Merry Christmas To All, and To All a Good Night...

We did our traditional baking and decorating cookies for Santa tonight. Micah made sure that we had 2% milk, because that is what Santa drank in Disney's, "Prep and Landing". :-) Also, we had to have Chocolate Chip cookies. Hannah did not want to get messy, so she read a new Junie B. Jones braille book that came in the mail today. Jonas, well Jonas, would do more damage than help, so he ate oranges in his high chair and he kept licking his fingers to get every last drop of orange juice. :-)

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!

Notice the 'labels' on the stockings... Micah wanted to make sure that no one was confused at to whos stalkings were whos. :-)

If you look at Luca's face...not all of the icing went on the cookies...

You have been caught...

Three of my crazy boys...

Don't even think about it...

Gosh, these oranges are GREAT...

Just one last drop...

You all were SOOOO CLOSE...

ARE YOU READY???

ARE YOU SURE???

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE WE DID THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOME WILL SAY THAT WE ARE CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOME WILL SAY WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS LONG AGO.....

OKAY, okay, okay, do you want to know???

WE CUT LUCA'S HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????

I know, I know, I can't believe we actually did it either... To get the entire photo series, if you are my friend on facebook, I uploaded an album of 50 pics to document the entire 'event'. This was a BIG DEAL TO US!!! ESPECIALLY RYAN! Luca has been asking for months now to get his hair cut like Micah, Jonas, and Daddy. Yesterday he asked again and we caved... He is soooooo proud of his new look. I thought we might luck out like Sampson, and tame his strength and strong willed personality by cutting his locks, but no such luck! :-)


Okay, okay, okay.... I know you are dying to see the new look... My favorite, favorite pics are of him checking himself out in the mirror! He is still adorable, I just have to take a double look every time I see him. I think we will be letting it grow out for a while now... The look is just too tame for his 'inner personality'! ;-)

The mullet look was soooo bad... He was done by now, but we were now committed to this cut!

Can you believe all of the hair?

Finishing touches...

"Now I look like Daddy with my big boy cut"

Yep, lookin' pretty good!!! :-)

"They really cut all of my hair???"

"Oh well, I love it!!!"

"You can cut my hair, but you cannot take my personality away!!!"

Stay Tuned...

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post... YOU WILL NEVER GUESS WHAT RYAN AND I DID TODAY... We did something that EVERYONE will be shocked with, and we are still in shock ourselves... I will have a lot of pics to go along with the post.

If you can guess what we did, I will have to think of some sort of prize. But, what we did is soooooooooooooooooooooo crazy I don't think that anyone will guess it. I will give you a hint: Ryan and I both participated in the 'event', and the 'event' had nothing to do with us...

We are a bit sad that we did what we did, but it won't last forever!!!!!!

ANY GUESSES???????????????????????

Invisible...

Thank you Sarah for sending this to me! I needed the reminder today...

"Into My Heart"

These two videos are TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!! The only reason I am singing in the first one, is because Luca would not sing without me. I love how Luca can sing an entire song with one note!!! :-) Amazing... lol... I recorded this a couple months ago, but with the Selah concert this past weekend, it reminded me to upload it...

The second video... Well this is the REAL DEAL!!! Selah did a benefit concert for God's Littlest Angels Orphanage this past weekend. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!! We listen to Selah around here ALL THE TIME... So, when we were in Haiti a few weeks ago, Jonas had a really hard time going to bed the first couple of nights. Ruth, our babysitter, decided to bring him downstairs, wrap him up in a blanket, and put on Selah. IT WORKED!!!

So, the day of the concert, I told Selah the story and Amy wanted to sing to him. Before the concert, when I did not have my camera, she sang to him and he was COMPLETELY STILL THE ENTIRE SONG!!!!!! He did not move a muscle... It was also completely silent in the room where she was singing...

After the concert, she found him and sang to him. It was not not as quiet so he did not respond as well, but you will hear how COMPLETELY ANGELIC her voice is!

Really, I sound AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL, compared to Amy!!!!!!!!!!!!! So please, do not compare my singing to hers!!!! Really, I sound much better in the shower... lol... :-)

Hands That Heal in the news...

