Some pix

Happy 1st Anniversary R and JT! They made it a whole year and didn't kill each other. Woot! Last year at this time we were doing this; www.thisthatandlifesjoys.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-new-year-and-wedding-pics.html
We had a little open house party for them this evening and had a very nice time. Misty even performed her stroller and sippy cup trick with all the people in the house. I really need to post a video of it some day.

The other day T hooked a projector up to a game system and they played it on the wall. Misty sat on the end of the couch and watched intently. So funny.
Since R and JT are heading back home on Wed. we went ahead and blew up the tree tonight. I love this pic.

Nephew got a little crazy with the gas can but all were safe in the end.

We saved the top cake of R's and JT's wedding cake in the freezer all year and pulled it out tonight. The cake part was still good but the frosting crystalized. It was neat to see it again and that the cake part survived a year in the freezer (and in the cars lately).

Good food, good friends, good times. Now they are playing kinect. That takes some goofy pix while they are playing. I have to work tomorrow so off to bed.

Merry Christmas!

I know it's the day after but I hope you're having a great Christmas. We've been busy and enjoying friends and family. R and JT are here and they've been busy running around and trying to see everyone. We will have an open house for them tomorrow evening on their first anniversary. I froze a small part of their wedding cake and will get it out. I'm sure we won't want to eat it but I'll get it out anyway.

We had a white Christmas and it was beautiful. So exciting. Could have done without the snow today but you take what you get. I worked but we closed a little early due to lack of customers.

We've been watching movies and playing games and making food and just enjoying each other.

Oh, J was so funny tonight when we were eating. Someone said that girls don't fart and he said (very seriously, mind you), "I tink dey fart but it's doesn't stink." That boy is "hellious"!

When I got home from work and opened the car door I could smell a fire in the fireplace. Thanks T! When I walked in the door I could smell bread because A made pretzels. Thanks A! It smelled so good! And now I'm full of pretzel and roasted marshmallow. I had one of the BIG ones. Those are so much fun.

Have a great Christmas season and happy birthday, Jesus!

Tuesday morning

The fridge side is 40 degrees and the freezer side is frozen. How-way-you-ya!

We have a refrigerator

T went to a scratch and dent place in the next town over from us. They had nothing and he hated to call me and tell me this. I hated to hear it. It stopped being funny at that point and I had a little meltdown in my car after my lunch break. Why was it so hard to find a refrigerator?!?!

He decided to drive up to the S**rs scratch and dent place where we got our washer and dryer 10-12 years ago. He found a Whirlpool side by side for under $600. It has small dents in the side but they are strategically hidden by cabinets and magnets. It's only been plugged in for a little over an hour so it's too early to get excited about it. I know better after what we've been through. If everything works as it should and it cools down overnight I'll consider getting excited tomorrow.

I also caught a cold. Or something. I need some zinc.

I sincerely hope this is the last chapter in The Refrigerator-A Never Ending Tale. The only thing I want now is to live happily ever after.

Too bizarre not to share

Okay. So, T called hhgr*gg today and someone was supposed to call him back but they never did. In the mean time we had heard about a scratch and dent place that we'd like to at least look at. I wanted to look at it on Sat. but we didn't have time. We could buy one and put it on the truck and bring it home. So I called hhgr*gg and asked to speak to the manager and told him we wanted our money back. He hee-hawed around and finally said how about they deliver one to our home tomorrow. I said that would be fine. We called my parents and told them we didn't need the truck now but the way things were going we might end up needing it again.

About 10 minutes later hhgr*gg called and said they couldn't deliver until Tuesday and I said that the manager said Monday and if it's not until Tuesday then I want my money back. He put me on hold for a couple minutes then came back on and asked how I paid. The story with that was I forgot the card Sat. morning and had to write a check. I anticipated that this would be a problem and it was. They said they had to wait until blah, blah, blah...But I said nope, I want my money back. All they had to do was get a fridge from a warehouse location about 25 miles away and to the store. That didn't happen and I wanted my money back. He put me on hold again.

I was on hold so long that it rang back to the operator. I explained to her what was going on and told her I didn't care if I talked to the manager or the guy who just called me. The guy got back on the line and asked if he could credit a card for us, and I agreed so we have our money back. Supposedly. Over the phone from the people who couldn't take a phone order. Supposedly. But we still don't have a fridge. Other than the one the Lord provided for us in the great outdoors. Or in our case, in the expedition. I called my mom yet again and asked to use the truck. Hahahaha.

Stay tuned for the next installment in this bizarre story, The Refrigerator-A Never Ending Tale. The sad but true saga of a family with a refrigerator that died a premature death and their unending obstacles to overcome strife. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Snafu

The fridge didn't come in. Are you surprised? Nah, neither are we. Good thing it's cold outside.

May the pendulum swing (and stay swung)

If we believed in bad luck, I'd say we've had a lot of bad luck lately. Appliances, vehicles, schoolwork, attitudes, health issues, etc. I was beginning to dread my mammogram redo because of the "bad luck" we've had. But, A managed to pull off a B in her dual enrollment English class so she gets to keep her scholarship next semester. She and I had a nice, though rushed, time shopping today. T got a couple things done. R and JT got here safely in a 10 year old Hyundai with 203K miles on it and they didn't kill each other or their cats. Momo is precious. Tonka is a little weirded out by everything and much bigger than when we saw him in March. Still not much luck with the jeep and we won't know if we got the correct fridge and if it will really be there tomorrow but maybe, just maybe, the pendulum is swinging the right direction.

