Thursday, January 31, 2008

Temporary Reprieve

There has been a temporary reprieve from the ski night bus trip to the mountain. It is supposed to be re-scheduled for a later date.
Kids are back at school today, but roads and weather are still horrible! We shall see if we will go ahead and have Bball practice tonight or if it is cabin fever night again....at least LOST is on tonight!!! ;-)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Seinfeld - Serenity Now Montage

A video for the Blog below! ENJOY!

SERENITY NOW!!!!!

I am not sure about all of you out there, but we have been fighting the creeping crud for about 2 weeks now. I am so tired of the coughing, vomitting, sneezing, runny noses, more coughing, complaints that someone sneezed on someone elses food at the table.....etc. All I can think about is the Seinfeld episode that everytime George Costanzas dad gets angry he screams "SERENITY NOW!" We are having A LOT of moments with each other like that lately. hehe

We have another busy week ahead of us with basketball practices and games, cheer performances and ski night.
Now, lets talk about ski night....I DESPISE pants, coats, hats, scarves etc...I am Claustrophobic...weird, but true. I/we have decided that since my hubby cannot get off work in time to chaperone the ski night, I will indeed go in his place. Neither Curtis nor I feel that a 5th grade child should be left to thier own devices whilst being watched by 1 or 2 teachers while skiing all over a mountain along with 30-40 other kids....So.....I must go. :-( I have not decided if I will pay the $5 to ride teh school bus with all of the 5th graders, or pay $20 to drive my own van. The deal isn't cost really, but sanity....How SANE can you be when riding in the bus with that many 5th graders on a winding mountain hill???? Not much, but I am only assuming here.
I am already sick with a bronchitis like thing, totally and utterly dislike wearing clothes suitable for outside activities, but will have to anyway. I will make sure Hubby takes a photo for those of you that know me and have NEVER seen me in anything but shorts....hehe
SO, enjoy Seinfelds above episode and know that Thursday evening THAT will be ME! ;-)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

50 Things You Probably Don't Want To Know About Me

Saw this on Ange's blog and thought I would do it too...FUN!


1. Do you like blue cheese?
yuk

2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
(NO, how do you smoke a bird that size? aren't they all legs?) hehe Ange's answer cracks me up, and NO, I have not

3. Do you own a gun?
the squirting kind

4. Your favorite song?
depends on teh day and the mood I am in

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
Not usually

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
They are disgusting. Do you KNOW what those things are made from??

7. Favorite Christmas song?
I have a few: O Holy Night, Who Child is This (is that the name??), Rock Around the Christmas Tree

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Iced Tea or Iced Water

9. Can you do push ups?..
I do about 30 girly ones everyday...I have batwings I am trying to get rid of!

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
Wedding ring. After that, it is a toss up, I have many pieces of Cranial Accessories

12. Favorite hobby?
My Kids Activities, Suduko, Crossword Puzzles

14. Do you have A.D.D.?
What was the question I was thinking of something else? (Same as Ange!!!)

15. What one trait do you hate about yourself?
are the voices in my head a trait? hehehe...

16. Middle Name?
Marie (and NO, I do not know how my brother Donny is...) ;-P

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment...
I really should go to bed
I need to get the kids clothes out for tomorrow
I got a lot to do tomorrow

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
COffe for me
Tea for a friend
Friut Snacks for Demi

19. Three drinks you drink regularly?
Tea, Water, Repeat...

20. Current worry right now?
That I want and NEED a money tree to grow in my yard!

21. Current hate right now?
Dont usually hate anyone or anything

22. Favorite place to be?
With my family, or in HAITI (for sure!)

23. How did you bring in the New Year?
Toasting Hunter and Nikaya with juice and watching the countdown. Hubby and 2 other kids went to In-Laws....I didn't feel like going an neither did the other two..

24. Where would you like to go?
Haiti

25. Name three people who will complete this?
???

26. Do you own slippers?
Yes, my kids prefer to wear them because I am claustrophobic!

27. What shirt are you wearing?
Red T-shirt and Jammie Shorts

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
Only tried when i was younger and my pillow would NOT stay on the bed

29. Can you whistle?
YEPPERS

30. Favorite Colors?
I don't have just one

31. Would you be a pirate?
Never thought about it, but Johnny Depp is cute...could he be my Pirate First Mate???

32. Who did you get this from?
Ange's Blog

33. Favorite girl's name?
Demi, Nikaya (always liked Gwendolyn but out voted by people who should not have had a vote!)

34. Favorite boy's name?
Hunter, Kai (always liked Brody..once again I got out voted by people who should NOT have a choice!) :-P

