Dec 10th Christmas Party!

Once again we are hosting our annual Christmas party! All adoptive, families interested in adopting, and family and friends are invited! It's a potluck, and you need to bring a labeled present per child  (first and last name) for Santa's bag! There will be prizes, crafts, dancing and a scheduled talent show! Practice your talents and we will practice ours! Please RSVP and msg for anymore details! We continue to run our party because of its success and we want to see more friends and family this year! It's an event not to miss! December 10th! Mark it on your calendars!

I'm also looking for some feedback. This Christmas party has been designed around our children. I was wondering if the parents attending would be interested in some gift changing themselves? A friend mentioned that we could play the gift stealing game. So I was thinking, (to make this easy) any one interested could just bring a gift under $10.00 and the stealing can then begin with the participants during the party! Let me know what you think!? Sounds like fun to me!

I would love to know roughly who's attending, so if you could, please comment your numbers. This includes not only yourself, your children, this includes any one that you want to bring, a grandma or a friend. AND lastly please share this event! More the merrier! Until then, I leave you with this...... 

"By choosing to be our most authentic and loving self, we leave a trail of magic everywhere we go" 

The Hohnsteins = The Munsters

We are not quite like the "Brady Bunch" or the "Partridge Family" So if  I were to compare us to a sitcom television show it would be "The Munsters"

When you are walking down the street at night
And behind you there's no one in view.
But you hear mysterious feet at night, 
Then the "Hohnsteins" are following you.

If you should meet this strange family
Just forget what some people have said,
The Hohnstein's may shake your hand clammily
But they're not necessarily dead.

Behind their house you mustn't be afraid
To see a figure digging with a spade.
Perhaps someone didn't quite make the grade
With the Hohnsteins, with the Hohnsteins.

If when you're sleeping you dream a lot,
Ghoulish nightmares parade through your head,
And then you wake up and scream a lot,
Oh the Hohnstein's are under your bed.

At midnight if creatures should prowl about,
And if vampires and vultures swoop down.
And werewolves and fiends shriek and howl about,
Oh the Hohnsteins are out on the town.

One night I dared peak through their window screen,
My hair turned white at such a crazy scene.
Because every evening its Halloween
At the Hohnsteins, at the Hohnsteins. 

These lyrics date back from the original "At home with The Munsters" in 1964. Credited to Bob Mosher. 

I'm slightly being a bit theatrical about comparing ourselves to the Munsters however there is never a dull moment around here. In the first picture above we were celebrating our oldest sons twenty third birthday while wishing him all our best. He recently moved to Toronto with his girlfriend. During this day we learned to cook a Norwegian dinner tradition called Potato Klubb or also known as Potet Balls. A yummy staple dish consisting of carrots, turnips and pork ribs. We did make a vegetarian batch for us non meat eaters! Our family dinners are always on schedule, and our kiddos always have their own spots at the table. This solves any beheading that could emerge. (Just kidding) Speaking of family tables! I am very excited about our new look! Our table was looking pretty shabby so we purchased black paneling, then we designed our own spots with chalk. Then we added plexiglass to protect the art. The ultimate beauty is we can change the design whenever we want and or add the changing of the seasons. Fun! In conclusion it's not just about "spots" or "ownership" it's about connection. Feeling and remaining a part of a family. That's why our home is uniquely designed with our photographs, art and culture. Keeping it real always.

Family is everything!

At the end of the day we are thankful we're still here and connected to each other, even if it's in mysterious ways! 

Thank you for being patient with me and accepting all my grammar mistakes! I'm going to persevere and hopefully find my writing again! 
AND some sleep! 

The other side of illness

It's been a year since my husband survived MRSA that went through his complete system causing sepsis and a magnitude of life changing physical and mental challenges. I was hoping to come back and write all the positives that I used too. I smile when I see the sparrows dancing in the sky, it reminds me of that post where I watched these beautiful birds flying and that triggered an enlightening and good story. I often look at pictures from our past, and reflect on how we once were. Illness changed us. I was really hoping by now that we could move forward. Don't get me wrong, we continually move forward day by day however my husband suffers from severe chronic pain, serious heart and organ complications. His brain damage has given him memory loss adding daily frustrations. There is nothing that we can do. I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for our family. I feel sorry for our children. Every morning I check to see if he's still breathing. Today, I had my own doctors appointment. He told me that I need to stay healthy due to all the unknowns with my husband. Our doctor teared up stating he realized how important it is for me to remain healthy and strong. What does that mean? For my husband he continues with his weekly blood tests and ongoing MRI's. The MRI's have shown no change. His blood levels every time are escalated. For us we don't know what the next day will bring. There's days where he can't get out of bed due to his spinal damage and his nerves are creating spontaneous partial paralysis. When I was speaking with our doctor today I said it's very sad for a wife, and for our children to witness his daily struggles that limit his quality of life. How do we remain positive? How do I not check to see if he's breathing the next day? I was told today (not that I haven't heard it before) that what happened to my husband no one survives and to date they are baffled onto why his body isn't recuperating. Anyone that knows my husband knows that he is strong, determined, stubborn and has a high pain tolerance AND here is a man I see cry because he can't walk properly down the hallway due to dizziness some days. Now....as we remain "positive" we also know what the doctors keep telling us, "It's unfortunate" As I first aider I keep taking his blood pressure and he's completely in hypertension with a rapid pulse, I keep hoping it keeps going up and down so it doesn't cause a heart attack. AND no, there's no point going to emergency, because at this point it's not an emergency. Kinda waiting for that.... Waiting.... When.... What.....and where..... In the meantime (truthfully) this is the other side of illness. The core to everything - monitoring. I always try to have a smile on my face. When I pick up our kids from the public school or activities, I stay in our van catching up on emails, and people watching. I watch healthy people and once again feel sorry for my husband that struggles daily. I can't help it...it's not fare. We are persevering, we are continuing to experience and live our lives as best as we can but it's not a life I would wish onto anyone. Hence why I haven't written. However now that I've reopened this door and I have received a huge response to write again, I am. It has and is therapeutic. Regardless our health challenges, I still truly believe that everything happens for a reason. I'm not sure why this has happened to us and maybe the reason will never become clear. I don't know yet. I do know with every experience in our life, it's used to learn. Then to support. Then to teach......

For example, this summer our second oldest son was crushed in between a hydraulic picker and a cement wall. His groin was crushed and his femur was broken completely in half. When he called me from his work site while waiting for the ambulance I was so distraught. So so so upset and I think that's because of everything else we have been going through. Anyhow he underwent surgery and he asked to come home for his recovery. We set up a bedroom with an adjustable bed and to date he's still here getting around comfortably with his crutches while receiving physiotherapy. Now I don't wish this on anybody and especially my own child however since he's been here it's been so calming for my own heart. We also have been rekindling the past, talking more and spending time with each other that might not have happened if this unfortunate event didn't. So I have at least perceived this as a bonding time with our second oldest son, and I think he can conquer, even though this is a life changing event physically. 

Sometimes, (like my husband's condition) we don't know the outcome and we don't understand why this is happening. It's frustrating and draining on ones stress. I just can't help but believe that what we're going through is meant for a reason, our pain and suffering will be understood later and hopefully our children can understand this too. It has to be.....because what else is the other side of illness? Other then a lesson?