Bizarre

Ok, the refrigerator story is beginning to border on the bizarre. B*st Buy ordered the wrong one. It would take them 3-4 days to get the right one there. So, I'm back to hhgr*gg. Since I'm going in to town today anyway I'll try to order it through them and they should have one at their store tomorrow. Sigh...

R and JT are on their way here with their two cats. Last night she wasn't sure if the cats had gas or had poopied on themselves but either way it's stinky in their car. And their cruise control doesn't work. But, if those are the worse things that happen on their trip then they're in good shape.

A and I are going shopping today. She wants boots and a second ear piercing for Christmas so I need her with me to get those. I hope I can get the fridge and get the rest of my shopping done, too. I'm doubtful though as someone is sick at work and I need to get in there this afternoon. I'm grateful for the work hours though. That's all for now.

Another First

J had another "first" last night. He went Christmas caroling for the first time. It was cold and rainy/drizzly but we had fun anyway. There were 25-30 of us from church and we went to a nursing home and a retirement home. He enjoyed it and was singing along on the ones he knew. Before we went caroling he was singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and he changed the last line to "from the bottom of my heart." He's so funny. He still sings, "Jingle bells, smell my feet. Give me something good to eat." Just like last year.

The kids had school today. Hallelujah!

The Fridge...RIP

The fridge side is still between 50-55 even though the freezer side is frozen. That's what it did last week. The $50 more in parts didn't help at all. I talked to the repairman and said that we were thinking it might be time to just get a new one. He was thinking the same thing. We have a new one ordered that should be at the store Sat. morning. The repairman will give us our $$ back and take the old fridge. Now, if we can keep everything cold enough until Sat so nothing gets ruined, we'll be in good shape. Accept for the bank account. Sigh...

J went shopping with me today because they had snow day number 3. He was very good even though we were both tired of looking for refrigerators. That is so not how I wanted to spend my day. At the grocery store I kept getting the last or second to last item left and J said I was very lucky. We ordered our food just before a huge line formed too so that was extra lucky. Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket so I could pay for the fridge.

Tuesday afternoon

Well, the kids were out of school again today and J is driving me nuts asking about tomorrow. It's not looking good for them going to school. Sigh...A is missing her mid-terms. I wonder when they'll make those up.

The fridge repairman made it to our house this morning. He put another $50 worth of parts on it and said to pay him when we can, after we make sure it's working properly. We'll see.

T hopes to pick up the parts for the jeep today. Please pray that they are the correct parts, not defective and everything works as it should when they are installed. We really need to sell the jeep. Anyone want a fun vehicle? Once it's fixed of course.

Pay day tomorrow can't get here soon enough. We are out of everything and I need to finish up Christmas shopping. I'll more than likely have J with me though, so that might be difficult. Se la vi.

Come on, snow. Melt! Come on temps outside, warm up. Come on fridge/freezer temps, cool down. Ah, life!

Interesting conversations today

We were in a rush to get to church this morning. After we got there J came up to T and said, "Daddy, look at my shoes." T said, "J, you have two different shoes on and they're both for the same foot!" At least one was a bigger size so it didn't feel as weird on the wrong foot.

I was getting ready to do some baking and asked where the butter was. T said it was in the expedition.

A while later I realized I forgot to bring the milk in. A said she'd get it and where was it. I told her it was in the van, driver's side, sliding door.

Ya gotta laugh.

Good news, bad news

The bad news is, the $265 we spent on the fridge was useless.

The good news is it's not supposed to get above freezing for the next couple days so we can haul our stuff outside to keep it cold.

The bad news is, it's supposed to snow 1-3 inches.

The good news is, since they probably won't have school tomorrow someone should be here if the repairman can get out to come fix it again.

The bad news is the dogs have been very interested in anything we have taken outside from the fridge.

The good news is, it's cold enough to keep everything in our cars so we now have refrigerators on wheels. It's our own version of meals on wheels.

The bad news is, my last bag of cherries from Door County, WI melted.

The good news is we will have a cherry pie or a cobbler today.

The bad news is the jeep parts were broken and had to be ordered, again.

The good news is they had warranties.

The bad news is strange things just keep happening.

The good news is some of it is beginning to strike me as really funny. Now I need to go do some baking.

Frustrated...but choosing to be thankful

We've had a frustrating couple of weeks. The kids and schoolwork. The cat tipping the tree over and no one noticed that the floor under the tree was soaking wet. I found it today nearly a week later. It blistered the finish on the wood floor in 3 places. No one redecorated the tree or even fixed the tree skirt. And I can't make the little train go around the tree without de-railing. And I haven't found the lost decorations, some which my children made and some that my mom made 40 years ago.

In looking for one med issue with me another little thing was discovered and is being treated. Then they called saying there was an abnormal finding on my mammogram. Sigh...get to repeat that and hopefully not have a biopsy.

