New Year - New Seasons

Welcome to the New Year!  It started out very interesting as New Year's Eve day my mom was taken to the hospital.  She's had a blood disorder for many years where her bone marrow over produced blood.  It over produced so much that now it's burnt out and can no longer produce enough.  From this point on she will need regular blood transfusions.  I'm her advocate, and her daughter of course, and I will be taking her to all of her appointments.  This is a new season in our lives.  Prayer is appreciated and God is faithful.

Andrii (center) and buddies Ben and Evan.

 Andrii ventured up to our camp in the Adirondacks with a couple buddies to do some snowboarding just before Christmas.  Looks like they had fun!

Justified!

 Sierra trying out Andrii's new gun.  Yup, that's right.  She's shooting guns.  Just another day in the life of this homeschooling family!

Anna & Avalon

 Anna has been enjoying bonding with her horse, Avalon.  She's been going over to the ranch twice a week for riding lessons and hands on grooming etc.  She's a happy girl.  It looks like they both are!

Slava in his weighted blanket!

 We got Slava a weighted blanket for Christmas.  Weighted blankets are recommended for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder.  He really likes it.  When he's having a hard time managing himself, we wrap him up burrito-style and have him chill out for 5 minutes.  It seems to help.  Now if we can only get him to stop hitting/kicking and saying "stupid" all the time.  Slava's a lot of work, but worth every minute of it!

Jordan and his new skates!

 The pond is frozen over and that means ice hockey!  The kids  have been hosting games every chance they get.  Our pond is a popular place this time of year.

Slava - Cool Dude at the Dentist!

I took the little boys for dental cleanings and couldn't resist snapping this picture while Slava was in the chair!  Both boys had improved brushing, but both still needed a filling each.  Basically Jordan's mouth is a mess.  He'll need lots of orthodontics in the near future.  Fun, fun.

Other things going on - this past weekend Curtis moved into his own apartment.  This is a new season for us.  He's almost 22, but it's still bittersweet for this stay-at-home/home schooling mama.  He didn't move far, but it's still an adjustment for us.  I suspect he's enjoying some peace and quiet, something our house has little of!  

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our grand daughter!  As I type this, Kerri has 3 weeks to her due date!  With everything that's been going on, I am looking forward to the arrival of my very first grandchild and the joy she will bring to our family!  

Justice For Orphans, our ministry, has been moving and growing.  We've got some exciting events planned for 2014 along with the theme:  Love In Action.  The radio shows have been going great, we've got some fundraising events planned, and a huge foster care-focused event in the works for May.  Stay tuned for more details or visit justicefororphansny.org to learn more.