Honey time!

It's almost honey harvest time! We don't have our own extractor, so I think Ken and his dad are going to try and do it old-fashioned-ly, basically letting it melt/drip out of the frames. This will take longer and I imagine they'll lose some honey - let's face it, guys are messy! Either way we should have delicious, fresh honey soon!I sent in our registration to our adoption agency, and now I'm waiting for our application to come in the mail! If they sent it right away, we should get it by Monday. I'm praying everything moves quickly. The little guy I accidentally fell in love with desperately needs to come HOME and get medical care! We haven't officially committed to this sweetie yet, so I won't say any more abouthim. He's the cutest little bug and I so badly want to cuddle him. So, everyone pray that everything moves quickly for us and that we can travel in spring to bring him home! Of course, part of this is getting the funds - a LOT of funds! I'm having a garage sale next month and I'm thinking of doing a fundraiser in the winter, if I can pull it all together!
Meanwhile my house is coming together in preparation of a MOBILE TODDLER. Aaahhh! Brennan still isn't crawling, but he's starting to cruise! He can only go about a step or two at a time, but I can tell he's going to catch on fast! All he wants to do is stand. I think it makes him feel pretty cool and tuff. For a few days I thought he was just being clingy, because when I was sitting near me he kept reaching for me. I finally realized he just wanted me to help him stand! He has a "learn-and-groove" play table where he could spend all day. He's REALLY not interested in crawling, although he is getting better moving around. He pivots better while on his tummy, and he's trying (unsuccessfully) to crawl over our legs or into toy baskets. He's also starting to scoot forward while in a sitting position. He just doesn't want to use his arms!

Time for me to go do some of this:

This boy has stolen my heart!

This boy is so cute, but we can't take him.
He is set to be transferred to a mental institution in just six months. He cannot be adopted from there and will live out the rest of his life in a crib. Children adopted at this age have tremendous potential to grow and develop once they have the love and nurture of a forever family! Please consider saving this adorable boy.

**I removed his pic - I think his country does not allow photos on public blogs. I'm not positive but better safe than sorry! But I can direct you to pictures if you'd like!**

BOY, Born February 4, 2005

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!
Monroe is a sunshine of a little boy! He is already 5 and blessed to still be at the baby house. He needs a family right away!

From a missionary who visited with him in June 2010: I met with the doctor in his Groupa House who brought me back to meet him. The Head Doctor wanted me to meet the children who needed equipment. While measuring him for a chair, she explained to me what was more important was that he get a family. He will be transferred in six months to the worst institution, restrained in a crib in a dark room. She broke into tears! Monroe has spastic cerebral palsy in all four limbs and is globally delayed. He is able to recognize the voices of his careworkers and understand simple directions. However, due to his spasticity he is unable to do much of anything. No speech. With therapy he can improve but will always have limitations. I measured his head circumference and once home will check with a doctor regarding whether or not he is microcephalic as well. I will try to gather more information on him today. His temperament was sweet and his eyes twinkled. He needs a family fast!

From an adoptive family who visited with him in June 2009: Monroe has CP. It appears that he is unable to use his arms and legs and is not sitting up on his own. He has the most beautiful smile and I don’t think there is much of a cognitive delay. He loves to be held and his whole face lights up when you come near him.”

*** Monroe has an incredible benefactor who has offered a FULL GRANT of $20,000 for his adoption. He is facing imminent institutionalization, and will regress quickly once he is transferred. Families who are qualified (www.reecesrainbow.org/newfamily.html) to adopt internationally and who are approved to adopt a significantly delayed child should contact Andrea for more information. This is a very fast program and it is very possible to have him home before the end of 2010! ***

Babies, bees, and other things

This post has been a long time in the making, so it might get a little long :). I've been working extra shifts and have been too tired to concentrate enough to write a coherent post! I think I'll break this down into different sections.

Brennan. Brennan had his 9 month check-up and he's almost 20 lbs! He's in the 37th% for weight, 24th for height, and his giant head is in the 49th percentile! His doctor is really pleased with his growth. He's being measured on the regular charts now, not the preemie charts. The rest of the appointment went well. He's at 9 months developmentally for some things and just a little behind in others. He still isn't able to eat finger foods, but my family keeps trying to convince me to give them to him anyway! The doc also told me what to do for his excema, so that has cleared up. Next appointment, he gets shots AND a fingerpoke. Not looking forward to that - last time he got shots, he almost passed out.

I had to work on the 4th of July this year, so we went to the beach on the third. Brennan LOVED it. He played in the shallow water for awhile and checked out what all the other kids were doing. I brought him out a little farther to where the water was above his knees. When I held so he was standing and holding my fingers, he just took off towards the water! Before that, if you tried to get him to walk, it took a lot of coaxing and effort. But not in the water! When he got to the point where his feet didn't touch the bottom anymore, he just kept happily kicking his legs. It didn't take him too long to get tired though - pretty soon he was standing in the water with his thumb in his mouth, which means he's ready for a nap! I can't wait to take him swimming again!

I'm still trying to get Brennan to crawl! He's pushing himself backwards a little, which I tell him is a step forwards! If he's really motivated, he can scoot forward about two inches to get a toy. There are three things that motivate him to try and crawl: 1. the kitty; 2. cell phones; 3. Rubber Ducky! I have to admit, I'm not quite ready for him to be mobile! It's kind of nice that he (mostly) stays where I put him. I think I'm going to have to do a little rearranging in my living room, because Brennan is one of those kids who is going to get into EVERYTHING. He's starting ot seem more grown-up in other ways. Lately he's started "helping" me pull his shirt on and off. He holds his bottle all by himself and he loves his water cup! He started saying "Ba ba" the other morning, and he would repeat it if we said it to him. What he really likes is when we click our tongue at him - he could spend all day clicking his tongue back at us! He also seems to say the same sound whenever he sees the cat - kind of like "hi-kee" or "khee". What a smart boy ;).

I don't think I've mentioned Brennan's blankie on here yet. I gave him a strip of leftover fleece - it's about 6in x 12in - and he just loves it! When I lay him down for a nap, I hand it to him and he often smiles at it. I find him all over his crib when he's sleeping, and his blankie is always with him. he likes to sleep on his tummy, and his blankie is often in a pile under his head!

Bees. Our Meg hive is doing really well, and Jo is slowly catching up. Ken estimates there's 50 lbs of honey in Meg, and thinks we may get a harvest of 50 lbs from both of the hives. Since it's already July, I doubt that, but we'll see! We have a few options for new hive placement next year, so we should have lots of honey next year! One of my father-in-law's hives swarmed into a nearby tree, and he captured it and put it in a new hive box! So, if both the hives (then one that swarmed and the one it broke from) have their queens and make enough honey, then he's up to four hives!

Pump. I still love my pump! I've had a few problems with infusion sites, but nothing major. We adjusted my basal rates so I wouldn't get low as often, but I still have been having a lot of numbers in the 40's and 50's. I think my insulin:carb ratio needs some adjusting. Also, I need to remember to start decreasing my basal rate an hour before I exercise!

Adoption. All three of the people we asked to be our references said yes. I had picked out an agency, but I'm going to check out one more. Then we'll finally submit our application and get this process started!

Brennan just woke up from his one and only half hour nap so far today. *Yikes*. Better go rescue him!