Lots of car and appliance issues. I know a lot of people dealing with the same kinds of things. It's weird, really. So many people with vehicle and appliance issues.

And of course the financial strain that goes with those issues, and this time of year, and having a senior in high school. Very stressing.

The craziness going on in Haiti. A whole year of it for them.

But I'm going to choose to be thankful. So here's a thankful list. I'm thankful for a Savior who came to earth as a baby and that we celebrate that at this time of year. I am thankful for a friend thinking of me with a ticket to a concert tonight. I'm thankful for ATP Energy capsules with magnesium and malic acid. They are helping so much. Anyone with fibro should try them. I'm thankful for old Christmas records which bring back good memories. I'm thankful for the love of family (even when I want to wring their necks-kidding-sort of) and friends. And dark chocolate (have I mentioned that before?)

Weird stuff

Lots of weird stuff going on around here. Actually, it's just life but when a bunch of things mound up it can get hard to handle. The Bible does say that in this world there will be trouble and to not be surprised at the various trials we are facing. Alrighty then.

I got one medical issue sort of figured out yesterday and another one cropped up today. Hopefully it's a non issue. We shall see.

R's car is basically dead. Sigh...but they still have one they can drive. Praying it can make it here and home again for Christmas.

It cost $265 to fix the fridge. But it's working. Food is frozen in the freezer, mostly cold in the fridge, water is dispensing and ice is being made. Whoooo doggies!

They finally got the part right for the jeep but he still needs to do something else to it. I'm not sure what.

The kids have been decent to one another (this is new) and A's homework is done. J got a good report from school yesterday and then had a meltdown during homework. Today has been better for him.

My house is sort of cleaner than it was this morning but I still have more to do. And so it goes.

Post with pics

Well, we had a rather strange week last week. We got emails from two of A's teachers saying she wasn't doing well in their classes. We think she has remedied that and salvaged what she can. Senioritis? We also got 2 calls and a home visit from J's ESL teacher. Sigh...

We had decided to look at trucks for T and then get a van for me after the two current vehicles sold. We just couldn't find anything we liked for the money we had to spend. Then we decided to look at vans and just keep the expedition. Again, we couldn't find anything or they would tell us it had "quad seating" and it was benches or they'd make the vehicles out to be much more than they were. It was frustrating.

On Tuesday the Jeep wouldn't shift right and it appeared to be the transmission. T was going to Nashville for a conference on Wed. and Thur. On Tues. night I called about another van and left a message. The owner called me back on Wed morning and I called my dad to see if he could go with me since T was in Nashville. He said he could so I called the owner back and said it was 60 miles and told him about the time I thought we'd be there.

As we pulled into his place of business the van was pulling out. His secretary (I think) met us and asked if we were there to look at the van. I said yes and she said the owner wasn't there but we could take a seat and these other people were looking at it right now. I was ticked. All that way to have someone else get there just before us. When they returned I asked them if they were going to buy the van and they said yes. I was really ticked. I was just going to leave but finally decided to call the owner who still wasn't there. He said I had called first and that we set up the first appointment and the other people called about 10 minutes after I did. He told the other people that we were looking at it but they got there first. The owner said he would honor his word with me and that I had first dibs at it if I wanted to look at it. I said I did so dad and I took it for a drive.

The owner was there when we got back and the other people met us outside and asked if I was going to buy it. I said, "I believe so." And he said it was a yes or no question, which was it? Yes or no? I said yes. He said he'd get into a price war with me 'cause he was willing to pay more for that van but he didn't think "Mr. Righteous" inside would let him. I said I'd go talk to the owner.

As soon as I walked into his office I knew I had met a kindred spirit. There was a pic on the wall of him with an asian girl with a cleft lip. I asked if that was his daughter and he said yes. I told him about J and it turns out they have two bio children and three adopted from China, all with special needs. Wow! We swapped blogs and swapped money for the title and key and we now have a van. T will drive Big Mama for now.

T started working on the Jeep Sat. morning after I spent some time Thur. trying to locate a transmission. As he worked on it, he discovered that the clutch master cylinder was leaking. He bought a new one and put it on. It helped but still wasn't quite right. A friend who works at the local auto parts store called and mentioned that T had left his frequent buyer card down there and told him to bleed the slave cylinder too. That worked but the screw was stripped in the process so he had to order that part. He picked it up today but it's the wrong part. We will try again tomorrow. Sigh...

Currently, the dishwasher washes correctly about 75% of the time and that's good compared to what it's been. The water dispenser on the fridge only works when it's good and feels like which isn't very often and now it's melting things in the top of the freezer. The dryer is taking longer and longer to dry things. Sigh...

Last night I was trying to balance the checkbook and do some creative bill paying when I came across a receipt from the other day and the last item on it was "LARGE DUST PAN ASS". Yes, it really says that! It struck me as so funny and I've had the best time with this crazy receipt. I'm going to laminate it and put it on the fridge with my other favorite comics. How funny is that?! I tried to take a pic of it but it's too blurry to see.

