I am the mom of surviving quadruplets. My blog covers the birth of my children, their special needs, therapy, homeschooling and what it's like to be the mom to these special kids!
Addendum: Dr. Katina Moritz will be doing some speaking engagements concerning this documentary. She will be coming to the Phoenix area. If I receive any information I will pass it along!
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Across my Facebook page came something I found most interesting. I LOVE my Facebook friends! I have a very eclectic and interesting group of friends on Facebook and I never know what is going to see on my Facebook page.
Yesterday I say a post about a new movie called Undiagnosed: Medical Refugees. This movie moved me like no other! Having a child that has stumped multiple medical specialists as to what is wrong with him I can relate! Going from medical specialist to medical specialist can get you in trouble with child protective services (like in the Justina Pelletier case) but if you believe something is wrong you have to keep searching for answers! The ladies who are working on the film have done so, to this point, completely out of pocket. They are about 80% complete with the movie and are seeking funds to help with the final production of their movie. Please donate! It would be a tragedy if this film is never produced!
Please pass this along..Twitter, Facebook, Blog and other forms of social media.... Let's get this movie funded!
There is a hidden epidemic - millions of people living with perplexing illnesses that elude definition and treatment. Undiagnosed: Medical Refugees is a medical documentary about what it is like to exist in a constant state of unknown, struggling with undiagnosed illnesses and rare diseases, and existing as medical refugees in a modern health care system. The film aspires to bring objectivity to this controversial and timely subject by interviewing doctors, medical administrators, and people, both children and adults, who have the misfortune of suffering without a diagnosis. Research and professional opinions combine with gripping stories into an incredible narrative that showcases the strength of the human spirit and the need for change in our medical system.
I cannot say how thrilled I am for Caroline's Cart! Being a Bama girl myself I am proud of the founder of Caroline's Cart, Mrs. Drew Ann Long! Good for you for having an idea, pushing and marketing it and now she is finally getting orders pouring in!
I have been a big fan of Caroline's cart for almost two years now. On October 21, 2012 I sent a letter to Krogers asking they carry Caroline's Cart. Having disabled children including one child that has a great difficulty walking I wanted to see these carts in my local store. So I wrote a letter to Krogers...
(Sorry for any formatting issues...hard to copy over from my email account!)
From: Michelle Harris [mailto:murigheal72@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2012 11:56 PM To: Goosman, Gregory M Subject: Caroline's Cart
I have been a customer of the Kroger's corporation for the last 20 years. Everywhere I have lived and traveled I have shopped at Krogers (Kroger's, Smith's and Fry's). We currently live in Gilbert, AZ.
Though the Fry's on 714 South Val Vista Drive , Gilbert, AZ 85296 is one of the most convenient to stop at there are several choices such as:
855 West Warner Road, Gilbert, AZ
3751 East Baseline Road, Gilbert, AZ
Each of these store I am a potential customer depending on what I am doing and where I am going at the time. I am sure I am not the only woman with a disabled child whom I take shopping. I have surviving quadruplets. One of my children is several delayed including mental delayed. It is nice to have a cart where he can fit and I am not having to try and contort him to fit into the child seat or let him roam in the basket part of the cart. Please consider purchasing Caroline's Carts for your stores in my area!
You can read more about my surviving quadruplets at: http://mommax6.blogspot.com/ I am the first listing when searching surviving quadruplets on Google.
Here is one of your customers, my son, Joseph. (I inserted a picture here) Sincerely, Michelle H.
After all this time I never thought I would hear a reply. Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Mr. Goosman the day before Valentines! I shared this news on Valentine's Day with Caroline's Cart site on Facebook...
From: "Goosman, Gregory M" To: Michelle Harris Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 2:14 PM Subject: RE: Caroline's Cart
Michelle, We now have this set-up in the Kroger order system, please ask that your store manager order this line item from the Technibilt Company for your store. They can order through the Kroger Facilities Group in their Division. Here is the information to use when asking. This is now approved by Kroger and will be able to help you out.