Hands That Heal got some amazing PR today... Hopefully this will cause some more awareness of the need to help within our community. God always provides in mysterious ways!!!

Here is the video... (Hands That Heal interview)

Linda Jackson did a great job editing our 45 minute conversation. HTH was prominent and that was my hope! This ministry has nothing to do with me, but all to do with the people of Haiti needing help, and how God provides in the most miraculous ways!!!

Not Going Private...

I may change my mind, I do this often, but I no longer feel comfortable going private... I am not a person who lives in fear. I need to be sensible and smart, but not fearful. I will not be posting much or any about Chun Yan until we have our official LID (Log In Date).

Nothing bad happened, we were just given good, sound advice from our agency that we need to not put a lot up about her until we have our LID... If I had known before, I would not have posted some things, but I did not know, and I don't want to feel like I have done anything wrong: I HAVEN'T!!!! To me making the blog private would be hiding something, and I have nothing to hide... :-)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self–discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

This blog has helped a lot of families out there raising children with special needs and I want to be "easy to find" and not private.

So, anyway...There ya have it... I am no longer going private! :-)

Thanks to those of you that wrote and wanted to follow us privately... If I decide to change my mind again... :-) I still have your e-mails...

Going Private...

I am going private with our blog for a couple months. Please e-mail me if you want to follow us while we go on the "DL" for a little while. I will be going private Monday, November 2nd.

you can contact me @ r_rhubley@hotmail.com

Hannah is not different, she is just blind...

Don't think I am leaving Jonas out in this at all... He is visually impaired, but has a lot more sight then Hannah ever will. She and Chun Yan are totally blind, not even one ounce of light perception. Plus, Jonas will always need much more assistance than the girls... My girls will be independent some day just as your children will be...

Remember these tips if you ever encounter a blind person. Remember, you are the only one intimidated about talking about their blindness, not them. To a blind person, being blind and talking about it is no different than me telling you that I have freckles and blue eyes... Hannah has never been ashamed or embarrassed about being blind, actually she is very proud of her blindness and her crazy, extreme, braille reading skills!!! I want to keep it that way for her and for Chun Yan.
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Courtesy Rules for Blindness
From the National federation for the Blind.


THE COURTESY RULES OF BLINDNESS

Ten simple, straightforward pointers which encourage sighted persons to feel comfortable and at ease with blind persons, is also helpful to know.

When you meet me don't be ill at ease. It will help both of us if you remember these simple points of courtesy:

I'm an ordinary person, just blind. You don't need to raise your voice or address me as if I were a child. Don't ask my spouse what I want—"Cream in the coffee?"—ask me.

I may use a long white cane or a guide dog to walk independently; or I may ask to take your arm. Let me decide, and please don't grab my arm; let me take yours. I'll keep a half-step behind to anticipate curbs and steps.

I want to know who's in the room with me. Speak when you enter. Introduce me to the others. Include children, and tell me if there's a cat or dog.

The door to a room or cabinet or to a car left partially open is a hazard to me.

At dinner I will not have trouble with ordinary table skills.
Don't avoid words like "see." I use them, too. I'm always glad to see you.

I don't want pity. But don't talk about the "wonderful compensations" of blindness. My sense of smell, touch, or hearing did not improve when I became blind. I rely on them more and, therefore, may get more information through those senses than you do—that's all.

If I'm your house guest, show me the bathroom, closet, dresser, window—the light switch, too. I like to know whether the lights are on.

I'll discuss blindness with you if you're curious, but it's an old story to me. I have as many other interests as you do.

Don't think of me as just a blind person. I'm just a person who happens to be blind.
In all 50 states, the law requires drivers to yield the right of way when they see my extended white cane. Only the blind may carry white canes. You see more blind persons today walking alone, not because there are more of us, but because we have learned to make our own way.

For more information about gifts, bequests, programs for the blind, or other matters concerning blindness or the blind, contact the local chapter in your area or contact:

The National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: 410-659-9314
E-mail: nfb@nfb.org

Finally, some of my favorite pics from GLA...

This is from the Main House, Day #2... More to come soon... Blogger loaded them in a very random order and I am not fighting with it...