Creative Daddy!

Erika has been in need of a handrail. She typically just uses the wood railing near the porch, or somebody's arm.  

Mike has wanted to get a railing up for her for a while. When he went to a nearby Garage Sale, he found the tool he needed to do it; a very large pipe bender.  So, he got to work on designing a rail.

And here he is putting it up.

 He also, decided that everybody has just gotten TOO good at backgammon, so he created a new game with the same board. It is still backgammon, just done differently.
We use all 4 dice for 1 move. If you roll the same numbers, you can't have doubles unless the numbers land on the same colors.  The combinations are endless!  To get out, you have to land on exact numbers. This has really caused some exciting end game upsets! :)

 Of course, Sarah has already mastered this, and keeps my head spinning.

 So while daddy was finishing the railing, Sarah and I were testing out the new way to play. :)

Here is a close up of the rail, attached to the wood.  Daddy is one talented guy.  I can't wait for Erika to see it. :)

I think she likes it!

Thyroid Regeneration

I am just wondering if any readers out in bloggy world have had their thyroid regerate or begin to function again after numerous years of non functioning status?

Here is the scoop:

I had Grave's Disease when I was in my 20's.  At 30, right before Mike and I married, I took Radioactive Iodine as a treatment plan because it just wouldn't calm down.  My vision was impaired permanently; I didn't need glasses until this condition took over.  So, a year later, I developed tumors in my thyroid.
I was assured that it was nothing, but as a precaution, a needle biopsy was done, and there was cancer in the biopsy.  I did not have full blown thyroid cancer, just cancer in the tumors.

So a thyroidectomy, of the side with the cancer was done.  A month later, I was sentenced to a life time of the pill a day every morning and blood draws every year to keep my thyroid levels normal.

So, years went by, and it has been a total in the past sort of thing, except for the obvious scar where the surgery was done, and the pill a day thing.

Well, for the last year, I have been hot and had many MANY of the symptoms of the original Grave's disease, but considered it was Menopause.... Yes that is going on too.

6 months ago,  I found out my thyroid was too high. So my meds were lowered.  Same thing has been going on, and I just had my blood work checked again, and again, my thyroid is too high.  So meds have been lowered to the lowest dose I have ever taken since this whole ordeal happened.

I have not noticed any change, as it will take a few weeks, but.... the doctor said something to me I have never heard.  He said, "Maybe your thyroid is trying to make a comeback!"

I googled it, and sure enough there are some cases where this has happened, and interestingly the ones I read about took place around 20 years after having the initial thyroid removed.

It would be AWESOME if it comes back AND behaves itself!  :)

So I'm wondering, does anybody have any experience with this?  If things don't settle down, the tests will have to take place, but until then, I'm hopeful that my body is actually healing itself.

More Truman Pics

Team Minich Runs the Rock

Come and visit our fund raising page to raise money for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children!
We will be joining other families on a special day to run and raise money for our very special Hospital.

The New Collossus Part 3 Erika Style

Erika's recitation!

And now, they all get to watch an episode of Little House on the Prairie! :)

The New Collossus Part 2 Sarah Style

Here is Sarah's version of "The New Colossus"

Poetry Revisited

We are working on poetry, thus the Colossus poem..... But here is Anna's Original Poem.

Fall
Summer has gone.
Fall has begun.
The leaves are falling
The wind is calling
The grass is dead
We put quilts on our bed
The wood is chopped
Away, the rabbits have hopped
The birds have flown away
They will come back another day
The milk has gone from the cow
The farm is lonely now
It is time to stay in
Spring will come again.

