Salt and Light Academy

Flash Backs

2009-12-08T23:30:00.001-05:00

Having a new baby in the house again has really been a thrill. We are all enjoying these days with Baby boy. Time goes by so quickly... one minute they are sweet smelling, sleeping angels in your arms and the next thing you know they are about to turn 7 years old in a couple of weeks and want your help planning their big birthday party.
I've been a little emotional lately, not sad but very content and even a little unworthy of all that God has blessed me with.
My babies are growing up so fast........
To help me feel better and to reminisce about those good ole days I will be posting some pics and video of the kids when they were younger. I hope you enjoy watching these as much as I do.
P.S. It's OK if you find yourself getting a little emotional too, Everyone needs a good laugh sometimes.

baby girl when she was truly the baby

little man, I love seeing this kid smile

Lil Mama, so cute Lil Man, so handsome

I'll be back to post some more later, Gotta go, baby boy is waking up.....

TWO WEEKS

2009-10-27T13:08:00.004-04:00

Two weeks ago our family grew from 5 to 6. We didn't know it yet but our newest member was being born only a couple hundred miles away. Three days later we would get the call and make the drive out to meet him.

After years of praying and months of waiting. God has giving us an answer. Our family will never be the same.

Baby boy is such a good baby. It is really hard to remember what life was like before him. He is so loved. His siblings all adore him. The girls especially loves to help care for him. He fits right in.

I can't believe that he is already 2 weeks old. He is getting bigger every day. He doesn't cry much and he loves to nurse.

I love to smell him and watch him sleep. I take great pleasure nursing him to sleep and wearing him around.

I wish time could just freeze.......

He Is Here

2009-10-18T19:07:00.003-04:00

Our baby boy was born last Tuesday Oct 13.
He weigh 5 ibs 6 oz

I'll be back soon to tell you all about him, but i can't type really well with one hand.

Bye

Still Here

2009-10-02T08:50:00.001-04:00

I haven't gone anywhere. I'm still here, just very busy.
Only a couple of weeks left till our Possible Birth Mom's Due date.
Lots to do till then. I'll keep you all updated.
Bye

Making Baby Preparations

2009-09-21T14:39:00.003-04:00

There is something absolutely exciting about preparing for a new baby. There has been a lot of excitement around here this past couple of weeks.
Our baby is due in less then 4 weeks and we are just
getting around to packing our traveling bags. I would like some advise about
what to pack for the baby as well as the rest of us.
Everyone is going along for pick up . all 5 of us, so we have to pack for 3
kids, 2 adults and 1 new born.
So far For the baby I have packed
a hand full of diapers,
some wipes,
2 receiving blankets,
3 burp clothes
1 hooded towel
3 wash cloths
2 pairs of socks
3 hats
2 sleepers
1 going home outfit
5 onsies
2 little pants
nursing pillow
2 slings
car seat and
couple bottles of frozen breast milk
We will only be away from home for 2 days.
Will this be enough for those 2 days
or do I need to pack more?
I am only half way done with packing for everyone else.
It's been a while since we've brought a new born home from the hospital. I'm really not sure if I'm bringing to much or not enough.
What do you think?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

2009-09-13T10:08:00.000-04:00

As promised, I am back to give you guys a little more info about our journey towards adoption.
I've always been drawn to adoption ever since I adopted my first cabbage patch doll at the age of 13. But, it was after the dramatic birth of my youngest that I really started to think about possibly adopting a child for real.
All of my kids were born via C-section. With any c-section there is a small chance that a women can experience a uterine rupture or a tear on her uterus with her next pregnancy. Well, I am one of those women that experienced that. During my labor with Baby Girl my uterus wall started to tear or seperate. I was rushed to the hospital where they performed an emergency c-section and safely delivered my sweet baby girl. The realization that I came so close to losing my life and possible the life of my baby was so real. Later on, the doctor and my midwife spoke honestly to my hubby and I and explained to us the possible dangers that exist if we were to try to have any more children. We were very sadden by the news but we also knew that God was in control and that If He wanted our family to keep growing, He would make a way.
Fast forward to the summer of last year. I started talking with Papa about how sad I was feeling that we would not be able to have another baby. I shared with him this desire that I feel to have another little one. We started to talk more and more about it and how to best go about it. It was around that time that our pastor began to share with the church his heart for orphans and foster care. We also had some real good friends of ours that just finished their paperwork to become "foster to adopt" parents. We decided to look further into foster care and see if it would work out for our family.
January 2009 came and we were still trying to work out the details to get things rolling to become foster parents. We spoke to many different agencies and they all were telling us that they didn't think that fostering would be a good match for our family. We were starting to feel very discouraged. We then decided to forget about it all and focus on something else.
Spring arrived and with it came a new outlook on things. Papa and I decided to look into domestic, private adoption and felt lead to a very special local agency. We contacted the agency and began the process of filling out paper work which lasted a little over 3 months.
Now we are done with all the paper work, home visits and have been matched.
We don't really know how things will play out next, all we do know is that God has a plan for us and it's all good.
So That's whats been going on around here all summer. What do you think? Did you see this coming, or was it a surprise to you too?

