Spa Day

Makenna planned a spa day this week for the little girls. Cousin Jaylyn came over one day so she did an extra special day for her and Malaine. They spent about 3 hours in the spa! First they had a bubble bath in the jet tub. Swimsuits included of course. They got massages and facials.

Then hot wax treatment on the hands

and the feet!

Then of course manicures and pedicures.

Ending with hair and makeup.

I actually gasped when I saw them walk out like this. I had a vision of life in about 10 years with the 2 of them. Oh they are beautiful girls! I am so thankful that they have each other and share such a special friendship. And thankful for big sister Makenna who makes life so much fun for everyone!

Counting Down to Mall of America!

A few weeks ago we had a scavenger hunt to find tiles. The tiles spelled out a "fun place" we were getting ready to take the kids. They were all very excited to find out we get to tag along on Marks business trip. MUCH more excited than Mark is to let us tag along on what could be a nice, quiet relaxing week for him I think! ;-) But hey, who can pass up a FREE trip?? We have not been up with him since before Sage so we are ready to return. He will be working all day and some evenings, praying that the kids all cooperate for me. We are staying right by the mall. Since we were there last, they have changed the theme park from Camp Snoopy to Nickelodeon Universe, so that should be exciting. Especially if the little girls get to meet Diego! The girls can't wait to eat dinner at American Girl, which is also new since we last visited!
I am looking for mall coupons, so if you happen to have any, please let me know!

A Solution that makes Sense?

Tonight we had an evaluation done at Sensory Solutions. A place that specializes in, obviously, the senses. You may remember we did go to therapy for this about a year ago, and did not find much of a solution there. That was before attachment therapy, and so we are going to give this another go, at a new location.

It is a hard thing to sit through an evaluation as they explain to you WHY the senses might not work and the point is just driven in again. Your baby got ripped off. Because she was not held and loved as a newborn, her senses were not able to connect, resulting in, well, exactly what we are going through. Not always is this the case. Many children do have sensory issues, who were loved and nurtured. However, in Maverys situation, it is obviously most likely a result of living in an orphanage.

And so in those moments my heard breaks for her. IF things had been different for her, she would not have these struggles. IF she had just been loved on, or had not been left at the hospital for surgery, or If, if, if! But I can't let myself linger there for long. What good does it do? We can't change any of that. And we know God had a plan. A plan that she would be here. With us. A family that will investigate and get her the help she needs.

She is what they call a sensory seeker. Which is what they thought before. Some children are sensitive to noises, smells, sounds, feelings. Which is ME. She is the opposite. It needs to be louder, harder, rougher to actually stimulate her senses. Probably why my guard is always up I guess. I am sensitive to noise. Funny isn't it that the Lord would design me this way, yet give me so many children, many of who tend to be loud? Oh He will mold us and grow us won't He??

First thing they did, was put her into the swing, this time it was a cocoon type swing. She LOVES that. I am thinking this is going to have to be an investment for us. Though I am trying to figure out how you work that. 1 swing, 6 children. Hmmm. They tried to get her to do activities with them, coloring blocks, she would not do anything. Just basically ran around the room occasionally plopping herself in the therapists lap. The therapist she had just met.

They suggested weekly therapy and so we will do that. I asked if this is something that ever ends? They said therapy yes. Sensory, maybe. Sometimes they said the connectors DO re connect. (they had a much fancier way of saying it, but you get the point right?) But it might be something she always has to work at. BUT as she gets older much of it she will be able to regulate herself, she will know what she needs to calm down. Therapy is for 2 things. One, to hopefully help the connectors connect. Two, to teach Mavery, and us, how to regulate.

So, part of me goes in hopeful. MAYBE just maybe, this will help. Part of me goes in thinking, here we go again. More therapy, more experimenting, will it ever end? Yet I know this is the wrong attitude. I WANT this to help, ALL of us need this to help.

As I was praying about Mavery I was going through pictures and came across these from China. This was the first moment I held her.

That day was SOO hard for her. She was so mad, so scared. And I was filled with such JOY. Not because of she was screaming her head off of course. Because THIS was the child God had told us was our daughter. FINALLY, in the flesh, in my arms! We had no idea the road that was ahead of us with her. We just knew we were right where He wanted us to be on the exact day He wanted us to be there.

And today I know we are also exactly where He wants us to be. Leaning on Him, believing in His plan for ALL of us, and on our knees before Him.

Spotlight Sunday -Makenna

This weekend I was able to take Makenna away, just the 2 of us. We did not go far, just to my inlaws house who are out of town. But we decided we could stay there and spend $$ on fun things instead of traveling out of town to the lake or to a hotel! (this daughter of mine is so practical I tell ya!)