35. What is in your pocket right now?
No Pockets

36. Last thing that made you laugh?
Video from Ange's blog

37. Favorite childhood bed sheets?
Dont remember my sheets....I was little and heck, they were sheets

38. Worst injury you've ever had?
Broke my nose playing softball in the 4th grade

39. Do you love where you live?
Yep

40. How many TVs do you have in your house?
5, but our big screen doesn't work...unless you like 3D news

41. Who is your loudest friend?
LeAnne of course ( I WIN....I WIN!!!)
Tracey is my loudest friend

42. How many dogs do you have?
3

43. Does someone have a crush on you?
I think my hubby does...hehe

45. What is your favorite book?
I have a few

46. What is your favorite candy?
ANYTHING chocolate

47. Favorite Sports Team?
No real teams...Maybe Pittsburgh becuase I am married to a fan!

48. What song do you want played at your funeral?
OH HAPPY DAY...Oh, I like this choice Ange.


49. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
TRYING to sleep but not succeeding

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
Can they possibly be up ALREADY? hehe...Me too

Wyclef Jean Gonaives Music Video

What can I say..it is The Haitian Himself...

from directors Michael Skolnik and Rebecca Chai... (more)
Added: March 29, 2007
from directors Michael Skolnik and Rebecca Chaiklin, Wyclef Jean's new music video for the people of Gonaives, Haiti after Hurricane Jean devestated their town in 2004, killing over 2000 people

The MixeR

Evil Pig...

Dinosaur Tries To Eat Pig :D

I LOVE Evil Pig!!!!

Domino's 28 Minutes Funny Commercial

This commercial cracks me up to no end....enjoy.
hehe

Friday, January 18, 2008

Just Stuff

Last night was pretty fun. I was asked to come help out at some local High School Boxing. I have never watched Boxing in real life so I was pretty nervous about being over cautious, under cautious etc. I had a blast. They even had girl fights....WHOA. I mean, they have MMA fighter chicks, but you usually don't see them all that often outside of training and a few fights here and there.
There was 17 fights total. 6 were local College kids and the rest were High School kids. My friends Ken and Shelia's son Craig fought for the first time. He did good. He said he was bummed he didn't win fighter of the night but I told him he definitely won the 'fighter who bled the most in My corner' award! ;-P I will see if he will let me post a pic. of him when he was finished....saweet...hehe

I am looking forward to the next CCF cage fights at Qwest arena. Should be fun since they are putting together an awesome fight card. Hopefully not to many fighters to pre check, but hey....they put on a good show.

I had a conversation with a Pastor I know before the high school fights. One of the kids fighting was from his church and the kid asked him to come as his corner man...thought that was pretty cool. He and I talked over how boxing is so much of a better sport than MMA. He feels that MMA is brutal and boxing is more skill. I asked him if he would ever get in the ring to MMA fight anyone, to which he replied a loud "NO WAY!" Hey, either way you are getting in a ring or cage to beat the crap out of another human....both sports are brutal if you ask me...some of us just like to watch it for the heck of it. :-P We agreed to meet in the middle with that answer. By the end of the night, 1 knockout and several bloody noses, we decided that both are bloody and definitely not one we would ever do ourselves.

My brother Eric and I always tease about what our fighter names would be should we ever be dumb enough to fight. I think I may be LeAnne The Terminator" (my mom's idea, since I can stop your fight anytime I darn well want to...hehe) Eric I believe should be Eric "The Q-Tip" or Eric "Cue Ball" since he shaves his head and has no neck and a body builders body. He is not sure what his fight song would be (this is important since it is used to intimidate the other fighter). Mine "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool or "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed...both equally angry and scary.hehe
This last fight we did, the Dr. we had helping us decided that since he is a pacifist and a wimp that his name would be "Devin "The Panty Waist" and his music would be ANYTHING by Michael Bolton. :-P We laughed long and hard at that one!

Well, off to rest before 1 basketball game for Hunter, 1 practice and game for Kai and cheer for Demi....all before noon tomorrow! YIKES!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

My Pity

Lately I have been feeling very down. Things have been rough with Haitian Adoption, new law changing, making it harder for families to adopt. Changing agencies and having not even gotten the chance to meet my new group has been frustrating.
I feel like I am trying to prove who I am, what I can do, what I know and not getting very far with it. The frustration has been enormous for me and for that I ask for Prayer.

There have been a few days that I have felt like bagging it all and just substitute teaching at the kids school whenever I could..just to have a 'normal job'. I get frustrated that I am frustrated because to me, it isn't a job, but a calling that I have answered.

