up to us in different ways.  He desires our attention more since he sees Matthew and Micah wanting our attention.  He comes when we call him now (sometimes).  That's something that he would almost never do before.  He's more independent (partially because we were away from him so long but also because he sees Micah and Matthew thriving and doing).  He definitely makes more of an effort to do things on his own...yet has become more dependent on us in ways that are healthy (he wants to sit with us more, he reaches out for hugs and kisses).

Matthew and Micah have blossomed and have shed many of their "institutional" behaviors (though not all).  They have become accustomed to us, our schedule, our lives, our discipline.  You can really almost feel them sigh and say to themselves, "Ahhhh.  I'm safe.  I'm loved.  I'm happy.  I'm home."  It's true joy and contentment.  They come to us when they want attention when they're hungry, when they're hurt, when they need a hug, when they're happy about something.  They have opened their hearts to all of us in ways that we didn't think could happen so quickly.

So much for a short post, huh??

HERE'S SOME FIRSTS THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED:
Matthew has started looking AT us more than he looks past us.  You know that feeling you get when you're being watched?  Well every now and then I get that feeling and I'll look up and he's STARING at me.  When I meet his gaze, he smiles the biggest smile with his whole body.  When we're holding him, he will look right into our face and really connect with us.  It's  a precious gift.

Micah has had less "regressive institutional" behavior episodes and rarely acts like a caged wild animal anymore.  There has only been 2 episodes in the last 2 weeks or so that he regressed.  We don't know what causes it, but there are moments that he becomes the boy we first met.  It only lasts for an instant, but you can visually see it happen.  He takes off his glasses, kicks off his shoes and his eyes actually change.  They have gotten shorter and shorter and much farther in between.  We'll just keep loving them out of that boy!

Over the weekend, the boys had their first watermelon (most likely ever since watermelon isn't that popular in Ukraine and it doesn't taste very good and it's more expensive than other fruits...so it's unlikely he's ever they've ever had it before).  Matthew liked it, but when Micah got it, he was laughing and eating it as fast as he could!  It was going all over him (an me for that matter) because he was trying to eat it so fast.  Like it would go away if he didn't get it eaten.  He had 2 large pieces (all we would let him have and was his pullup WET the next morning (as we knew it would be)).  We gave him some more last night.  Same reaction.  Pure ecstasy!   It was a joy for us to watch him experience it for the first time.  Matthew liked it, but the only thing he gets that excited about is breakfast!  Oh wait, Micah gets that excited over cheerios with milk.  Hmmm....  they do love to eat.  But that's another change.  They don't shovel it down so much.  They both will leave food on their plate instead of gobbling it all up and begging for more.   These are good changes.

ONE MORE THING...
Yesterday, the three little guys were watching a movie with me after lunch.  After about 30 minutes it was nap time.  Micah didn't want to go, but he didn't make an issue out of it.  OR DID HE?  Mary went to wake him up and get him up and there was something terribly wrong.  Before he went to sleep, he stripped, pooped and LITERALLY spread it on everything that he could reach.  He was covered top to bottom, every bar on his crib, the sheets, blankets, pillow, then he threw the poop out of the bed onto the floor and went to sleep.  It was because he didn't want to go take a nap and I'm sure he thought, I'll show you.  Well, in the end, he was the one who learned the lesson, but it's an interesting manifestation of the "institution" behavior raising it's head.  It reminds of what a dog does when he's mad at his owner.  The only thing he can really control, used as a weapon.  Hmmm...  Mary disciplined him and made sure he understood it was not okay.  I came in from a computer job I was doing at someone's house and made sure he knew from my end too that it was not okay.  As soon as I mentioned  it and asked him if he took his clothes off and made a mess in his bed he hung his head and covered his face with his arm.  He KNEW it was wrong and he knew it was not okay.  He's such a blessing.

Mary and I are trying to formulate what God is calling us to do in the adoption ministry arena in our church and area where we live.  We've seen what we seen for a reason.  Saving Matthew and Micah was the tip of the iceberg.  Pray with us.

