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.