The New Collossus Recited by Miss Anna

Way to go Anna!
You can read about this poem here:

Random Thoughts Revisited

This is a repost from 3 years ago. :)   This is Joe Becca and Sam (3 years ago)


I was looking at some pictures of our new little grandson Sam. Look at how he is engaging his mom at 3 weeks old! His mommy and daddy are his delight. He trusts them fully. He does not doubt that his mommy and daddy will take care of his every need. When he cries, they are there to comfort him. When he is hungry, they are there to feed him. When he is cold they keep him warm. He is cuddled and loved by them and he adores them.
And now Here we are 3 years later, and I see little Truman Shepherd being loved and adored from his mommy, daddy and big brother Sam, right from the  first minutes of his life.

Now, I think our our own dear little girlies. Left in beds. When they cried, nobody came, so they ceased crying. When they were hungry, nobody fed them, so they found other ways to satisfy their most basic needs. When they were cold, they shivered. When they wanted to talk to somebody, there was nobody, so they cooed to themselves, they comforted themselves, they rocked themselves.

To think, that every moment of every day for Sam's first 5 weeks of life now, he has been cared for; I couldn't imagine his needs not being met, even for 5 weeks. That would be terrible!
But, I know, our own dd's needs were not met for YEARS. How can we fathom Years of neglect?
We nearly can't. Our hearts would break.

What amazes me even more is that they are all blossoming into lovely young ladies, full of love and compassion for each other, for their own mommy and daddy, and for others outside of their immediate family.
I am amazed at their capacity to forgive, move on, grow and explore their new world. It IS a new world for them. To see little babies being cared for the way they never were, has got to bring a tinge of pain to them. After we see the babies, they ask if we can rock them. We do.
I cannot make up for their loss. I cannot change their loss. What I CAN do, is grieve for them, with them, and guide them to maturity. I cannot pretend that they were never neglected or that it hasn't effected them in some way. It has profound impact. My prayer is that they will use it as a tool of understanding that most will never know, and not an implement of destruction to continue the cycle of neglect. I have a sneaking suspicion, that they will use it as a tool for the positive.

Thanks for hearing my heart break for them.
Now I will turn around and smile at them, and continue to love them.
They always have a way of mending my heart.

Please Listen

This is precious to my heart for many reasons which cannot be written about here. 

Introducing Truman Shepherd Minich

Here is is, fresh outta the oven. :)
Becca looks GREAT!
7 lbs. 15 oz.  20 inches long.

Welcome Baby Truman!  Happy Happy Birthday

 He is amazing!

 Truman Meets the World

 Sam Meets Truman

Precious moments with Mommy Daddy and Truman

I can't wait to hold you, see your smile, see your joy and awe at the World God has made.
I pray that you make a huge impact in this world. That you glorify the Lord in all you say
and do, and that you serve him all of your days. You are fearfully and Wonderfully Made.
God Knit you together in your mother's womb.  Such things are too wonderful to imagine.
Love,
Ya-Ya

(Truman was my dad's middle name, and Shepherd is a family name from my Gramma)

When The New Baby Comes Home

Then what? :)

I remember clearly when each of our children came home.   But there was one instance I remember so very well, that took place over a period of several weeks.

When our youngest son Marcus was born, we had a 4 year old, a 2 year old and a one year old.
Marcus was a preemie too, so he had to stay at the hospital. 

Our son Joseph, who's new son was born today, was 17 months old when Marcus came home.
The thing is, when we brought the baby home, he looked at him with a shocked look. It wasn't one of admiration. It was one of betrayal!  He looked at us like we had gone to Walmart and picked out a new baby..... So, needless to say, Marcus had two brothers that loved him, and 1 that didn't care for him too much.  Of course that was to change relatively soon after Marcus got more interesting. LOL

Well, Joe's first weeks of having been usurped by baby brother Marcus were interesting.
He for some reason knew he couldn't HURT the baby.... that would have been way too bad.
But, nobody said he couldn't make his protest known.  So every morning... and I mean EVERY morning, he would peer into the crib when I had removed the baby for his bath. He would follow me to the bathing area, and then disappear. I would hear a loud boom, and then, know that Joseph had once again tipped the crib over. (It was a porta crib, we didn't have a full sized crib)

He was so young, it was hard to explain to him that he couldn't do it, even tough I tried to.
Every morning, same thing. Boom, crib toppled over.

