Wonderful Wednesday!

I was in the car today LITERALLY from sun up to sun down! My day started at 5:15 after sleeping on the couch (for some reason both Caty and Myah sleep in our bed now) I showered, loaded the car and 3 "girlie movies" and got Tori up & ready-loaded in the car then I got Caty up and loaded in her jammies and pulled out of the driveway in the pouring rain by 6:30. I stopped for the first time to get the girls breakfast at McD's then a 5 minute stop at Grandma's in Leavenworth for a potty break-ME NOT THE KIDS (too much coffee) LOL! Then it was off to Starbucks-got Caty dressed in her shoes and clothes in the parking lot (I was 30 minutes late SORRY TRACIE) to meet a fantastic new friend God has given me through this blog (and just to think 3 months ago, I didn't know what a blog was:) I could have talked to Tracie & her sweet little one ALL DAY LONG!! Her blog "FROM THE HEART" is linked to the blogs I read. We only got to chat for about an hour but boy did it fly by! I can tell we will be fast friends. She & her husband and his brother and wife Renee ALL share the passion from God for adoption. Both of their families will be bringing home special needs boys from the Ukraine! I can't wait until we can get all 3 of our families together someday soon! They have inspiring stories-please take time to read them! Check out their blogs or click to see what IHOP REALLY means (and it ain't got nothin' to do with pancakes!)




Then it was off to Caty's appointment, she did very well for the first half! Then to a fun lunch with a few of our favorite cousins that live in the KC area Amy, Beth and Steve! None of these guys have kids YET so they are all super sweet and very fond of mine! I consider all of them HUGE blessings in my life!


We had to be back at KU for the 2nd part of testing but OOOOOPS we were a tid bit late again-nothing like running through the pouring rain with 2 kids and all their "stuff!" We had a nice surprise there, one of my BEST friends from childhood O.J. (the other Jen) was there to hang with us for a few minutes-I LOVE the saying that "just happened" to be behind us when the picture was taken...AMAZING! Let's put it this way, the 2 Jen's have COME A LONG WAY from our wild teen years together. We both have a love for God and for adopted children-who'd have thought?
For those of you who don't know Jen, she is another AMAZING person-while working at KU as a nurse for Medicaid, she had little Isaiah as a patient-she heard God's clear call to adopt him despite his severe medical challenges and need for a small bowel transplant. She and her husband Aaron & their 2 girls Becca and Taylor have truly sacrificed and showed God's love for him over the last 3 years-they've basically rotated living off and on in Omaha, NE where Isaiah is today and has been for weeks. His little body is rejecting his new bowel. Jenni remains here to work through the week while Aaron spends Mon-Friday in Omaha-He then comes back to work on the weekends while Jen and sometimes the girls head to Omaha EVERY weekend. Please keep this dear family in your prayers, this is such a hardship on the entire family all the way around, physically, emotionally and financially.

Caty was tire throughout the afternoon testing but did okay. They came out with a lot of reading material for me to take home and a lot of websites/resources for me to check out. They basically diagnosed her with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified aka Atypical Autism. Basically what they said is that she has many of the "flavors" of Autism but not full-blown Autism. Most of the ways to help her with socialization and behavior will come from Nick and I using different things on a trial and error basis. They will reevaluate her in 1 year. So, good news and praise there.

Off to bed-we have "BLACK SQUIRREL NIGHT" tomorrow night and must get our rest for the intense costume contest! Can't wait to take pictures and post em!

Blessings to you all! Sweet Dreams!