So, other than kids' schoolwork and broken vehicles and weird appliances, we're good. :) Oh, and the cat knocking over the Christmas tree.

I decided to do something about my male cactus again. This time I'm trying another actual cactus and not just a "succulent". What do you think? Does it help?
Here is Dexter with his front legs crossed.
This is J with a turkey leg the Wed. eve before Thanksgiving. Our neighbor offered to smoke a turkey for us so we took him up on it. That boy loves "big meat". And the leftover smoked turkey made an awesome soup!

While T and I were on one of our vehicle wild goose chases, A and J went for a walk in the woods and picked out a tree. They cut it down and hauled it home and then A decorated it. Some of our ornaments are missing. We've looked and looked but can't find them. Oh well, we made some new salt dough ornaments the other day but they are not up yet. Here's the tree before Misty knocked it down.

Front door.

Steps. J did all of this and he loves to have all the Christmas lights on in the house.

Wed. evening while T was in Nashville and A was at youth group J and I had the first fire of the season in the fireplace. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores and all was right in the world.

I snapped this pic of Misty in the chair with A the other night. Isn't that a look of pure bliss on her face? Love it.

That's all for now.

Clarification

Clarification for the last post. We have not killed each other or either one of our children still living in our home. We are not ready to divorce or disown anyone. We love each other dearly and we love our children dearly. It was just a vent. Plus, I think people go into adoption sometimes thinking it's all going to be hunky dory and it's just not. Even if you read all the books and have a game plan before the kid comes home, it's just not enough to prepare you. Nothing can prepare you for reality. That's why I didn't do any lamaze classes when I was pregnant. I didn't think I'd remember anything anyway. I did read adoption parenting books and it's kind of funny how J doesn't fall into a lot of the behaviors of an older adopted child. We were blessed. Yes, he has his issues, but don't we all? They were just my thoughts for the day. And I truly believe that God doesn't waste any experiences if we yield them to Him.

Last night T was in Nashville for a conference and A was at youth group so it was just J and I. I asked him if he wanted salad or carrot sticks with his pizza and he said, "When I grow up and live in my own house (notice how he put 'in my own house' in there? smart kid) I am not going to eat vegetables. I am going to eat only junk food and get fat, fat, fat. (long pause) No, I am going to eat vegetables because I want to fit 'trew' my door." He's so funny! I love how he thought that through.

A seems to be over her mono. J seems to be mostly over his cold. T and I are not over whatever we have but we've been taking zinc and it really seems to be helping.

I had a massage and chiro adjustment on Tuesday and they suggested that I try a supplement of malic acid and magnesium. I recently tried Cymbalta for my fibro and I hated that. It did really weird things to me so I was willing to try this supplement. OMG, they said I'd know in a week if it was helping but I think it's helping already. I'm impressed with it. I did some research on it and in clinical trials it really seems to help people with fibro. It may be part of my life forever. We shall see.

This week has been bizarre for us in regards to both children's schoolwork and in regards to vehicles. There's an interesting story here but I'm tired so I'll share more at a later date.

T is using a lot of bandwidth tonight so I'll try to post some more pics soon.

Adoption

I support adoption. I am an adoptive parent and a bio parent. I believe it's so much better for a child to be raised in a loving home than in an orphanage, even if the colors on the skin of the people who make up the family are all different. But that doesn't make it easy.

I hate that our process took so long and left a bad taste in our mouths towards adoption. I belong to some yahoo groups and sometimes I read on them about people wanting to start an adoption and I want to holler, "Run! Run away! Resist the urge because it will hurt you!" I hate that I feel that way and have those thoughts.

I hate that my pregnancy with A was so difficult that we said, no more. I sometimes wonder why I couldn't carry and give birth to a son. I wonder what he would have been like, looked like, if we'd given birth to a son.

I hate that J had to spend 5 years in an orphanage, 4 of them knowing us and wanting to be with us. How can that be good?

I hate reading about and knowing people who have such a difficult time parenting their traumatized children. Children with RAD (Radical Attachment Disorder). I cannot fathom it. Look it up on google or read some blogs of people trying to parent these kids (try http://www.welcometomybrain.net/ or www.5frozenchamorros.blogspot.com ). We have a hard enough time parenting J with his issues and he's not even RAD.

I get tired of the friction between A and J. I love them both dearly and it hurts to see them grate on each other's nerves. I end up feeling like I've failed them both somehow.

I get tired of the huge highs and lows that a healing child has. Even though J is not RAD, he has abandonment issues. They can lead to some uncomfortable stuff where you have to make quick decisions and every decision can be huge. It wears me out.

I get tired of the bedwetting. I get tired of his incessent need to be the center of attention.

I get tired of schoolwork with J. The poor kid was so far behind and had never had any real expectations on him in Haiti that he often feels overwhelmed with schoolwork. To his credit he is exceptionally bright and has come so far, so quickly. I get tired of having to sit right next to him, working him through each problem or each sentence or each step. Will he ever be able to do this on his own? I believe he will but right now, it's frustrating. Thankfully, I don't think he's ADD or ADHD and I don't think he has any learning disabilities.