Well...that was not a SHORT update!  I'll try to post some new pics we have of the kids and we have a couple of videos to share.  Some day.  :-)

IS THERE A QUESTION YOU'VE BEEN DYING TO ASK BUT HAVEN'T?  Post it as a comment and I'll answer it in an upcoming post.  Nothing's off limits (if it's too personal, I'll either answer it privately or not at all. :-)  ).

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Crazy week at Capitol, nudity and pain  

Sitting in the parking lot at the State Capitol. Didn't get the call
re: what time the session would begin today so came at 8. Either all
the representatives resigned last night when they finished around
midnight or they set the time as 9 am. Hmmmm. So I'll open the
session with prayer then gotta fly to the first state Capitol
( Guthrie). Meeting the senior adults there for tours and lunch.
Will be fun but a bad week timewise for it.

Will tell mire about it in a long post with new pics on saturday.

So let's talk about nudity. No really. Tuesday, Mary went to get
Micah after his nap. She walked in and noticed he didn't have his
shirt on. She pulled his blanket off and yep, birthday suit. That
woke him up and he started pointing and grunting (basically telling
her he needed clothes). Okay. Kinda cute. But only kinda
considering the code browns we've had in past. Yesterday he did the
same thing only he apparently had to pee so he did. A lot. Not
cute. Mary made him put his pullup and shirt back on. That took a
long time but the boys gotta learn. Oh my.

Pain is a funny thing. Since matthew joined our family he has not
responded to pain at all. It's like he had shut off that part of his
nerve system. This week he has started responding greatly to pain. I
guess those nerves woke up. Strange and I wonder if that's typical
with orphans in institutions. Certainly not the case with Micah. He
cries when you touch him. Okay, it's when he's trying to get a sib in
trouble. Yes, he's an actor!

Monday, May 18, 2009

This is why.  

This is why we are doing what we are doing. This is why we are trying to get an adoption ministry started in our church family. This is why we adopted. This is why we can never stop. Never be silent.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Tube...  

Don't think I remembered to post this last week...

Last week, we found out that we were to take out Eli's G-Tube ourselves on Monday night.  "It's easy," says the doc.

So I wondered if I could find somewhere else to be (I don't do well with open cavities in the body, or blood, or stuff squirting out of holes in people's stomachs (okay so I've never been around anyone with stuff squirting out of holes in their stomachs...but I wouldn't do well with it, I'm sure).

Well, I decided that was silly to leave it to Mary, so we both went to Walmart and made our 2 oldest kids do it while we were gone.  Just kidding.  :-)

I pulled the liquid out of the balloon that holds it in his stomach and gave a tiny tug and out it came (along with what was left of dinner 2 hours before...  uh...gross.

We bandaged it and I noticed last night when I gave the 3 little crumb crunchers their baths that it was closed.  Praise God for that because he has a history of being a slow healer.

So he's officially TUBE FREE!  Yes!  I still question the logic of putting it in, but if we hadn't done it and he had aspirated and gotten real sick again, we'd have regretted the decision. So, it's over now...for now.

On to the surgery center in the next several weeks for all three little punkin heads for various procedures.  Time to start doing tile work again on the side so I can pay for all this.  Thankful for insurance though!  If we didn't have it, instead of several thousand dollars, it would be ten's of thousands...  So thank You, God for our insurance!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Risk is zero...  

"I rejoice in the growing vision for the sacred calling of adoption.  The pain and pleasures of parenting are multiplied with every child we embrace -- whatever age and by whatever means.  The rewards are partly in this life, but mainly in the next.  Jesus does not call us to maximize our securities and comforts here.  He said, "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."  The short-term risks of adoption are huge.  The long-term risks of love are zero.  God will make all grace abound for every day's demand.  Nothing is impossible with Him.  There will be no regrets for parents who love in the power of Christ.  May God multiply churches that live this truth."

--John Piper

Pretty cool...  

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The punkin heads, mother's day and other ramblings...  

We had a great day with the kids today. The 3 punkins all had a very happy today. I'd love to know what makes days happy and not happy. I'd put it in a bottle and feed it to them while they sleep. They all woke up so happy today and were happy all day. They've just gone to bed about 20 minutes ago and were all 3 still happy. It's so good to see the old Eli since he's gotten over the blood problem that he's apparently had since summer.