I was at a loss.  I decided to catch him in the act, so I removed the baby, and then put him on my bed. Then I hid in the closet with my camera.  Mr. Joe came toddling into the room and peered into the crib. NO baby!  Ha!  He climbed up and rocked until the crib fell over.... but to his surprise, Mommy was in the closet.... I  said, "Joey! and took his picture!"  He had a shocked look on his face. I then picked him up and said, "no-no, don't knock the crib over." 

I don't know why that worked, but it did. He didn't do it again.  I guess he made peace with his baby brother. They really did become best friends. :)

I can't wait to see Sam's face. :)

Late Breaking News

New Grandson On the Way! YEA!

Finally!

I finished getting my room cleaned and some pictures on the walls!

 When the right time comes, I'll paint and we'll put in wood floors.

Until then, it is the old carpet that was here when we moved in.

The Lord is so good to us.

                               This is our favorite office. :)  I love having a two seater tub. 

5 Things About My Day

Christine, asked me to say 5 things about my day.....

1. I trimmed my own bangs and I like them.  Saved $$....
2. I am taking a break from cleaning out my closet...I found a shirt mixed in the sheets that
    I had been looking for all summer.  Soon, it will be too cold to wear it.
3. I want a taco, but I don't want to cook.
4. I woke up this a.m. to a talk about politics, before coffee. Not such a good idea.
5. Many times I feel like a complete failure... and then I read in scripture.... that my value
    is in Christ.

And I'll add 6 more things, not necessarily about my day.

1. I scored 3 consistent times on the myer's briggs being an introvert.
2. I love spending time one on one with the girls.
3. I love to read when it is quiet and the house is clean.
4. Every time Erika falls, my stomach grips me, and I have to breathe
     and not respond like she almost killed herself for the umpteenth time.
     Instead, I just smile,  pick her up and dust her off, give her a hug and send her on her
     way......(not before reminding her of one more gray hair) and inside I am dying.
5. I love talking with my husband about anything and everything while playing backgammon
    and drinking our morning coffee. :)
6. I still struggle over the head covering issue. I forget to wear it.  If I should cover my head during    prayer and I am supposed to be praying without ceasing, then maybe the Amish are correct and I should cover my head all the time..... but then, I don't want to be legalistic about it either.
UGH.....

Just Sayin'!

I have to say this.  We applied to adopt our Anna, 7 years ago, and found out, that we would be her parents not long after our application was confirmed.  We had applied in August, and our first visit with her alone was in September.

Anna has many "anniversaries" in her inner clock, that seem to have come to haunt her every year.
August has always been a traumatic month.... she was moved in August more than once. Her most traumatic one, was when she was removed from her mother.  She remembered the police taking her away and for many years she was afraid of the police.
August would always bring up conversations about police, her birth mother, her memories, and it always seemed to be combined with inner turmoil.

Her other anniversary was Christmas.  She was removed 2 times during holidays. One of those times was to come to our house. It was December and she was so scared that Santa Clause wouldn't know where her new home was.  I remember her worrying so much, and no matter how much we encouraged her that He knew, she had a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve that year.

All of these years, we have learned to read the bumps in the road with her, according to her internal memory/anniversary.  It seems that keeping that in mind, secures one's compassion to get through behaviors that otherwise seem more like plain rebellion.  But when looked at through the lens of the child with a trauma background; while it may be a rebellious act or snotty attitude, there is something much deeper behind it.

That does not mean, that during that time, we wouldn't use correction and instruction and lots of deep breathing to get her through, and us through.  But it does mean, that our focus and direction were that of restoration and healing, not punishment and relationship abandonment.

We have made some amazing strides this year with all of our girls.  They are becoming young ladies and the hormones are flowing, and the "dread" that I have heard so many moms speak of, is .........
just NOT there.  DID I say that?  I am NOT dreading the teens?  YES I did!