I HAVE BIG NEWS

2009-09-08T17:51:00.002-04:00

I know that I have been hinting at this all summer. I've been waiting for just the right moment.
This news is so big that I can no longer hide it any more.
Our family has been really busy this year. There is so much to do around here that the work just never seems to end. You would think that we would be too busy to even think of this but, God has a way of putting things into your heart that even the most busiest of schedules cannot ignore.

Have you guessed it, Do you know what it is?
WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!
Yup it's true we are expecting baby #4 sometime next month.
What, you didn't know that I was pregnant? I don't look pregos to you?
well relax you didn't miss anything, I'm not pregnant, WE ARE ADOPTING.
Don't worry, I know it's a bit of a shock. How about I just let it sink in for a while.
I'll be back later to explain more.

B.F.Fs

2009-09-03T10:31:00.003-04:00

My kids love to write. this summer they started writing letters to some very special friend of ours that we don't get to see very often. It's been a great experience for us. I remember doing the same things when I was young. Those were the days when everyone seemed to have a special "pen pal".

We really miss you guys and can't wait to see you all again. Keep those letters coming and give your mom a special hug from me.

My Two Girls

2009-08-29T12:20:00.000-04:00

I enjoy being the mom of girls. There is just something very precious and special about having little girls.

Our girls are so "girlie" They love to sing and dance and play dress up.

Little Mama especially likes to dress up in her ballerina clothes.

And Baby Girl is really good at twirling in circles.

They are so precious

My little princesses.

May they always be this sweet and adorable.

A Day In The Park

2009-08-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

We spend a lot of time outdoors. The kids love to go to different parks and playgrounds.

They like to explore new play structors.

I really enjoy being able to spend so much time with them doing fun things.

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

2009-08-25T11:15:00.004-04:00

As you all know I've been gone from blog land all summer. I bet some of you have been wondering what we were up to? Well let me tell you about all the fun things that went on around here.
First, the kids all took swim lessons this summer. They had a very cool and patient swim teacher, Ms. D. She was able to teach them all kinds of cool things in the water. The kids loved her and hated to see the classes end. We miss her so much and we can't wait for next summer when we will have more swim classes with our wonderful Ms. D.

Little Man Swimming to the wall

Little Mama learning to float on her back

Little Man really loved his time in the water

Baby girl learning to turn and float on her back.

Little man practicing proper dive techniques

Baby Girl swimming to Ms. D

Baby Girl showing off her strong kicks

We spent a lot of time in the pool this summer. It seems like if we weren't in the pool we were either at the beach playing in the sand or at the park having a blast.

I love it that we get to spend so much time together. I love watching them learn new things and explore.

How about you?

What Have you all been up to all summer?

I'M BACK......

2009-08-19T15:38:00.002-04:00

I know, It's been so long. I can explain and I will.......
Give me another chance. I promise to be a better blogger.
What do you say, Let's start all over again.
Thank you

OFF WITH HER HAIR

2009-06-04T16:35:00.005-04:00

There has been a lot of changes happening around here lately.
First of let me tell you that I've been wanting to get my hair cut for a really long time. (last time I got a haircut was after baby girl was born)
Well last Friday a good friend of mine came over and treated me to a hair cut. So without further Ado this is how it all went down.

This is the before shot. (can you see how badly damaged my ends were)

The before side shot. (I know it looks long but it is not all health hair)

Let the cutting begin

So far so good.

Shampoo, condition and set in rollers. After one hour under the dryer we were almost done.

This is the after shot. (I know it looks a little short)

Feels so lite and healthy.

Look at those ends

Yep, I needed this.

So what do you think? Do you like my new hair cut? When was the last time you got your hair cut?

I Miss My Mom

2009-05-27T15:45:00.003-04:00

My mom has been away for almost a month and I am really starting to miss her. She will be back in the states later this summer but it is just not the same.

The kids and I love her so much. They really enjoyed having her around and being able to see her and love up on her as often as they wished.

It is so strange to think that at one point I doubted this woman's love for me and weather or not we would ever have a normal mother daughter relationship. The Lord is so good, I am witnessing his faithfulness as he restores the years that the locust has eaten.

My mother and I are building a mother daughter relationship. Ours might not look like the norm but it is what it is. A child getting to know her mom and a mom doing her best to be the mom that her daughter needs her to be. It's not always perfect but it is growing and I am so grateful for the chance to do it again.

I miss you Mom and I can't wait to see you and hold you again come this August.

2009-05-10T10:21:00.002-04:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!!

To all the mamas, soon to be mamas, and mamas in heart, Happy Mother's Day.
Enjoy your day, I know I am enjoying mine.

Garden Update Part 3

2009-05-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

Here we go again. It took me a week but we are at the end of our Garden tour for now. This time let us start with the next 4x4 bed. This bed was all planted in late January from seeds.