It's been interesting to see how he's responded to having Matthew & Micah in our family. Today, he walked up to me and held his arms up and just smiled a huge smile. I picked him up and he gave me a big kiss and hug and just giggled. That's not our normal Eli. I wouldn't say that the love that Micah so freely gives us makes him jealous, I think he ma see how happy it makes us and Micah that he's just realized what he's missing out on by staying to him self.

Today, when they woke up from their naps, I brought them all into our bed (Mary and I had been laying down). All three of them got a good tickle and when Matthew was doing his evil professor laugh while I was tickling him, Eli just laughed and laughed. He thought it was so funny that I was tickling Matthew. They all fed off each other. It ended up bringing the rest of the kids in and we all had a good time. (except Blake...who was working on a video that he shot of the other kids yesterday... it'll probably show up here sometime.)

Matthew & Micah did so well at church today. They sat there with us like little gentlemen . It's amazing how well they did. Praise God for that! And Micah hasn't spit on anyone in over a week. That's an improvement. (Does anyone else think that it's weird that not spitting on people would be a milestone?? ha ha)

Mary has really done a lot in the yard this year. So, the kids chipped in (and dad helped quite a bit) and got her 2 huge hydrangea plants and several dahlias that are very pretty. They also got her one big card and all signed it. It's a musical card that plays "We Are Family." Very cute.

So why do I love the mother of my children?
She's beautiful.
She puts me and the kids way ahead of herself.
She's my best friend.
There's no other person on the planet that I'd rather be with.
She loves the kids unconditionally. Completely.
She loves God more than she loves me.
She makes me happy...just being her...just like she is.
She brightens my life.
She's the best mom on earth.
She's far more than I could ever deserve.
Here's to my lover, my best friend, my bride of my youth.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Friday, May 8, 2009

New header...  

If you read the Malone Family blog on a reader, be sure and stop by to see the new header. You can take a look here...

Please Pray  

Silas Loux (Derek & Renee's son) was rushed to the hospital yesterday with very serious pneumonia and possible other problems. He is in isolation and will be in the hospital for at least several days.

Please pray for his healing and for Derek & Renee as they juggle everything they do while he's in the hospital.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

High Fives, Diarrhea and Extra Thumbs...  

High Fives
We had DAY TWO of no hugs/kisses at church. Only high-fives. Micah is really getting into it. He gives one high five, then grabs the hand of the person and gives about 50 real fast in a row. He didn't try to hug anyone last night as far as I know. He's a smart little character. Matthew (who never really tried to hug people so much anyway) doesn't really get into the high five thing. He's kind of like Eli in that respect. He likes people but he isn't very free with his affection.

Diarrhea ****WARNING**** Not for the faint of heart! You might want to skip this paragraph!
I opened the boys bedroom door this morning at 6:45 to get them up to take them downstairs for breakfast. Then it hit me. Actually, just before the door opened, I got this sinking feeling (in my nose). Once the door was open, there was no doubt. I first went to Matthew's bed. He was fine. Sitting up, bouncing and rocking and giggling when he saw me. Up went his arms for me to pick him up. But I didn't at that moment. I went on the Eli's bed. Fast asleep and I saw no problems. Then on to Micah's bed. He was still asleep. Curled up in the corner of the bed, no blankets, and at the foot of the bed. I quickly realized that he was in the very corner because it was literally the only spot that didn't have poop on it. It was all over his pillow, all in his hair (oy vay) and on every blanket and that's probably all you want to know. Of course Blake was still in the shower, but I knocked (banged) on the bathroom door and told him to get his towel and get out of the bathroom. He did and I got another towel and just wrapped Micah up like a burrito so I wouldn't get it all over me and took him to the bath tub. Gave him the grossest bath I've ever experienced. He pointed to his hair and wanted it washed and all the other places where it went. Thankfully, he didn't play in it this time. It was just squished all over him. Got him out and then wrapped up everything in the bed and put it in the washer. Ugh. What a way to start the day!!!! We think we've narrowed it down to PIZZA as the suspect food product that he cannot handle. So goodbye pizza for him!!!
****END of Grossness****