I didn't dread the teen years with my boys, and we do not have any plans to dread them with our girls.
I love teenagers, and I LOVE tweenagers. They are just so cute. They are discovering all sorts of things about themselves and about life.

SO, back to Anna, and really all 3 girlies.
I am AMAZED at them. Not only did we not have an anniversary/internal clock issue with Sarah or Erika in April or May.... we did not have one with Anna in August or September......
In fact, the months passed and I was waiting.... and breathing..... and I just got to see them blossom.
Wow!  I shed tears of joy to see them loving each other, loving us and loving God.

I have seen them pull together as sisters and really enjoy each other's company so much.
It is a relationship that I would have treasured among my sisters.   Our boys have a similar bond, and are very close. I am so happy to see that bond being forged with the sisters too.

For those of you who are skeptical about using methods like BCLC (Beyond Consequences Logic and Control) consider that Relationship is placed in utmost importance.  Relationship FIRST.
What I have seen is that in teaching our girls about themselves, they are so much more open to have "Relationship first" with their siblings.  I see them working things out in the most understanding of ways.
It is precious.

We have also expanded our use of BCLC to our Elderly neighbor.  She can be very difficult. She often comes over and yells at us and curses at us.  It is very sad to see her deteriorate to the degree she has.
At first we weren't understanding what was happening and I, YES I, even escalated things by challenging her on what she was saying in front of the girls.
But in my prayer, it dawned on me, (the Lord SHOWED me) that I was not loving my neighbor! I wept tears of sadness , realizing that I had not been a good example to anybody in my mama bear protection of my girls.
So I told the girls that I was sorry and we need to pray for our neighbor. And then, we made a plan to be kind to her no matter what.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to use BCLC on her! I was actually a little excited to try it out! :)
Weird I know.....
She came over cursing at us and yelling at us.... she thought her husband had loaned us tools and she wanted them back. We have never met her husband, as he passed away 2 years before we moved here.
So, instead of saying "We don't have your tools!"  I said, "Those tools are important, aren't they!"
She said, "YES! They were my husbands!"
I said, "You must really miss him!"  She had a tear and said, "Yes, I do."
So, I asked her, "So when you were younger, what did you do for a living?"  Her face brightened and she began to tell me that she was an accountant.  And I shared that our son was an accountant too!
"He is??"  yes, maam! A CPA!
I asked her about her grand sons, and she beamed with pride. And then I gave her a big hug, walking her back to the gate.  She said, "Well, ya'll have a nice day!"  I said, You too!  And she was gone.
Tomorrow, she may be back for something else.  It has been happening often, and I am sad that she most likely has althimers or severe senile dementia. 
BUT..... BCLC works! Yea!
It was a LOT easier to redirect her, than to be confrontational with the truth. "Hello, we don't have your husbands tools!" (the truth is important, but in her case it won't do any good)
Why is it that it is so much easier for us to fall into the negative than be in control with our emotions
even when we KNOW the fallout won't be good??!!!

I just want to encourage those in bloggy land, who are looking for information on BCLC techniques and trying to figure it out, to know that you cannot love too much. You cannot be too patient. You cannot be too kind. And none of those things make you a door mat.  BCLC is not doormat parenting. It is very much being in control! But in control of yourself first. If you can't control your own emotions, how will you be able to guide your child's?

I have been writing alot about my rocking chair and I have to say, it is a big part of BCLC parenting,

for us.  It is an amazing tool to use for gaining self control, breathing, praying, talking, communicating, rubbing feet and hands, massaging arms, wiping away tears, listening to hearts beat, listening to worries, fears, dreads, stories, happy excitement, dreams, wishes, and a place to talk about anything! It is a freeing place. Our freeing place. :)

I really think our internal clocks have been reset. :) We've really gotten rid of some heavy baggage!