Supplier: TECHNIBILT LTD Supplier Part #: CC20.7Z.3BLU.CAROLINES Kroger Item #: K-0044999 SPECIAL NEEDS CART MODEL CC20.7Z.BLU. CAROLINES CART
Any further questions, the store manager can call me…………..sorry for the delay. Greg Goosman 513-762-4497
Justina BEFORE going to BCH.
Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com
Addendum: Here's a link to all the financial supporters of BCH! Hit them where it hurts! Where the money is!! Contact all these sponsors and let them know about Justina! If they don't pull support.. we will Link to Sponsors of BCH Also a Facebook page has been set up to rally and organize the people to help Justina and her family. Please visit the Free Justina Pelletier From Boston Children's Hospital! for more information.
Justina NOW at BCH. Who do you think was taking better care of her?
Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com
Addemdum: Here is one of the best overall articles I have read concerning the Justina Pelletier case. Click here.
I wanted to comment a little on the recent news story. The custody case of Justina Pelletier. If you
have not heard about this case you should get involved! There are so many stories on the internet at this point I would suggest googling Justina Pelletier to read up on the case. This case is an
outrageous abuse of authority of a hospital and the State! As the
parent of a child that has been called "medically complex" (by several
doctors) I understand the risk of taking my child to a hospital or a new doctor. Why
should I be afraid? The Justina Pelletier case is just one example
(there are several more) where the parents were trying to do the right
thing but it ended horribly. The parents had a diagnosis of mitochondrial disease from a doctor at
Tufts and for the last two years had been treating their daughter
according to her specialists. When she got ill last year with the flu around Valentine's Day they took her to a local hospital. The local
hospital in Connecticut did not feel as though they could treat her
adequately so they sent her on to Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) which is well known for its pediatric research and specialists.
Justina's doctor at Tufts, Dr. Mark Korson, (Head of Metabolic Services at Tufts) was on his way there to see her at BCH. When Justina
went through the emergency room a neurologist took charge of Justina's
care before her doctor from Tufts could arrive. The neurologist and then
a psychologist determined Justina suffered from a psychological condition (Somatoform Disorder) and not from mitochondrial disease.
Once Justina's doctor from Tufts arrived he was told he could not take
charge of Justina's care. The parents of Justina then wanted to take
her out of BCH to another hospital for a second opinion. They were
told they could not and escorted out of the hospital. It was only
a day or two after the parents (Lou and Linda) were notified that
the State of Massachusetts had taken custody of their daughter. They
were told they lost custody because they had over medicalized their
daughter and this is a form of child abuse. So, because their
daughter did not feel well, they took the time to take her to various
doctors in a hope to find out what was wrong. They researched possible
causes of her illness and had her undergo various medical tests to try
and determine the problem (which a diagnosis WAS made) and they were accused
of the more encompassing form of Munchausen By Proxy (this is no longer the term used, the modern term is Fictitious Disorder By Proxy) called medical child abuse.
What is the profile of a person accused of medical child abuse (from American Academy of Pediatrics)?
1.
Life revolves around the child's illness. *If you have a child who is
ill and you cannot determine the source of the illness I am sure your
life, as a parent, would revolve around your child's illness too. I
know ours (John, myself, James and Margaret) revolve around Joseph. We work really hard to be careful not to bring illness into the
home for fear of Joseph getting critically ill.
2. "Good
parent" or Martyr. *So being a good parent, a concerned parent, can be
used against you if a physician decides you are perpetrating medical
child abuse.
