Recovering Noah

Wow. Let's see if I can do this again. This whole blogging thing. It was really nice taking a month-long break from it. The truth is blogging doesn't really take up a lot of my time. It's all the stuff done after I blog that takes up my time. Like, "Oooh! Let me check my email and see if anyone's left a comment!" or "Oooh! Let's see what everyone's blogging about today!" or "Oooh! I wonder what Ralph Macchio is up to these days. Let's Wikipedia him!" And then that turns into "Hey, whatever happened to that new Karate Kid movie they were gonna make? The one with Will Smith's son. Or was it his daughter? Okay, it's gonna bug me if I don't find out. Let's google it!" And on and on and so it goes. But another reason that I think I needed to take a rest was because I just didn't know what direction to take with my blog. It just felt so strange coming back from India and blogging about trivial things. Li...

I'm going to take a bit of a blogging break. The truth is that I just haven't felt like blogging much since getting back from India. I know, I know. India . Did any of you roll your eyes? I know it's all I seem to blog about anymore, but I can't help it. That trip did something to me unexplainable. It made me really want to search for a purpose in my life.. something besides just hiding behind a computer all day. It made me realize how lucky I am - how blessed I am - how fortunate I am with my family and my children and my house and just everything around me. And I don't want to squander all that by putting my attention and sole focus on a little 12 x 10 screen. It's not so much blogging that I'm running away from... it's the computer. It sucks me in and takes up all my time. I find that I can sit behind the computer for hours on end and read 100 blogs and 25 online magazines and newspapers from every country. And all the while dishes are sitting dirt...

I don't know how many of you follow this blog - http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/ - but you should! She only updates a couple of times a month, so it won't take a lot of your time. But the time you spend reading her blog will truly change you. Her recent blog post really spoke to me and I felt compelled to send it to a few friends. Then I thought, " Why not let everyone see this? Everyone needs to see it ." I don't know how old Katie is - 20 or 21 - but she moved to Uganda (on her own) and adopted 10 children. Her recent blog post is about the sacrifice she made and how much she had to give up... but she did give it up because she felt it was what the Lord was telling her to do. Her faith just blows me away. It's a really touching, moving post and I hope you'll all stop by to read it. http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

I wonder how many Texan bloggers have blogged about the snow today. It's beautiful. Simply beautiful. And, yes, despite what you witness in the video... we are STILL going to make snow ice cream. (hee hee)

Look what I've been able to wake up to for the last two days.... Noah has decided that there's no place he'd rather sleep than nestled between the two people who love him more than anything in the world. I mean, honestly, how many 8 year old boys do you know that love to crawl into bed with their parents? Or come up to them with their arms raised up so that they can be picked up and hugged? Or crawl into their laps for cuddles and kisses? While most 8 year olds are discovering sports or video games or deciding that their friends are way cooler than their parents... I have a son who still thinks I'm the bees knees.... and will probably do so for the rest of his life. There was a time when that would've depressed me. When the thought that Noah might never live on his own or get married or have friends or hold a job would just make me feel like I was drowning in a black hole - and it would just send me straight to bed with the covers pulled up. But, ...

I'm thinking that if maybe I make a commitment to posting certain things then maybe I'll actually get into the swing of blogging again. However, I am acutely aware that I made a commitment ages ago to show pictures of " our-bedroom-closet-turned-into-Nandi's-room " and the " I'm-Bringing-Back-the-Rachel-Haircut " that I got months and months and months ago that grew out months and months and months ago. So, perhaps this whole commitment thing may not actually work. But I'll give it a try. Speaking of haircuts... well, it turns out that I DO have a flock of lice (yes, some friends actually had a discussion online about what a group of lice/louse are called) and I ended up chopping off about 5 inches off my hair. Hey, I nearly pulled a Britney, so 5 inches is a good compromise. So, here's what I'll be talking about this week. And I know it may not really interest any of you, but I promised my husband that I'd give his ear a rest and st...

Ooooh, a challenge. And one that requires brevity! Do you think I can do it? It's 6:27 am. Let's try. Let's face it. My blogging has become ridiculous - practically nonexistent lately. I don't know where all the time has gone. Plus, I am still getting over the most baffling jet lag in the entire history of the world. It's beyond anything I've ever experienced in my life. I think I must've been bit by a mosquito or something that causes you want to sleep all day, mope all night, and consume copious amounts of bread and cheese. (Something that I'd given up several months ago... so it must be some sort of rare and obscure Indian mosquito bite, right?) I'm also convinced that my hair is being overtaken with lice... but no one can find any eggs... which means all the infertile lice in India made my head their home b/c I know something is in there. Please excuse me while I remove myself from the keyboard to scratch my head. It takes both hands. (How many...