Extra Thumbs
Sunday, we were sitting with the boys when I was finished with my portion of the service I lead. They both did so well! I was holding Micah in my lap and he held my hands in just the wrap around him position that he wanted. Pretty cute. Well, Mary was holding Matthew and he decided he wanted to hold my hand too so I let him hold one and he put both hands up for me to take him (which I couldn't). BUT...Micah started staring at Matthew's hands. Then he looked at his hand that has the extra thumb and back to Matthew's hands and back to his. In that moment, he realized that the extra thumb was not normal. He was ashamed and embarrassed by it and he hid his hand so I couldn't see it. I wanted him to know that it was okay so I forced his hand out from his other and held it, but he would not allow it. He wouldn't let me touch it. Finally, he covered his forehead and eyes with his forearm and hid his face too. Ugh. I was so sad for him. That poor little guy. He's so tender and so fragile. Needless to say I've loved on him extra hard because of the incident and reminded him over and over that he is a good boy. He just beams. I've been kissing on his extra thumb and trying to make him feel okay about it. The doc said he wanted to take it off. I didn't really agree. I thought is was no big deal. I was wrong. It's coming off.

Eli's Tube
As I said in an earlier post, Eli's g-tube (mickey) can come out. We called the doctor that put it in and let her know that the specialist that ordered said it could come out. She told us that we could bring him in and take care of it, but it would be better if we just did it at home. Okay... Right... YIKES! She told us how to do it and gave us the procedure to take care of the wound afterward and what to do if something goes wrong. So...Monday night, we're pulling it. Maybe I can find something else to do. :-) Ewwwww! Just kidding. We'll just do what she said and try not to throw up. :-)

The other treasures...
Our other kids have made the transition so well so far. They have really loved their new brothers in extravagant ways. What a blessing they are to us and to Matthew and Micah. Thank You, God.

Our church has also been a HUGE blessing to our family. I can't begin to describe it in words.

And of course, my beautiful bride has been an amazing mommy to all seven of our treasures. She is the love of my life and the owner of every part of my heart.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Our Latest Video...  

Our first video since my parents have been home:


Sunday, May 3, 2009

Testing 1...2...3...  

Our schedule was different today for church.  For one thing, I have fed the boys their breakfast and gotten them dressed every day since we came home.  Today, we decided that Matthew & Micah would not go to the nursery at all but would stay with us the whole time and that we would not be giving hugs to every living person...only high fives.  So Mary decided that she would get them their breakfast and get a later start to church than me.  Ummm...also we moved them to a different room last night. 
Micah doesn't deal with change the same may normal mortals do.  So we hit him with all that change in 12 hours time.  He hasn't done too well with it today.  There has been LOTS of correction and scolding today.  I hate for every word to come out of my mouth to be NO.  (I always back it up with "Papa loves Micah" and he hugs and kisses me, but it still wears me out). 

Mary has had to be on him ALL DAY.  Totally our fault, but now that we're in it, we can't let him tip the scales to his side and get away with the things that he knows are not okay.  Hitting, spitting, etc...

So why did we pull them out of nursery/sunday school/childcare?  We originally decided that it would be best to keep them out for at least a month or MORE so they could totally attach to us and prefer us over anyone else.  For some reason, the second week we were home, we thought it would be okay to go ahead and put them in classes here at church.  We realized on Friday that that was not in their (or our) best interest so we are reversing that.  It'll be a bit difficult on them and us to make the change but it's what we need to do.

We have also decided that Micah must NOT go around hugging and kissing everyone that comes near him.  We're limiting him to high fives only for non-immediate family.  We need to be SURE that they know that we are papa and mama and more importantly what that means.  They need to know that our hugs and kisses are different than a "strangers" hug and kiss.

We got some wacky looks at church today, but their welfare is so much more important than that...

SO...if any of you reading this post are attenders at FBC...just bear with us as we do the best we can!  :-)

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Oh...having them in church with us this morning worked pretty well (after taking Micah out once to remind him who is in charge).  They snuggled in and were quiet.  The only thing was that when people clapped, Matthew thought it was hysterical so every time they stopped, you heard this loud, high pitched laughter.  Pretty cute!  :-)

Friday, May 1, 2009

The Boys Medical Situations...  

Here's where we are right now medically...