I get tired of the tension between T and I that parenting an adopted child brings to us. We don't always agree on how to handle things and we are constantly strategizing over what to try next. What might work this time? How can we do this better? How can we reduce the friction between the kids? Do we always agree on how to parent our bio children? No, but it seems like we agree more often on that than on parenting our adopted child. Why? I don't know.

I'm not sure why I'm rambling on about all this stuff but for some reason it feels right. Maybe it's just good for me to vent.

Would I do it again? I'm honestly not sure, knowing what I know now. But, we have a son. He doesn't look like either one of us but it's funny how some of his behaviors have been learned and he'll do something just like T or I. He has a home. He has a mom and dad who love him. He has grandparents next door whom he misses when they are gone. He has extended family who love him and he loves to be with. He has sisters who are learning things from him even if they don't want to learn them. T and I are not the same people that we were when we started this crazy process over 5 years ago. It's been very interesting and lots of times funny to learn about the world all over again through J's eyes. His perspective on things is very unique. He's an interesting person.

Is it easy? No! Is it worth it? I have to believe it is, probably for reasons I don't even know of at times. Would I recommend adoption? My advice would be to search your heart, search your husband's or wife's heart, pray about it. If you know that you know that you know it's the right thing to do, go for it. I do know that God doesn't waste an experience. I support adoption.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

A and J went out in the woods and chopped down a tree and drug it home today while T and I were out. It looks pretty good but we are missing a bunch of ornaments. We've been through the stuff in the attic (or depot as J calls it) twice and can't find them all. Oh well. I'll get pics up when I can.

We had a great time Thanksgiving day. We played Catch Phrase and laughed until tears rolled down our cheeks and our cheeks hurt from laughing. We also played "Around the World" ping pong where you start with several people on each side and one on each end. The end people hit the ball, lay the paddle down and the next person picks it up and hits again and you keep moving around the table. If you miss or hit long you are out. When it gets down to two players they have to hit the ball, lay the paddle down, turn around and pick the paddle up and hit again. Oh my gosh did we have fun and laughed some more.

A and E did the early Friday morning shopping thing. We stayed in bed. I've done the black Friday thing once or twice and didn't enjoy it at all. I had praise team practice at 11 and T worked on my dad's boat with my dad. J has had a cold this whole Thanksgiving break. Now T and I have weird feeling throats too. Sigh...

I worked 'til 3 on Sat and then came home and made soup with the leftover smoked turkey. Boy is it good.

T and I have been on some wild goose chases this weekend looking at vehicles. Blah! I'm ready to find something and move on.

My crocs blitzens came on Sat and I love them. My feet are nice and warm and "comberfull" (word from when the girls were little). I love these ugly crocs.

I got another cactus for my cactus planter. It doesn't look quite so strange anymore. I'll post pics when I can.

My stiff neck thingy is back. Sigh...that gets old really fast. I think I'll take a whole muscle relaxer tonight. I usually just take half a one if I need it but dang. This hurts.

My brother and sister in law came home to a sick dog today. Apparently she ate a bunch of chocolate. Poor Livvy. She is spending the night at the vets' office.

I've had a blast playing the drums (or playing at the drums would be more like it) this last week but the plan is to take them back to church this week. It's lots of fun to play with a CD. The real music covers up your playing and it sounds like you actually know what you're doing. I like all the different kits on the electric drums, too. Lots of fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We started out the morning with lots of laughs over A having what appeared to be a hickey on her neck. She claims it's from the gun she was shooting last evening. We believe her but oh, have we had fun teasing her about that. Wait until the rest of the family gets wind of it. J was asking what a "ickey" is. I just told him that they are "icky".

We are heading over to my brother's house today. It's always a fun time over there fellowshipping, eating, playing games. J is taking his basketball to shoot some hoops with whoever will play with him.

Our neighbor smoked a turkey for us yesterday and it turned out great. So we've already started the Thanksgiving feast.

J cleaned his room this morning and decorated for Christmas. He loves to decorate.

It's Thanksgiving day so I will do a thankful list. I'm thankful for family and friends. Jobs. Vehicles. The privilege of living in the USA. And most of all for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Another one

J-Why you are singing dat song? It is stuck to your head?
Me-Yeah.
J-It's stuck to my head too.

A couple J'isms

J was tossing a "glow necklace" (saved from Lord know's when) and trying to loop it onto a chair and saying, "Look. Look. (which still sounds like "Luke") I'm a 'perfonessional' (professional) at trowing dis."

He still says "pock tark" instead of pop tart. He's too funny.

We're still here

We are still here and busy as always. A and E painted the windows where I work with a Christmas scene. They are supposed to go to Harry Potter at midnight tonight. T is working, I'm working and we're both thankful for jobs. We're trying to figure out our car situation and what the best thing to do for now is. T likes his jeep but he's a little tired of shifting it. Decisions, decisions. A and J are busy at school and life. A seems to be over her mono, thank God.

I haven't posted pics in a while so here you go. Remember how Sanomae used to love to cuddle up in the warm laundry fresh out of the dryer? Here is Dexter acting like Sanna.

Misty still loves to get into the stroller and drink out of her sippy cup. Of course, we show her performance to every new person who comes to our house.