3. Not being relieved at a normal test result. *I
have to admit I have been guilty of this. Why? Because I knew something
was wrong but the tests were not showing the problem. I have gotten
into several arguments with neurologists telling me there is nothing
wrong with Joseph besides him being premature. We did an MRI and the
results were normal. I was upset. My gut, my mother's intuition, said
there IS something wrong! So, in this case, I was NOT happy about a normal
result. I am glad Joseph's brain is normal. I really was, even at that
time, but I knew something else was going on! In the last year, with
the additional tests we have run on Joseph, I have been vindicated. We
still do not know what is wrong with Joseph just yet but we have
narrowed it down to something genetic, something metabolic or
mitochondrial disease (the same disease that Justina was diagnosed
with!).
4. Promotes invasive tests and procedures. *Again, I am
guilty of this! I did not push for invasive tests without doing less
invasive testing first. I did not want to put my child through that. I
waited, and waited, and waited some more. In the last year we did some
of the more invasive tests. I hated putting Joseph through it but on
the other hand we now have more information and clues on what might be
wrong with Joseph. Even if this means we are finally able to get a
diagnosis of "Joseph's disease"!
5. Interest and expertise in
medicine. *Again, I am guilty of this. I have learned a lot about
medicine over the years. I have spent a lot of time researching what
might be wrong with Joseph. I have bought, borrowed or read what I
could of medical journal articles and medical textbooks. Why? First
off I am a concerned parent wanting to find what is wrong with my
child. I realize that doctors, in particular medical specialists, are
busy with a multitude of patients. Even Joseph's primary care
physician, the doctor who would know him best, still cannot know Joseph
as well as my husband and I do. Joseph spends the majority of time with
us, not the doctor, so we know him and his behaviors best! Second, I
am a research scientist. I may not be a medical person but I understand
science and I can research with the best of people. In reading medical
textbooks on neurology I spent a lot of time underlining medical
terminology and researching the definitions. Just because I did not go
to medical school does not mean I cannot understand a medical journal
article or medical textbooks. It takes me longer to read and understand
than a medical professional but then again I am not conversant in the
jargon. I am sure a medical professional would have a difficult time
understanding a geologic journal article (one of my majors) for the same
reason...lack of understanding the jargon.
I could easily be accused of medical child abuse by a hospital that knows nothing about me, my history with doctors, or Joseph's complex medical history. At a hospital they do not know you there and make a snap judgement about you and your child. This is what happened to the Pelletiers. The parents had spent a lot of time and testing to determine Justina's condition. A medical specialist, highly recognized in his field, had diagnosed her. Dr. Korson was successfully treating her. She was a fairly normal child, enjoying physical activities like ice skating and all of that was stripped away from Justina once BCH decided to interfere with her treatment.
Justina is not the only case and there can be SO many other reasons for the abnormal test results. She is not the only case by BCH and not the only case in which a parent has been falsely accused of medical child abuse. Once the State takes custody the horror and nightmare for the parents begins as it can emotionally and financially bankrupt a family! Parents are typically given a gag order or are afraid to speak out. Parents fear child protective service will see speaking out as an attention seeking behavior and will use that as "additional proof" the parent(s) have Munchausen. Other cases where children were taken into State custody for questionable reasons include the Kirks case, O'Shell case, Velasquez Case, Huber Case, and there are many more but the parents are afraid to speak out!
I applaud Lou Pelletier and his decision to speak out even though there was a gag order on his case. It has allowed other parents to come forward and talk about their case. It has inspired me to speak out! Lou has begged for help and people are starting to listen. Please help! Please call BCH, the mayor of Boston, tell anyone, tell everyone! Go and sign the petition to the White House. This petition states that the parents should have the final say in medical care. Read below what Justina's parents were given by BCH as her new guidelines for care. Would YOU accept that? Would YOU allow NO second opinions? Who else knows your child better than you???
Guideline of Care for Justina - Given to Her Parents by BCH
Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
Happy Friday! I know I am glad it is Friday but I will explain that later! The children are doing well. There has been a lot of reports of stomach flu going around in the area. So far we have been able to avoid anyone getting sick! This is SO important because Margaret and Joseph has gained a decent amount of weight in the last few months but if they get sick with the stomach flu they would lose all the weight they have managed to gain. Not good! So we are trying hard to keep everyone well.