We had a wonderful time. In the midst of having 6 children in the house, I love being able to spend one on one time with them. I have been planning this weekend for a few months. We did a book study together called Passport to Purity. I will not say alot about it on this blog, but I will say it is WONDERFUL and I would highly recommend it to ALL parents of pre teens, or young teens boys and girls.

We also did fun things such as manicures, & pedicures. We ate at the Blue Owl, did some shopping, watched movies, and just laughed and had fun.

The highlights of the weekend were some special gifts. I gave her Molly the American Girl. Mark gave her a purity ring, which we need sized for her ring finger. And the best was when he handed her a package that began to ring, which was the shocker for her. She has been BEGGING for a cell phone for a year. We had told her she had to wait till she was driving, but after much prayer we decided we would get her one. We are now officially the best parents ever. Or for this week anyways. ;-)

Makenna has really been a lifesaver to me in this last year. I am not sure I would have survived with out her. She is a HUGE help. She loves to mother, which is good and bad at times, but overall really good. She loves to be in the kitchen and so it is FUN for her to make meals for the younger kids. She is also so creative and loves to plan things for the kids to do. Be it playing school, putting on a fashion show, or a circus in the backyard.

So this weekend was all about her and I had fun spoiling her! It is hard to see her growing up, she is almost as tall as me and her foot is about even with mine. But I am loving seeing the beautiful young woman that God is molding her into.
**Just a reminder that I have started a private blog, email me if you want to be invited! ;-)

Plenty of room to GROW!!

My view from the front of our new ride. We do have an extra cousin with us, but still have 6 open seats! I love it!

Spotlight Sunday-Ms Mavery

Someone so kindly reminded me that I needed to start back in on my spotlight Sundays, so here we go! ;-)



It has been awhile since I have said much about Mavery, thought I would share about her. She has now been home over 18 months, hard to believe we are closing in on 2 years. Some days I think we have come so far, I KNOW we have come far. Yet other days, I have think we will never reach normal. Then I must remind myself that maybe this IS normal, and I need to learn to accept a new kind of normal.


You may remember that we took Mavery in to see our international doctor after being home about 6 months. It was suggested that she could possibly have ADHD, or sensory processing disorder. We started her in therapy for sensory, but we did not see any improvement at all. We started seeing a family therapist who specialized in adoption and who diagnosed her with attachment disorder. And from that things did MUCH improve. Many of the issues we were dealing with, such as the screaming in the car every.single.time. we got in, lessened, to the point where we did not dread going for just a short drive. Many things have improved, we can look back to even just 6 months ago, and we KNOW things are better.




Yet we still struggle. We have found that routine works miracles for Mavery. She has gone to school this past year, and that has been a blessing. She loves, LOVES school. As we neared the start of summer vacation I wondered how it would go for her. And after 3 days home I knew. I quickly called and enrolled her in part time. We are able to just have her there when other kids are out on vacation. So not all the time, but at least a few weeks of the summer. I worried how she and Sage would do, because they were not both going, but I think it was good for them. The school agreed it was very good for Mavery to have that time with out Sage.





When not in school though, days can be challenging. Even if we try to keep a routine for her. We are thinking we need to re explore the sensory stuff. Look for another place to try out and see if it helps her, and us. You know, it is nothing major, as I read about some children. It is just little things. For example, if she wants a drink, she does not ask, she just suddenly will throw herself on the ground screaming that she is thirsty. Still can't sit still, and is kind of like a bull in a china shop! But a REALLY cute bull I should add!! ;-) She is GREAT if you can keep her busy EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of EVERY SINGLE DAY. Honestly. But I am talking if she is bored with an activity you have planned after 29 seconds, you better be prepared for another project. Lots of people have lots of advice, but one thing I have learned, no one REALLY gets it. No one lives here in our house with us. And while the ideas are all great, until you are living it, you can't even understand it.





However, I do want to say that Mavery REALLY is the sweetest little girl! She has a VERY caring heart. If she has something, she always wants to share with everyone. She is very concerned about those around her. More than any of my other children. She LOVES to color, and that is the one thing that we do MUCH of the day. I keep colors and books on every surface so we can grab one anytime we want. She is very friendly. She has yet to meet a stranger. Which can be a bit scary at times as many times we are out and I look over she is on a strange mans lap!