ELI

  • His blood counts remain high which indicate that he is, indeed, producing his own blood cells. PTL!
  • His thyroid checks out good and operational
  • His heart still sounds good
  • He can have his feeding tube removed whenever we want (it'll be soon)
  • He's back to his old self -- a HUGE blessing!!!
  • Still waiting on ENT appointment to see how his tubes are holding up
  • His tonsuls need to come out
MATTHEW
  • His heart is in great condition...no problems
  • His vision is within normal ranges
  • He needs to have minor eye surgery to fix his tear ducts on both sides and to remove the viral spots on his face and arms (yes, I know arms are not eye surgery...but it'll be the same procedure)
  • Needs tubes (the ENT doc said his ear canals were the smallest he had ever seen). His hearing is compromised due to the fluid and improper movement of the drums (which should be corrected with the tubes)
MICAH
  • Very poor vision but corrected with glasses
  • Needs his tonsuls out
  • Needs his adnoids out
  • Needs tubes
  • His heart is in good condition except some possible hypertension (but may have been an anomaly on the test. We'll just wait and see.
  • He has some definite mental/emotional/behavior issues we are working through but they are VERY MINOR and are corrected with proper discipline. He's just a little boy acting out because of his past. We're gonna love it all out of him! :-)
They are attaching very well. Matthew is less attached due to his developmental condition. Believe it or not we have the same attachment issues with Eli. Both Eli and Matthew love us and enjoy us...but we do ask ourselves the question if they would be just as happy with someone else and would they miss us. Hmmm...but we're working on it. :-) No worries. God's asked us to do our part, which we will continue to do, and He will take care of the rest. We are confident of that.

THERE'S ANOTHER NEW POST TODAY BELOW THIS ONE... :-) Can you believe it? 3 posts in 2 days!!!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

So Blessed...  

I'm finally posting about last Saturday!  

To back up a little bit...  When we were in Ukraine with the Loux's, they began to pray for God to provide people to come around us and help us as we added Matthew & Micah to our family.  When they told us that, I thought a couple of things...
1.  People have busy lives and won't have time to help us.
2.  I wouldn't be ASKING anyone to help us and unless they offered, it wouldn't happen.  (Ummm...Pride)
3.  I am independent and we can do this on our own.  (yeah...Pride.)

Well, as you know, the day we got back Eli had a serious medical condition and ended up in the hospital.  The first day we were home, I was home with all the kids except Eli, and I had double pneumonia.  God had me where He wanted me.  I needed help.  But I still wasn't going to ask.  No matter.  I got home from the hospital the first night only to find the house clean, laundry done and kids fed and in bed...  Thanks to a host of people who came over without me asking and they took charge and did what needed to be done.

They came back the next day and the next while Eli was in the hospital.  The food began coming too.  It was a very valuable lesson from God.

Fast forward a week and one of our dear friends, Randy Done was at our house helping (okay he did the work...I handed him tools) replace a back door.  He's also volunteered to help me turn our garage into a living room.  The week after we got home, our Singles Minister (another dear friend, Raymond Cox) said that the singles wanted to make us their project for their mission project (Mission:POSSIBLE) for April.  My initial reaction was "no way."  We can do it ourselves.  God reminded me that we are part of a body and two things would happen if we refused...  (1) The Malone's would have things that needed to be done that would take weeks or months to complete.  (2) We would be withholding the blessing from those who were answering God's call to help us.  (Remember, people had prayed that they would come along and help).  So I said yes and thank you.

In the meantime, another of our great friends, the Schloss's, said that we were going out Friday night and they were coming to sit with the kids.  I tried to talk them out of it and gave all the reasons that that might not be a good idea.  But they said they were coming...and we were going out.  Period.  So they did and we did and it was wonderful.  When we got home, they told us they wanted to do it once a month.  What a blessing.

On Saturday, the 25th, the singles showed up ready to work...  They...
  • Painted a large bedroom that all the little boys will move in to.
  • Painted the upstairs hall
  • Painted the upstairs bathroom
  • Repapered, cleaned and organized the kitchen cabinets
  • Cleaned out flowerbeds
  • Helped finish the play fort in the backyard
  • Cleaned
  • Took apart and moved beds around
What a blessing.  Words can't express our thankfullness.

Take a look at this video...


Blessed be the Name of the Lord!