I know this may sound strange but what do people think about having a birthday party for your child when it is not their birthday? This is something my husband and I are contemplating. Our children's birthday is about two weeks before Christmas. This is a horrible time of year to try and have a birthday party for a child. We have the additional complication of Joseph and his health issues that I don't want the children out and about during the winter. So what is a parent to do? I want to give the children the experience of having a birthday party but not jeopardize their health in the process! The idea John and I are toying around with is to throw the children a birthday party on HIS birthday (June 25th). It is during the summer, still not a great time exactly to have a children's birthday party, but we would not have to worry about the children getting ill during the summer (WAY less chance of that happening in the summer time). I think the children would have SUCH a fun time! I am looking forward to this idea!
I was glad to have Monday off this week. It allowed me to spend time with John and we really had a nice time! Tuesday I headed out of Phoenix to Flagstaff for work. It was a nice drive though I had to start my work day at 5am! I went to a Partnering Meeting for a project. While at the meeting my object was to meet with other employees and get their input on another one of my projects. The other project is major project for the office so it was important I finish it that day. I thought I was able to work out a solution and I headed home happy thinking my other project was wrapping up also. I went to get paperwork signed and found out I was wrong! The details I thought I had worked out the day before was not finalized. This was BAD since I had my project signed off on by higher ups! I worked at one of the consultants office's I work with on Wednesday because I did not want to be at my own office. I was sure the BIG boss would show up and yell at me for not having my project finished. I did not want the drama so I stayed away! I was able to get everything coordinated and wrapped up on Wednesday and got my project out late that night. Thank goodness! I was starting to become concerned for my job...as in, I was worried I would be fired! Glad it all worked out! I went into the office Thursday and worked on several other things. Friday I was going in to work half a day but I never made it. I was desperately needing sleep! The stress and anxiety of the week got to me! Glad the main component of my big project is finished and out the door!
I freely admit it that I have been slacking lately with keeping up with the blog. In my defense I have not been feeling very well. For the last four months I have not felt well and things have been getting worse. I have been complaining for the last year that my hair has been falling out and it is so bad not I can see my scalp through my bangs. I have been battling chronic anemia since the birth of the babies but I have no idea why. I take iron pills until I am good and a few months after I stopped I would be anemic again. So I went to my primary doctor and discussed with her my issues. She was not helpful because she told me to see a series of specialists. The dermatologist said it would not be something she could help me with. I have gone to a GI doctor. After being invaded in all sorts of ways that would make an alien abduction story sound tame the GI doctor determined I do not have issues with gluten, lactose, or have an ulcer. I thought I had an ulcer with all the symptoms I have including the chronic anemia. I was wrong. So what's my problem...why do I have the chronic anemia? So far, who knows? I also do not know what to think about my hair. So I have have several other appointments lined up. One with a hematologist and an endocrinologist. Hope to find an answer with someone.
Thanksgiving Day 2013
As for the children. Well, they are far more interesting to talk about and I would guess that is why most people read the blog! Near Thanksgiving I had all the children lose at least one tooth. It was VERY cute. I love the picture I took of all of them smiling. Joseph has both of him front teeth missing. He had those pulled out when he was at the dentist in Las Vegas. Then Margaret has lost her left, top front tooth. James lost his top, left tooth that day! Very cute! Lots of smiles and not as much teeth! Thanksgiving was a nice time. We had moved into our new house near central Phoenix. I had Maddi, Dimitri and Jerrin all here at that time. It really was a nice Thanksgiving!
I will have to cover the children's 6th birthday some other time.