She is also very huggy. Loves to give hugs and kisses. She LOVES to play with hair, and her teacher is certain she is going to grow up and be a beautician! She has a few of those barbie heads I pull out often and her barbies get regular brushings and braids! She has amazing hair herself, it is SO thick and she is very proud of how long it is FINALLY getting! Her very favorite activity and MINE too for her is that she loves water. If we are having a rough day, I run a bath for her! I wish we could afford a pool as I know that would be great therapy for ALL of us!! ;-)

I have heard before that sometimes it takes as long as they lived in an institution for them to settle in out of it. And maybe that is the case. She was almost in China for 3 years, and has just been home 1 1/2 years. We remind ourselves daily, there has been improvement! We also remind ourselves of those days we waited and wondered, as we pored over her picture and we prayed on our faces before God, is THIS our daughter? And He said yes. She is to be yours and YOU were made to be her mommy. So on the days (or hours) when I think I am NOT equipped for this job, I just think back on that time. Out of ALL the mommies in the world, He chose ME! So while I might doubt MY abilities and feel like a failure most days, I try to remember He is a bit smarter than I am!! He knew the road we would travel when He pointed her picture out to me. He knew she needed us, and that I needed her. And so even if things NEVER change from how they are right now, I know that He will change ME and that we will all be ok.

Malaine loses another tooth!

Our toothless girl just keeps getting MORE toothless! We were at the lake over the weekend and her bottom tooth was hanging on by a thread. She refused to let me pull it though. As if I would have pulled it but there were many with us that were willing! So instead I had a tap on my shoulder at 5 AM, while we were sleeping in a bedroom with 8 of us might I add. "Mom, I lost my tooth!" So I did what any good parent would do and told her to lay it on the dresser and please go back to sleep. ;-) I love the first picture, she sure enjoyed her brownie!

Backwards to the Beach!

Back in March Mark and I were able to get away to the beach for a week! We stayed on Ft Walton, which is where we had went with the kids back in October. The weather was not so great overall. Rain, COLD. But we still enjoyed sleeping late, eating, movies, shopping, reading and relaxing, just the 2 of us! We are so blessed with a wonderful babysitter who is great with our kids, thanks Megan! Along with grandparents who are very helpful and live close by!
Pictures are not in order, but the food is at The Melting Pot, YUM! We did get a few days on the beach. Cool, but still got burned. On our way home we stopped in New Orleans. We had never been and figured we were so close. It was an ok time. Not a place I would probably choose to go again, or am sure I feel I SHOULD go again. We did see some neat things, but also saw so much sin it was kind of depressing and dark. We did enjoy some new foods though and the architecture really is beautiful. Overall a wonderful trip. Wish we could do that every year!! ;-)

It has come down to this

This my friends is what happens when you drive a whole lot of kids around. The vehicles just get bigger and bigger!

We began our marriage with a cute little car such as the picture above. We thought we were so cool. Red little sports car, very fun!

Was not to long and we moved to one of these. Cool right? Till you add kids and travel alot and need to climb around inside the car and perform gymnastic feats to get from the front to the back.

So then we purchased one of these. Which for the record is what I still drive because I am a big baby when it gets bigger than this! But when you add in 5 children, you realize you are going to have to upgrade. Especially when 5th child has sensory issues, and so does momma so the screaming from the back seat are just not a good combo.
So in came this bad boy. And we have loved it. Leather cushy seats, Big TV with wireless headphones, spread out, NICE! Till you run out of seats that is. It only fits 7. We now have EIGHT!


Welcome to the world of BIG ugly vans. FIFTEEN passenger big vans. We searched high and low to find one that fit us, meaning our budget! It is HUGE and we have plenty of room to grow. ;-) Mark will be flying out of town next week to drive it home. We are debating, should we add a daycare logo on the side just to make people think?? hehe!

Someday I have promised Mark we will stop having children and he will get to drive one of these! Ha!!

Till then we are thankful that we will get to fill up these seats, or most of them anyways!

Password to New Blog

I have added a 2nd blog for just some of my posts. If you want a password, please email me. ;-) Laxton@htc.net I hope to keep up better on this blog. I will add a note when I update that blog. No worries, nothing crazy going on, just need to keep some things more private. Not to mention my kids are old enough to read my blog now so maybe I might just write about them on their too and NOT give them a PW. ;-)

Possibly adding Password

Just a heads up... I have removed a few posts (for now)and I am trying to figure out a way to add a password just in case. If you know how I can do that besides going to wordpress, please let me know. I do not want the entire blog password protected, just certain times with a certain someone. ;-) If I need to do the whole thing, I will give a shout out before I pull it. Might just start a 2nd blog for those posts. Things are fine, no worries.

Crazy Hair Night at Awana

Makenna is missing because on Wednesdays she goes home w/ my cousin Amy for piano lessons and I take her daughter Jaylyn. Mavery had worn curlers in her hair the night before so refused to let us do more w/ hers! Crazy hair night is the kids favorite at Awana!

Going Backwards, Valentines Day!

I never posted these, I don't think, but think they are so cute!