Dexter was sitting at the end of the table on J's backpack. He just looked so cute.

Ok, a couple weeks ago JT was on a training thing and had a run in with a cactus. I have had these cactus plants for a few years now and this is not how they looked when they started. I even tried planting another one in there to make things not look so weird. They killed the new plant. Let's just say there's a lot of testosterone in that planter. And let's just say I sent the pic to JT when he had his run in with the cactus and asked him if it looked familiar. He was not amused.

Yeah, it really does look like that.

And that's all I got to say about that.

Conversation with J

J was pulling stuff out one of his backpacks and putting it in another for school. He pulled out his MP3 player and this is the conversation we had;
J-I need anodder battery for dis. I wish I knew how to turn it on.
Me-What did you say?
J-I need anodder battery.
Me-No, what else did you say?
J-I wish I knew how to turn dis ting on.
Me-So, when you were wearing the ear buds at church yesterday, you weren't really listening to anything?
J-No.
Me-So why were you wearing the earbuds? Because you think they make you look cool?
J-Yes.

Lots of laughing ensued. All of a sudden he is so concerned with looking cool, whatever that is to a 6th grader. Even if he can't turn the music on, he looks so cool with ear buds. Too funny!

No real title

No new pix to post. Not much news. A is doing really well and her throat looks about normal again. She wants to do everything so I guess she's feeling fine. We have to keep reminding her to take it easy.

J has a friend coming over and he's going to drive me nuts before his friend gets here. I finally told him to turn the tv on 'til his friend gets here.

I made apple scones yesterday. They are awesome. I also made apple, raisin, bran muffins and they are good too. J loves them. He thought they were cupcakes and asked where the cream (icing) was and could he decorate them. Don't tell him that they're good for him.

The weather here has been awesome. Cool nights but beautiful warm sunny days. Love it. T and I walked in our woods yesterday afternoon.

That's all for now.

Ramblings

Well, A went to school yesterday for the first time since last Wed. She did ok and she went again today. The Dr.'s office called and said she definitely has active mono and that her liver count was slightly elevated but nothing to worry about. They said she'd have good days and bad days. R had mono her first semester in college. She had fever and sore throat and funky looking tonsils but nothing like A's tonsils. Everyone who looks in her throat shudders, doc's included. Poor kid. Like J said, "Is her froat is rotting?" It certainly looks like it.

Mono spreads via saliva so A has decided that she has toxic spit. It's like a super power. She could take down bad guys by spitting on them. Only she spits like a girl.

R has been volunteering at a ranch where children with special needs come and ride horse. As the weather gets colder and snow starts coming the kids will come less but R may get to ride the horses to keep them exercised. She's looking forward to that. She misses Bridget. I think she misses us too, but definitely Bridget :)

My dad is riding today with his buddies. He loads up his horse in a trailer and drives up to where they ride. They stop for a greasy breakfast and then ride up the "mountain". His horse is the thinnest one in our pasture. I guess that's because she gets ridden the most. The two fat horses stand around and whinny for Arrow. I don't know why they want to be with her because she kicks and bites them. Weird.

I've thought a lot about why the adoption took so long. What was the reason for it? I don't have much for answers but I do know that God doesn't waste experiences. There are a lot of people I met who became dear to me in a short period of time that I wouldn't have met if J had not still been in Haiti. That's one good thing.

The weather has been pretty the last few days. Sunny and warmer during the day but cool, almost cold, at night. J thought it had snowed the other day but it was just a frost. I love how clear the sky is in the fall. It's so hazy in the summer and it looks so crisp in the fall.

I guess that's all of my ramblings for now.

Yay! Sigh...

I don't have a bladder infection. Yay!

A has mono. Sigh...

Tomas was very easy on Haiti considering what could have been. Yay!

My neck/shoulder is still awfully sore. The chiropractor said it was like I had whiplash but only on one side. Sigh...

J is now reading at a second grade level. Yay!

The books are longer and harder and take longer to read. Sigh...

Tomorrow is a new day. Yay!

Thankful anyway

Tomas is geared up to hit Haiti, right on the heels of the cholera outbreak and only 10 months since the earthquake. A's tonsils look gross. She doesn't have strep but may have mono. I have possible UTI and super sore neck/shoulder. But I will find something to be thankful about.

I haven't done a thankful list in a while so let's see; I'm thankful we have shelter over our heads, clothes on our backs and a pantry full of food. It's payday for one of us! I'm thankful T can fix so many things around here. He took the fridge apart last night and fixed it again. I'm thankful we have access to good health care. I'm thankful for J's support system at school and a great sitter. I'm thankful that R and JT got one of their cars fixed by someone in their church. I'm thankful for the humor found in JT's little "accident" yesterday and that he wasn't really hurt. I'm thankful for dark chocolate. Have I ever mentioned that before :)

November already!

Zoiks! Time flies whether you're having fun or not. I can't believe it's November already. T and the kids were off yesterday because of the elections. They use several of the schools as voting places so it's safer to not have the kids there. A went shopping with E and bagged a couple of bargains. When she got to one store she texted me saying that the purse she wanted was walking around in the arms of another lady. It was the last one, too. She kept an eye out though and the lady set it back down and A promptly picked it up. Woo hoo!