Christmas was a stressful time. We were running VERY low on money. I was back logged in bills and struggling to support everyone one in the house. My oldest son was helping out too. He had taken a part-time job at FedEx and was helping out with food and bills in the house. Jerrin soon left after Christmas. He went back home to the 16 year old he was seeing (he is 21). I cannot help but say what is in my heart...they do not belong together. Because of that I did not keep my mouth closed and told Jerrin what I thought. In doing so cost my relationship with him. If that is how things need to be right now then that is the case. It breaks my heart but I understand he is following his heart. I just cannot support in that endeavor at the moment.
New Years was quiet. John and I enjoyed our 14th wedding anniversary. It was nice to have a little time alone. By the end of January Maddi and Dimitri had moved out. I hated to see them go. I really did. John and Dimitri were seeming to argue or have some sort of issue most every day. I honest think John was the cause of a lot of the issues. I don't think he meant to be but subconsciously I think he wanted to have the house to himself. After Maddi and Dimitri left John and I were coasting along but things were tense.
We were finally able to find someone to do rehab.services for the Margaret and Joseph. We also found someone to give us some respite. So in the 18 months I have been here I have only been successful in getting rehab. services and some respite set up along with a little intermittent physical therapy services. My children need so many other therapy services and I just cannot find service providers here. Just getting into some doctors too can be a chore. I have been trusting John to handle those duties and I have been trying not to interfere but it is getting harder. I know I need to get the children in to see doctors and specialists and the time is running out for me to have "good" insurance and the appointments are SO far out into the future!
My time is running out because I think the plan is for us to return to Las Vegas. John and I both like it there more. I can get the therapy services I need for the children easier. The therapy services, especially at this age, is significantly more important than them seeing doctors. I know Joseph is a medical mystery. We are still at a lost. In Joseph's recent deep muscle biopsy test and lumbar puncture we still did not find answers. Joseph's test from the lumbar puncture did not show cerebral folate deficiency. That was good news. In the muscle biopsy test on the other hand did not show me what I wanted. The purpose of the muscle biopsy was to test for some of the more "common" forms of mitochondrial disease. Oh course, Joseph tested negative for all of those. That does not mean there was nothing found that was unusual in his biopsy! Joseph showed an increase in positivity for acid phosphatase and he showed abnormal storage of lipids (fats) in his muscle tissue. Not enough for the pathologist to be able to diagnose a specific disease but enough for it to abnormal. In the end the pathologist said he could not exclude mitochondrial disease (because there are other forms that cannot be tested but are determined by ruling out other diseases) but said Joseph should be examined for an "unspecific" (the pathologist's word and it means he could not point to any one disease because Joseph's symptoms were not severe enough) metabolic disease and genetic testing. Ironically, I have done the genetic testing. Nothing was found there. That does not mean I would not revisit the genetic testing again. Tests do change and improve. Metabolic disease on the other hand is not something we have thoroughly investigated. Joseph has had abnormal blood work that points to possible metabolic disease but it has never been to the level that a doctor could point to some number and say....hum, looks like we have a problem with so-and-so disease.
I cannot state how frustrating it is to know something is wrong with your child. You fight years and years to get specialist to see your child as something more than just a preemie that is having problems. Once I finally got to Phoenix...that happened. I have specialists here that agree with me. Something is wrong with Joseph. As to what that is, it even has the specialists here stumped. All I want is to know what is wrong and if there is anything I can do to help Joseph reach his maximum potential.
Sigh, okay, enough venting about Joseph and his team of doctors.
John and I had a really nice Valentine's Day. We got to go out on a real date and have a nice time. I was worried that things would not go well for us since I knew there were relationship issues we had to discuss but we had such a nice time. We did not do the things we wanted to on Valentine's Day because the relationship stuff turned out to be a HUGE topic and pretty productive discussion overall. Currently John and I feel closer to each other than we have in years. I am happy right now and so is he. I wasn't sure if we could have happiness like that again but it seems like we can. I think it has been helpful to have all the twenty-somethings I had in my house gone. This has allowed John and I to be more ourselves. To have our time alone in the evening and the space to fight (and/or make up...LOL) as we wish is rather priceless.