These are just a few of the pictures that we took in India. There were so many - it was really hard to choose. The majority are on Facebook, so shoot me an email if you want to see all of them. Hope you enjoy it!

This is a picture of me with my boy, Michael. Isn't he handsome? I know that I keep posting videos of my boys, but believe it or not, I do have pictures of my girls, but I just haven't posted them yet. Okay, rereading that sentence I realized that saying I'm going to post pictures of "my girls" probably didn't come out the way I meant it. You all know I'm talking about pictures of the little girls I feel in love with and not... uh... uh.... you know, THE girls... like... uh... the name of that place where people swear they go just because the hot wings are supposedly fantabulous . Okay... so, uh.. yeah, let's get back to the point.... Michael is the sole reason I'd planned on going to India. Michael is mostly nonverbal and has autism and Sarah wanted to see if I could do RPM (the therapy we do with Noah) with him. And, of course, I was dying to meet Sarah and see her kids. And then I get to India... and completely fall apart. I wasn't prepare...

One thing I really detest is uploading photos to Blogger. It takes forever - and, though, I'm sure there's an easier way to go about it, it's so cumbersome. My plan is to eventually do a slideshow put to music and post it on Youtube and this blog. It will take a week or two before I get that together. In the meantime, if you want to view the photos in my album on Facebook - but aren't friends with me on FB - please email me at recoveringnoah@yahoo.com with your name as it appears on FB and I'll add you. I'll try to add more videos and do more blog entries this week. Thanks! Leslie

Just wanted to write a quick post and ask everyone (you know, all five of you out there) to please bear with me while I'm adjusting to being back home. I'm suffering from horrible jetlag and just can't seem to get it under control. I've been up since 1:00 this morning (it's now 6:00) and I'll soon be headed to bed. Thank goodness I've been blessed with a fabulous hubby who puts up with it. But he goes back to work tomorrow and I dread to think of the state I'll be in. Anyway, I live in a house with extremely light sleepers, so the clicking of a keyboard in the middle of the night just won't do. As soon as things return to normal (i.e. as soon as I quit keeping vampire hours), I'll post more videos and pictures and thoughts and such. Just wanted to explain the lack of posting on here since I got back. Had a fantastic time. Sooooo much to sort out, but am looking forward to getting back into a regular routine on Monday morning. Right now, I just so...

I'll be posting videos all weekend. Please scroll down to see if you've missed any videos that I may have already posted. I love my boys!! They completely captured my heart... probably because I could see my little Noah in each of them. Whatever the reason may be, I am in love with each of them and wish I could just take them home with me and give them a family. I did have some video of Joshua, but Nicky was in it and he was not feeling well and was crying, so I decided not to post it out of respect for him. I have to say, though, that Nicky is one of my favorite boys there. I see such potential in his eyes. I really do. Oh my gosh, my heart just swells thinking about him. These videos are short, but I can't help but post them. If you read Sarah's blog (and if you don't... why not??) then you're already taken by the children, so these are for you. :-) The little boy at the end of the above video opened up so much by the time we left. I finally got him to smile a...

Well, we're back. We arrived back late Wednesday night and I've spent the last day and a half sleeping, recuperating, and trying to sort through the many, many emotions floating through my head. I was afraid that I would forget the kids once I arrived back home and settled into my routine, but I've found it's impossible. They're all I think about. I'm not sure what God's plan is for our family in regard to Sarah and her kids - whether it's to go back short-term or move there long-term - or whether it's just to spread the word and try to get people to volunteer or send financial support - but all I know is that those children are firmly ingrained in my heart and are now a part of me. And can you all please take a moment and think of my dear mother who most likely just had a heart attack in reading the above paragraph?? (Love you, Mom!) I most likely won't post tons and tons of thoughts just yet because I barely seem able to make a coherent sentenc...

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their sweet and inspiring comments on the blog post I wrote over the weekend. Ruth, I. Heart. You!!!! :-) I would love to make this another long post, but the truth is that the only reason I was able to do that on Saturday was because I was literally in bed for about 24 hours and I borrowed Sandwich's laptop. The computer here at the internet "cafe" (lol - you really do need to see this place!) has a sticky keyboard and it's very hard to type... so this will be a short one and I'll save the long ones for when I return. This is my last blog post until probably Thursday or Friday. Today, we run errands and I'm going with one of the ayahs to buy spinning toys for the kids with autism. I'm very excited. I was finally able to pull myself together yesterday and work with Michael! He is so smart and has loads of potential. I truly, truly believe he has the potential to be high functioning and verbal if he is worked wi...