Just sayin'

Rocking Chairs Rock

I took this picture from our living room and figured out how to add a caption.... So I just created a Rocking Chairs Rock Badge!  If you are a Rockin' Mama or Papa,  feel free to slide it onto your desk top and display it  on your blog. :),

THE ALL IMPORTANT ROCKING CHAIR

Did I ever mention that I think rocking chairs are important?

Well, if I didn't....

ROCKING CHAIRS ROCK! :)

I was reading a little earlier today, that a doctor thought a little boy was too old to be rocked. He was 6.
This got me thinking about our perceptions in our society about closeness with our children, showing affection, and why society thinks our kids have to grow up so quickly!  WHY?
What is our hurry?
I was reminded of the book, "I'll love you forever".  Where the mama rocks her precious son, and as he gets older, she sneaks in and rocks him.... and at the end of the book, there is a picture of him, rocking his very aged mother.  It is a precious little story about forever love.

Rocking chairs are such an important part of our lives. I had a rocking chair when the boys were little. I LOVED it.  I remember wanting one so badly when our first son was. born I rocked him, but it was me making all the motions. Rather exhausting. :)
I finally got my rocking chair and I used it.... BOY did I use it.  The boys loved being rocked.
Then, it finally wore out and I went without one for a long time.

Before we got the girls, we finally purchased another rocking chair. This one was perfect. It was soft, reclined and rocked at the same time, and even reclined to a fixed position.   I was used to rocking myself.  Then, Anna came.  She needed to be rocked. The very first time I met her, even before we decided to adopt her, I rocked her in that chair and sang to her.  She was visiting and couldn't get to sleep.
I still can't believe she let me rock her and sing to her, but she did.  She was 4 years old.
When we adopted her, we rocked her in that chair every single night for 2 years.  We rocked her in the day time, we rocked her when she was happy and we rocked her when she was sad, we rocked her when we needed to correct her and we rocked her when we praised her.  We ROCK!

The chair has also been thoroughly used with Sarah AND Erika.  Anytime there needs to be serious discussion, we say, "Head to the rocker!"  I couldn't imagine being without it.

I have even rocked my grand kids in it, including my grand daughter Katie who is 14! (she was 13 the last time we sat together in that rocker)
We even had a double rocker for a while.... but it wasn't the "rocker rocker". :)
The one we have serious conversation in.

I still rock my girls.... not like we used to, but we still enjoy a good snuggle in the morning or evening.
My Anna, still loves to be rocked and connected.  She NEVER wants to get rid of the rocking chair.

If you don't have a rocking chair, you are really missing out on something special. :)
Something about the chair, just seems to make life more pleasant, conversation easier, and snuggle time a lasting, fond, memory.

Somehow, getting into that rocking chair causes the girls to just open up in a way that amazes me.
It is just accepted, that while in the chair, you can say whatever is on your mind freely, you can listen better, and you can pray with mom without distraction.  A LOT of healing has gone on in that chair.

Do you have memories of a favorite rocking chair?

Emotions, Hormones and Girls

A good friend, a father of girls, was listening to one of my stories about girls and new found emotions and hormones starting to race through their precious little bodies. I was telling him about explaining to sweet Sarah that sometimes we just feel angst for no real reason, but we need to make sure that we don't react to it, and thoroughly feel it, wear it, try it out and exhaust it......

Sarah is very even keeled and is really more like one of the guys, if you will, but once in a while, she'll have this "girl time" that totally catches her off guard.

As I was sharing with my wise friend. He said his daughter had sent him a wonderful post that she wanted him to read. He said, "I wish I would have read it when my girls were little."

I thought it was very worth while for reading for all girls, big, small, happy, sad, spirited, calm..... after all, we are FEMALE. :)

If you have a few minutes, take some time to read.... you won't be sorry. :)
It is called "Spirited Rider".

School Work Wearing You Out?

Anna was working on her Language Arts and then I turned around and saw this! LOL
Poor baby.