Okay, now that I am caught up I will work on keeping the blog more up to date. Having a desktop really motivates me to write!
Well, this post has been a LONG time in coming!!! For the last two months I have not been feeling well. I have been losing my hair for the last two years. I have been having fatigue issues on and off for that long too. I have noticed other changes in the body including weight gain no matter it seems what I do. In the last two months things have really gone down hill with lots of eczema issues and not gastric issues. I think I may have irritable bowl problems or celiac disease. I have an appointment in about a month with a gastro. doctor in about a month. I am hoping to find the issues then. My autoimmune system seems to be in overdrive lately and I am not sure why. I had a high reactive c protein result about two years ago and that got me worried. Since then I seem to have systemic inflammation. I think it may be from the poorly done umbilical hernia repair. I have an appointment in January to see a hernia repair specialist too.
After not eating gluten for the last two weeks and cutting out
carbonated beverages with caffeine I feel better but still not well. I
am not sure if it is because I have irritable bowl disease or if there
is celiac problems and not my gut is so damaged that it is going to take
a while to fix. I have to see if I can get my health issues straightened out. At this point I just want to feel better and I will do what I need to in order for that to happen.
Life at home, since we moved, is tough. With the fall out from Bill and Bailey (mostly Bill in this instance) the house is SO much quieter with them gone. No constant running someone to the urgent care, hospital, or having emergency personnel show up at my house (Firemen or EMTs). No medical emergencies of any sort. I have to say I like it! My oldest son came to my house about a month or so ago. With the addition of Jerrin to the house it has caused some problems but that is because he is not used to how I live and how to behave in the house. He has been living with his girlfriend and her mother for awhile and I think the manners I taught him and other import life lessons went out the window. I am glad to report though he is coming a long nicely and making progress in being an adult. I am thrilled! He is a good kid, a good son, but he needs to grow up and face what life has to offer.
Living with John full-time has been rough. I think we have reached a compromise for now. One of our biggest problems is we want to share a bed at night but he snores so loudly I can't sleep. Or he sleeps lightly but snores little to none. The problem is when he wakes in the morning after a night like that I slept pretty well but he did not. We now have a bed in the living room. It works well for extra seating, especially for the children, and John can have a bed where his snoring will not bother anyone. We are currently waiting for his insurance benefits to run out and I can put him on my insurance. Hopefully then we will be able to get him to a doctor and see if there is something that can be done with his snoring. We want to share a room but on the other hand we both like to sleep. That makes life tough! LOL
Halloween was NOT fun at ALL. I was SO pissed at the time! It was the last day that we had to get out of the Gilbert house. I had to schedule carpet cleaners there for that day. I did not have the money to do it until then. With the fall out with Bill and Bailey they did not do repairs to their room and Bailey had bleached the carpet outside the bathroom. So I had to take care of that work too. So as the carpet cleaners were there trying to clean the carpet (John, the little kids, Maddi and Dimitri were there...I was at work) someone from the rental company, Time2Rent, showed up unannounced. He decided to do the home inspection right then. My husband was texting me. They guy was walking all over the freshly cleaned carpet and the Sears carpet cleaners told my husband that the warranty for the carpet was now voided due the guy doing the inspection. He was literally walking ALL over the wet carpet! He pointed stuff out to my husband saying we had to fix it including all the nail holes in the wall. When John texted me this I was livid because they did not repair those before I moved in. It is my fault though because I never filled in the move in sheet. So it is my word against theirs. The guy from the property rental company pointed out several issues and said we had to take care of them to get the deposit back. We complained but said okay. So John went back and took paint off the wall to get a color match. Initially it was wrong so we had to go back again to get another shade. John spackled and painted the walls while Maddi and Dimitri cleaned the house in general. It was a MAJOR undertaking! We got everything squared away. I was pissed on Halloween because I go to look at the house in the evening and the paint color on the wall was a disaster (that was the first color try). I was so ticked I almost did not take the children trick-or-treating. In the end the kids were crying wanting to go out so I stopped, alone with them, and took them around for a bit. When I got home John was annoyed with me, for good reason, but I convinced him, Maddi and Dimiti to take the children out again for Halloween. They did and all had a nice time. The kids were thrilled going trick-or-treating. I am glad they had fun in the end.