J spent the day at a friend's house and then came home and pouted over his homework. That kid wastes more time pouting and moving slowly. If he'd just do what he has to do and get it done he'd have all kinds of free time.

T got his jeep all cleaned up yesterday. He says it's cleaner than it was when he got it. Probably true since it's an older jeep.

A applied for a job yesterday at one of the stores she went to. They are hiring for holiday help and you don't have to be 18 to work there. We shall see.

Mrs. H's grandson will likely be discharged from the hospital on Friday. They said that a 25 year nursing veteran told them that the only children who recover this quickly from ADEM are those who have hands-on parenting and those who have people praying for them. How awsome is that?! Praise God and go W!

J continues to make us laugh at the funny things he says. He still hasn't figured out all the things he's supposed to say when life is interupted by "bodily functions". Like, if someone sneezes he doesn't really say anything but if someone burps he'll say, "Bless you." Or, if he toots he'll say "Sorry" instead of excuse me. Or sometimes just to be silly he'll say, "Bless you Plerry Platipus" for anything that might happen. Cracks us up. He still has trouble with the correct gender of pronoun as well as some other regulars that I of course can't think of now that I want to write them down. Sigh...

November is adoption awareness month. There are millions of orphans all over the world and more the 100,000 (I think the number is close to 130,000) children in foster care in America waiting to be placed in forever families. Adoption is not for everyone and you may wonder what you can do about the problem. Kristen Howerton wrote a great blog post about this; www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2010/10/what-you-can-do.html . I don't know Kristen IRL but as I've shared before, you can't go through a Haitian adoption and not feel a bond with others who have walked that same road. She has one son adopted from foster care, two bio daughters and one son adopted from Haiti. The older daughter and the son born in Haiti are virtual twins, having been born on the same day. How cool is that? Good stuff in this post from Kristen. Take time to check it out.

The weirdest things to worry about

Last night J played his last fall ball baseball game. They lost but they actually played pretty well. J took a ball to the lip in warm ups and one to the ear in the game. He was pretty tough about the one to the lip but not so tough about the hit to the ear. This morning however, the ear wasn't mentioned at all but he was laying on his bed whining when it was time to get ready for school. It turns out he was worried that "dey" will pick on him for his fat lip. All that whining and not talking and near tears over a fat lip! He picks the weirdest things to worry about.

I said, "Oh bunk. You got it playing baseball. It's like an award." He was not convinced. I let him be for a while and finally told him that he was going to school so please get ready. I told him he could wear the Spiderman costume, the King of Hearts card costume or put a headband on and be the Karate Kid. T told him his fat lip would look good with a Karate Kid costume. He was not convinced.

After another time telling him to get ready for school he finally came out in regular clothes. I asked him if he was going to dress up and he said no. He pouted 'til part way through breakfast and then decided he wanted a head band. Sigh....I got online quick and found his name translated into Chinese (I'm sure it's a very loose translation) and wrote it in marker on my dishtowel, I mean his head band. He was finally convinced. (Oh please, Lord. Don't let anyone make fun of him.)

I knew we wouldn't have time last night to carve a pumpkin so he did it on Wed. A free-handed a beautiful owl for him with instructions on where to "skin" it and where to cut completely out for a very cool effect. He didn't "get it" and proceeded to cut the entire outline completely out. Oh well. It looks kind of cool.
And even cooler in the dark.

The two cats and one dog were lined up at the screen door the other day. This is not where I wanted this pic to go but it will not move. Apparently it likes this spot.

A carved pumpkins last weekend with her friend, E. They put pix on FB. I don't have those. She also carved one of those little "baking pumpkins" last week. Those little buggers are hard as rocks and she actually had to "seesaw" (J's word for saw) the side of the pumpkin off to get to something she could work with.

This is what she carved.

It ended up molding and she threw it at a tree. J threw his little pumpkin at a tree too. Apparently it's fun, sort of like a potato cannon. Whatever.

-A got her "formal drape" senior pic done last night. A hundred bucks gone, "snap". Just like that. For one 8x10 and 8 wallets. Sigh...at least we have a friend who can do the rest of the pix.

-Mom and dad got back safely. Mom seems to like the window shelf we put up for their anniversary but dad doesn't seem impressed. I think it looks great and really helps frame the window out. We have two in our house and I'd like to do more.

-Please keep Mrs. H's grandson in your prayers. He has something called ADEM ( http://www.adem.org/ ). He's doing really well but would appreciate prayers. He still has 4 weeks of hospital re-hab ahead of him.

-We are thankful that we didn't blow away in the storms the other day. I was driving on Tuesday when a gust of wind hit me and it made my stomach flip flop. It really slammed into me and scared me. There were tornadoes near our family in WI that evening too but thankfully they didn't have any damage.

-I'm having some weird heel pain. Usually my right, top forefoot hurts but this time the left heel is giving me fits. Sigh...my grand parents always used to say to me, "It's heck to get old, kid."

-I guess that's it for now.

'Nother li'l update

Nothing big going on, just busy, busy, busy.

