Papa, we miss you!

Little Baby Momma

Changing her Bear's diaper.

Pointing to her hurting teeth.

And super cute after sleeping.

You have my whole heart and I love you.

How do you remove pine tree sap?

Below are step by step illustrated instructions for removing a mess of pine tree sap from the back of your toddlers head.

STEP ONE: Take a large spoonful of peanut butter and apply to tree sap matted hair. (creamy works best)

STEP TWO: Hand PB spoon to toddler.(Warning: Do not skip this child pacifying step)

STEP THREE: Warm PB lathered hair with blow dryer. (Diffuser not necessary)

STEP FOUR: Comb hair with a fine toothed comb.

STEP FIVE: Rinse hair in warm water and shampoo as usual.

Tree sap gone!

Frances + 4 McPherson boys!

Nice Pajamas...

The McPherson boys: Devon (age 3), Aidan (5), and Austin (8)

Frances tackles Austin

Playing cars with the boys

I have had a very crazy week. Our house has been over run by three boys for the past five days, with two more to go. Our good friends are off cavorting in sunny Mexico enjoying their first real vacation with out kids. It felt really good to be able to do this for them and Frances loves the boys. Four kids is sooooo much work.

I was doing great at first, but am starting to tire. Today I took the kids to the park and noticed half way through playing that their youngest was wearing slippers! I ran out of PJ's for Frances, see the P-jamy 'get-up' above. So far I have remembered to feed everyone.

A full house has been so much fun. I want another...ONE. Family of four sounds nice. Frances is having an absolute ball with these little guys. I don't know what she will do when they go home. I will have to schedule a busy week to ease her back into her life as an only child.

smooshed daisies

Frances' new thing is picking daisies. I keep finding dried up little flowers throughout the house. It is hard to get anywhere on a walk, as she has to stop and pick daisies and dandelions. This is always followed by an, "uh-oh" as she drops one from her handful.

Frances runs...cooks...and washes dishes!

I am ending my first month as a Mom who no longer works another job for 40hrs. a week(Hate that other title. (SAHM)) I must confess I was a little worried I was going to he to ask for my job back! I was definitely missing people, and feeling successful at the end of a work day. But I am warming up to this challenge and enjoying all of our close time together. I definitely see myself working part time after the summer, even if just a few days a month.

Frances is wonderful. At 20months she is doing and saying a whole lot. She is running and climbing. Frank is enrolled with her in a parent-tot swim class. She smiles the whole time. Her language has really taken off. She says new words every day it seems, and is starting to link them in a sentence with prompts. We ordered half a dozen parenting books as she has discovered she is her own self and sometimes does not want her diaper changed...or wants a snack,"nak, nak, nak" right now. Toddler parenting is definitely a challenge. I miss what little bit of baby time I had, but am loving this little person emerging. I love her humor, dramatics, craziness and sweetness.

I love it all.

Blankets for babies- Emergency Relief for Vietnamese Orphans

Vietnam has been on my mind and in my heart lately. Severe weather in northern Vietnam has caused illness in many children from orphanages. It saddens me deeply and hits so close to home. Please read this report from Ethica (This is a respected organization that advocates for ethical adoption practices):
http://www.ethicanet.org/item.php?recordid=blankets&pagestyle=default



Blankets for Babies—Emergency Relief for Vietnamese Orphans

Ethica, Inc. has received troubling reports of severe, cold weather in northern Vietnam that has taken a toll on orphanages in Hanoi, Bac Giang, Hay Tay, and Bac Ninh provinces. We understand 3 children have died in the past week and 10 more have been hospitalized. In the past two months, 9 of 19 infected infants have died.
Government officials at the National Fund for Vietnamese Children are concerned that many more children will be vulnerable to a virulent form of rhinovirus that has in some cases, progressed to pneumonia. This can be fatal for institutionalized infants and children already vulnerable to illness. The officials have met and given Ethica's representative in Hanoi permission to secure and deliver much needed blankets, heaters, warm clothing, and formula on March 7th and 8th. We estimate that $9,350 USD will be needed for this emergency relief fund which will assist 469 children under 16 years old and 152 babies from 1-7 months old.


I will always wonder what it was like for Frances as she grew from infancy to toddler hood without us or her first family. It breaks my heart that she has suffered. When we were in Vietnam we learned that Frances had pneumonia and was taken to the hospital. We even have an xray of her tiny chest. It has not occurred to me until now how close we came to not having her in our lives. I can’t even fathom it. After all we went through, all that time spent waiting, worrying , wishing, holding our breaths.

Please check out Ethica and donate. Please pray or send your thoughts to the children in Vietnam and to the families waiting to bring them home. I know they are waiting, worrying, wishing and holding their breaths.

Now I am on my way to Ethica…once I figure out my paypal password.