Thanksgiving was nice at the house. We are VERY thin at the house. We have NO money and I am having a hard time paying all the bills. That being said, we got the Christmas money from my in-laws. It was money for us to buy our family Christmas gifts but we had to spend the money on food. That was how it had to be. We were able to have a nice Thanksgiving. By this time I had figured out I have an issue with maybe gluten and caffeine and/or carbonated drinks. I had been working on cutting these things from my diet. John made a gluten free Thanksgiving stuffing for me. It was AMAZING! I loved every bit of it! Thanksgiving was nice and mostly quiet.
Yesterday we celebrated the children's 6th birthday! Where did the time go? Since we did not have much in money get got the children a couple of small gifts. We got two small gifts each. I got each of the children an insulated cup with a lid and straw. I have one and I notice they are ALL the time wanting to drink from my cup so I got them each their own cup. The one small problem we had is that they cup we got for Margaret came without the lid and straw. So I was sad she did not get her cup but her actual gift, a superhero cape, was a HUGE hit! We also got Joseph a superhero cape. James's second gift was a large checkers set. He has really gotten into playing checkers with my husband on his phone. He is a HORRIBLE loser but John plays with him anyways...lol.
In a mere two weeks is Christmas. We are out of money and James has been wishing hard for a telescope, drums and a Kindle. The only thing Margaret has mentioned wanting is a Furby. I have no idea why but she is fascinated with Furby but basically Joseph and Margaret are excited to open presents. They can't wait. My only problem is that we have no money to go Christmas shopping. This year has been one of the worst for their birthday and Christmas since I have no money to go shopping for them. I feel bad. I wanted to get everyone new bikes. They LOVE their bikes but James has worn his out and Margaret needs a bigger bike. Joseph has a scooter but I found a lightweight balance bike that I think would work for him. I just need to find a way to buy it. It may be a VERY thin Christmas this year. If it is we will try and make it up to the children when we get out income tax refund. Maybe I can say Santa got lost? I don't know. I will think of something. I am good at that....lol.
If you would like to help with an item on their Christmas list you can find items and or ideas on the Kids Christmas List on Amazon... http://amzn.com/w/18Z2ID38EGU5H
Many of the items are similar items with different price points. I have been having fun "window" shopping for them because that is basically all I can afford to do. : )
As we head off into Christmas I am happy that I have a pretty loving and decently functioning family. We might be as poor as dirt but we enjoy each other pretty well! It has been great to have Maddi and Dimitri join the family along with my oldest son. John and I are looking forward in facing the future and what life might bring. We know life will get better sooner than later. Our current struggle for money has to do with so many people in the house and I was the only one working for awhile. Jerrin was able to get a small, part-time job at FedEx for the holidays while Maddi got a job at Subway and recently got a second job at Circle K. That girl has an amazing work ethic. Her parent should be proud! Dimitri helps a LOT around the house and with the children. John is busy with the children doing school work and getting their doctor appointment taken care of while I work. Life is good, eveyone has a place in my crowded house...
When you think about how far the children have come they are AMAZING! You can see their birth information at the About Us tab. We had a nice day overall. John made an amazing carrot cake for their birthday! It is a gluten free Hello Kitty carrot cake. Margaret requested the cake and the boys did not mind. They all LOVE carrot cake!
The night before the children's birthday we did a ninja move and sneaked into their rooms and put up these large wall hangings to surprise them when they woke up. It worked! They were SO excited when they woke up!