A made more candles and took them to a United way fundraiser to sell. She didn't sell any candles but she sold some hot cocoa and some cookies for me. Yay!

J has been bored and is ready to go back to school. Yay!

My parents are heading home this week. Yay! (I think. Ha!)

Led music at church this morning. It went well (yay!) even though I rambled some and couldn't think of the right words while talking between songs. Stupid fibromyalgia. It steals my nouns.

T got everything he wanted to keep back into the tool shed. Yay!

We have storms with possible tornadoes heading our way. Not yay.

J is supposed to have 4 games this week. One Monday, one Tuesday and two on Thursday. I'm thinking the Monday one may get rained out but we really need the rain. This will be the end of the Fall Ball season.

R and JT hopefully have a plan. Please pray that this can happen for them, if it's the Lord's will. I'll let you know more when things are more concrete.

Must go read to J. We're reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" to him and he's really into it. I hope we can locate the old Disney movie after we're done reading it to him.

Li'l update

My parents are still on the beach, week 2 or maybe they're starting week 3. They saw a group of about 30 dolphins one day playing just off shore and my mom found a big chunk of pottery estimated to be 1000-2500 years old. Did I mention that already?

The girls lost their soccer game last night so that is the end of the season for them. They did a great job considering that they had no coach all summer and no soccer camp. We're proud of them.

I'm thinking about doing a play again. We'll see what next season's line up is.

J's baseball games are back on. He has a game tonight.

T and the kids are on fall break this week. I'm still working but that's fine because we can use the money and didn't have plans anyway. Spring break though, we are going to see T's sister in AL for a couple days and then on to FL. Or that's the change subject to plan.

We've had some beautiful fall days. T got all the stuff out of his tool shed, sold some, is taking a load to the dump and plans to get some wood to reinforce the floor and put it all back in. We shall see.

We have no milk in the house. Who is drinking all that milk?

Out of control

Recent conversation with J;
Me; Did you get hot upstairs?
J; Huh?
Me; You're wearing shorts.
J; Yeah.
Me; The last time I saw you, you were wearing pants and now you're wearing shorts. Why?
J; I don't really want to tell you.
Me; Why? Did you pee your pants?
J; Well, I had to go de bafroom really bad and I got to de bafroom but I had to go so bad that it just...got...out of control.
Me; (Laughing) Did you clean up the bathroom after it got out of control?
J; Yup.

More pix

It rained just a little bit last night. We are glad but we need so much more. The sky was gorgeous this morning and the air had a much cleaner, fresher smell to it.

My camera wouldn't take a pic last night. I finally discovered that it would take one if the flash was turned off. I changed the batteries but it didn't help. Maybe they just weren't charged enough because I changed them again this morning and it started working again. Whatever.

I wanted to take a pic of Dexter last night because he was laying on J's baseball glove. What is it with those cats where they just have to lay on something?

Someone drove into McDonalds last night. Like, they literally ran into the building. Takes "drive through" to a whole new level.

I am "puttering" around the house today and I love it. I do have practice this evening, A has soccer practice and J has a game but for now I am puttering.

Pix! This is the balloon face that J made on the front door for his birthday party.

Is it my imagination or is he looking older? He is about 1/8 inch shy of 5 feet tall.

He put the basketball player and basketball on his cake. It's kind of funny because he's playing baseball right now. We played games, visited and had cake and ice cream.

This is Misty, the no-legged cat. At least it looks like that. Don't you wish you could sleep like a cat?

This guy turned 13 yesterday. J was quite concerned that we didn't get him anything for his birthday. A friend of mine says I know way too much about my animals if I know their birthdates. Actually, Dexter's is the only one I know.

Trixy, otherwise known as "Trixy Licksy" or "Trixy Dipsy Ding Dong".

Bridgette!

Oreo. Also known as "Yo-yo".

Red

Debra Parker is doing a "Shades of red photo challenge". Check her out at http://www.debraparker.blogspot.com/ . They adopted Ronel from Haiti. I remember seeing him on Lori and Licia's blogs and praying that he would find a family. Plus, you can't have gone through a Haitian adoption process and not feel bonded to others who have also gone through the process. They "get it". And, you know, after spending 4 years in the process there was a lot to "get".

Anyway, I love red and I have lots of shades of red around my house. Here are some of the last tomatoes from the garden.

There is red in the quilt I made a few years ago.
I LOVE my red clawfoot tub. I wanted one since I was a kid and when we built this house I was thrilled to put this tub in it.

T used to work for the Singer Sewing Co. This is an old logo in stained glass.
I dried off with a red towel this morning after my shower. I didn't even know about the photo challenge at that point.

Little cabinet above the "twalet" (J's word for toilet).

I wandered outside and found lots of red and shades of red.

Red fence posts.

Our boat is red.

J's baseball practice bouncy thing.

The bush hog. (If you know what a bush hog is, you might be a redneck.)

An old red trailer. This one and the "See Rock City" birdhouse are a couple of favorite pix from today.

A bush that is changing to it's fall colors. My parents red brick house in the background.

A bell in shades of red.

Our house with it's red cedar stain on it.

Trixie the red(ish) dog.

Thanks for coming on this red(neck) tour with me!