We have growing in this bed beets both Detroit Red and the long cylinder kind.
We also have 3 different kinds of carrots

and lots of colorful mixed lettuce

Moving on to the side of the house we have some experimental potatoes growing.

Here is a close up of those potato plants. They are getting ready to start flowering soon.

We have a bunch of pots and containers laying around ready to be used this fall. In this set of car tires we are growing my girls favorite little treat, ENGLISH PEAS. The girls love to eat these fresh, they are so sweet.

Here is a close up of our peas.

We also have super sugar snap peas growing out of a container.

Here is a close up of the sugar snap peas. I love, love, love these peas.

some other things we have growing out of containers are mixed lettuce

and different kinds of herbs.

This is dill getting ready to go to seed

this is green onions going to seeds

That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed this tour of our garden. Now you are next. What's growing in your yard?

Garden Update Part 2

2009-04-24T09:39:00.001-04:00

Over in this corner is my beloved Mayer Lemon tree. My hubby got me this tree for valentine's Day. It already has lots of little lemons on it.

Can you see all the little lemons?

This one is the biggest.

This is the next raised bed in our Garden. It measures 4x4. Right now we have growing in this bed some cherry, orange banana and marglobe tomatoes. We planted these tomatoes last September from seeds and they haven't stop producing since then.

These are the cherry tomatoes

These are white wonders

We love being able to grow enough tomatoes to eat fresh, share, and to can.

Garden Update Part 1

2009-04-23T14:03:00.007-04:00

Let's start with this Beautiful rose. This is a flower from 1 of 5 outstanding roses growing in pots in our yard.

This is 1 of our raised beds. It measures 4x8 and is so far our biggest bed. (I'm hoping that Papa will build me 2 more beds this size for my birthday this summer.)

In that raised bed we have a lot growing, but let's start with the Garlic. These garlic plants were started from bulbs that my mom brought from Haiti . They have been in the ground since Feb. 4th and are doing great. I don't know if they will actually produce any garlic bulbs but I can't wait to find out.

Next to the garlics we have onions. Theses onions were started from sets that I purchased from Walmart and have been in the ground since Jan. 31st.

Next to the onions we are growing 2 varieties of beets . The beets were started from seeds on Jan.15 and transplanted a month later to their current spacings. This variety is Detroit Dark Red, Medium Top.

This variety is called Cylindra.

In this bed we are also growing Georgia Collards . They were started from seeds on Jan.15 and very yummy. We have 11 collard plants so far.

The next raised bed we have measures 4x4 and used to be our carrot bed. We grew and ate over 65 carrots this past winter.

Right now this bed is home to 3 varieties of potatoes. This is our 1st time getting potatoes to sprout for us. The potatoes were store bought fingerling, red and blue varieties. I can't wait to see if these produce anything.

In that same bed we have some bunching onions.

And lots of parsley

Well, that's it for Part one I will be back with part 2 real soon.

How's your garden going so far?

I'M BACK....

2009-04-21T13:23:00.002-04:00

I know that you all have been wondering where I've been all month. Well, what can I say. I've been busy, very busy.
Everything around here is going well. We are all healthy, (Thank you Lord).
The kids have been working hard on wrapping up the school year. We are almost done. Me on the other hand. I have been very busy catching up on house chores, babysitting other people's kids and playing in the garden.
Right now I am gathering some pictures together so I can share with all of you all the progress in the garden.
I promise to be back later with lots of pictures.
How is everyone doing?

I'm still here

2009-03-27T12:15:00.001-04:00

I'm still here, we are just so busy with life that I haven't had the time to be on the computer.
I hope to be back in the swing of things soon

Thank You For Coming

2009-03-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

We would like to thank everyone for coming to the very first SALT AND LIGHT ACADEMY piano concert. We loved sharing this time with you and we hope that you enjoyed listening and watching our little musicians perform. They enjoyed being able to share their music with all of you.
As you begin to gather up your belongings we would love to send you off with one very last song played by none other than our little 6 year old wonder, Little Mama.

Once again we would like to say a very big THANK YOU for all of you for stopping by. Please join us again sometime. We love you all.

Popcorn Anyone?

2009-03-07T13:35:00.002-05:00

Last but not least we would like to introduce you all to the one and only Little Man. Little man will be playing a piano solo by Claudette Hudelson titled Microwave Popcorn.

One More Time

2009-03-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

Guys, let us once again welcome on stage the one and only Little Mama.

This time she will be performing a piece titled The Old Cotton Picker. So, sit back and enjoy the very soulful sounds of Little Mama on the piano doing what she knows best.

And Now I Present......

2009-03-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

At this time we would like to present the wonderful and very adorable Little Mama herself playing for the very first time a piece entitled BUGLES!.

Enjoy

Ladies and Gentlemen

2009-03-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

You are in for a treat. I would like to introduce you to the youngest child at Salt And Light Academy, Baby Girl.

Baby Girl is brand new on the piano. So far she only knows a couple of notes. But, don't let that fool you. Today she is here to play us her very first piece entitled THE TRAIN.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I GIVE YOU BABY GIRL.