I’m laying here in bed in a hotel in the middle of Ongole, India with a raging case of Delhi Belly. Aren’t I just the luckiest girl? Fortunately, Sandwich is letting me borrow her laptop while she and Rosebud work with their group of kids this morning. She thought it might be good for me to type out all the millions of thoughts that have been running through my head since we arrived. I’m thinking that maybe it might be good to give everyone here a break from hearing those millions of thoughts every single time they turn around. So, where do I begin? Not too long ago, a well-known blogger went on a mission trip and I was so excited to see how it changed her life. I really enjoy her blog, but it seems so materialistic at times and I was really curious to see if it changed her in anyway. I followed the blog everyday while she was gone and only rarely did she mention the poverty and the heartbreak that she saw. And it’s not been mentioned at all now that she’s returned. And I’ve always...

Okay, you're just going to have to go to Sandwiche's blog to find out what's happening. We have about 15 minutes in the morning to get on email (between the time the Internet place opens and we leave for SCH) and I just can't get it all in. My mornings are spent emailing my husband telling him I miss him and emailing my parents and assuring them that, no, I have not decided to move here. LOL. Parents, eh?? Although the thought has crossed my mind. Many times... Anyway, Sandwich brought her laptop and is able to type up blog posts in Word and then copy them to her blog in the morning which is how she's able to keep every one so up to date. So please go to her blog to see what we've been up to. I promise to email more when we get back. Just an FYI to our church buddies... we have an amazing team here. The teens are doing great. I am just floored by how everyone is adjusting. The only tears have been mine! We were truly, truly blessed with our team. We all get a...

We made it! Hope you've been reading Sandwiche's blog (www.blessingssandwich.blogspot.com). She's been giving all the details. I've been very emotional since meeting the boys at the boy's home and can't really formulate thoughts right now. But when I do, watch out. It'll be a watershed! Sandwich and I have joked that everyone needs to go to her blog for the facts and my blog (when I do eventually blog) because mine will have all the emotional content. Everyone knows I live and breathe through my emotions... and India is a very emotional place. India with adorable little orphans who melt your heart is even more emotional. India with adorable little orphans who have autism and who melt your heart is.... uh oh, here comes the tears... For our church group, we're all okay. Everyone is doing great. I'm actually the only one who's had a breakdown... and out of the TX group, I'm the only one who's been before. The newbies are handling it grea...

Hey there! Guess what time it is? It's 5:15 in the morning. Who needs to get off her butt and jump in the shower and get ready to leave for India in an hour? Me! Just call me Last Minute Leslie. I just finished handwriting 10 letters to the kids, one for each day that I'm gone and feel like I've written 10 short stories. I'm getting all emotional. I'm going to miss my kids so much!! It just feels differently leaving this time, knowing that I've got three little ones at home. The good thing is that Sim will be home for two weeks and he's, you know, the "Fun Parent". I came home the other day and found him with one end of our balance beam (it sets about a foot off the ground) raised up onto one of our kitchen chairs which just happened to be sitting on top of our coffee table. I walked in and found Nandi literally touching the ceiling! For those of you who are local, please check in on my kids now and then and make sure there aren't any broken ...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I can't believe it!!! I walked by him sitting at the table and kissed him on the head and said, "Have I told you this morning how much I love you?" And he said, "Iduvumum" Of course, I was stunned. And I said, "Noah, did you just say, "I love you mom? Yes or No?" And he said, "Esssss" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Of course I cried. And called Sim. And called my mom. And Noah was so pleased with himself that he took me by the hand and led me straight to the TV so that he could watch an Elmo video. I guess he thought, "Hey, I told you I love you, so now I get a freebie." This officially goes down in history as the best day of my life. (Doing carthwheels and happy dances and thanking Jesus). Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

If you haven't read today's earlier post, Noah asked for a globe for Christmas... on Christmas Eve, nonetheless. Santa nearly had a panic attack but managed to pull through in the end. Oh, and Sarah, if you're reading this, Santa left two extra swings (like the one in the video) for us to take to India. I would like to thank Santa's elves (blog readers) for making it possible to buy two swings to take to India (by purchasing raffle tickets. In fact, I'll be doing a blog post next week on what your donations were able to buy). P.S. I have no idea why my voice is so high in the video. It's the voice I reserve for puppies and babies.... which might explain why so very few babies like me and the little Yorkie puppy I was playing with earlier today bit me on the nose. But, more importantly, check out the mile wide smile on Noah's face when he gets in the swing. It's worth enduring my voice for....