The other day, while feeling particularly down I received my W2 in the mail for taxes. I am not ashamed to say it in public, but I made a whopping $5200 for the entire year of work. Now, THAT had me depressed as I looked at my phone bill (now getting better due to changing to Internet phone) and all the other bills I have incurred doing my work. The stress I feel, the time it takes away from my family doing it and the openness I have allowed myself with my Adoptive Families.
Then, in my pity I dug thru the mail and found a card. This card was from Tim, Beki, Jamie and Gracie. To open a card and read what they had said, the included photo, the smiles on their faces and to be a family finally...it made it all worth while. The happiness I saw on the families face was one thing, but to see a little girl, finally home...healthy...knowing that she is eating ALL she wants and is kissed ALL she wants and more...made it ALL worth while.

I walked to the fridge and looked at the faces of the kids that I have seen come home.....more than 50 kids...and the families I have helped unite....more than 37...and my pity began to disappear.
To all my families that read this, past, present and hopefully future. For the friends that I have made while 'working' and friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.
THANK YOU!

Thank you

I appreciate all the feed back about Church.
It is not mandatory to be a member, just that as a member you are invited to be involved in the business meetings and to be able to truly call the church your home and not be just a long term visitor.

So far I have agreed with a lot of what the church has been teaching. However one Sunday the Pastor made a comment about no dancing and I about fell off my chair...I LOVE to dance....
The Church has been very open with their doctrine, and seems to be teaching along the lines of the Bible and its true teaching and say they are a Bible believing church. I have begun taking a Women's Bible study on Titus 2 and LOVE it! I have learned quite a bit so far and look forward to learning more.

I had questions as to the fact that some churches I have been to only use King James, some use NIV version and others The Message. Of course, my Grandpa, who is head Deacon at the other church we used to belong to, says King James is the ONLY version.
I have had long talks about that with Dr. B as well...he does have a PhD in Religion so I figure he must know a little something about it....hehe He has assured me that as long as it is the Holy Bible I would be OK and the differences in the different versions etc. I LOVE THAT MAN! ;-P

I think we may wait and solidify our belief in this Church before we step out to gain membership, I just want to be 'hit with the spiritual 2x4' that we all talk about....it takes that for me to learn things sometimes.

I have always had a deep belief in the Lord, and that has never wavered, even when the Church failed me, he did NOT. To me that means more than anything and will continue to help me grow and find a church family...I hope it is this one that I currently have found.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Faith

Saw this on another blog and really needed to post it.....proves a good point, even to me! ;-P


What Is Faith?
"Faith is not a belief that everything will turn out to please us;
rather it is the confidence that no matter how things turn out,
God will somehow use the events in our days for His glory and for our good".

E. Stanley Jones

Membership....YIKES!

As many of you know, we have been trying a new Church for a while. I have been in love with the church so far and really feel like I am home. This last Sunday the Pastor brought up in the announcements about the next church business meeting and that they would be voting in any new members.....he gave a look our way and smiled and said "this is a hint to any of you that have been attending and may want to join our church family for good." Inside I have to say I freaked a little. I LOVE this church and so far, everyone in it. They are very mission minded, accept and love the children, and feel like they are teaching what I would like to learn. The thought of membership scares me.
Growing up any time I went to church is was with grandparents or other friends. My family was open to the idea of church, but never felt the urge to go. When I was 19, Curtis and I joined a church that was of a completely different faith than we were raised with (he has some family in the religion, but not a lot). We were Baptized and went to church to learn. Whenever I had questions about things, this church seemed to have the right answers...I was happy.
After my 3rd miscarriage, a few of our older church members came to our home (after I had just left the Hospital) and came by to 'see us'. They explained to my hubby that there were many wonderful women in the church that would be willing and "ABLE" to have children for him and maybe he should consider other women as his wife. YES, THEY SAID IT IN FRONT OF ME!
My hubby hit the roof. I had about died during this last miscarriage and here they are telling him to find another breeder cow to have babies with. ( as you can tell I harbor no hard feelings..hehe)
Hubby asked them to leave and told them to never come back and that we would not belong to a faith that preached leaving a spouse for something like that.
It took years to get our names removed from their 'books' and being told that once we left we would rot in hell for the rest of our lives because we had denied the only true church there ever was.
Years past...I still had a yearning to learn about the Lord and began attending Church with my grandparents. After about a year, Hubby and I were re baptized into the Baptist faith. Hunter had come home and was dedicated to the Lord....we were on the right track! We began going to church and were once again excited to find people with like minded thinking...we thought. One day while talking to the Associate Pastors wife, she commented how she would love to have more children but could not because hubby had been fixed. Me, being me, said something to the effect of "Hey, Haiti has a lot of children, why not look there?" The reply stunned me... "WHY would I want to adopt from Haiti, aren't all the kids...BLACK?" (imagine a screwed up face to go along with this remark) My jaw fell to the floor....realizing what she had said and to whom, she began to back track and apologize that she really didn't mean it that way and that she was a Christian woman and only human. I was angry...livid.
After much apologizing from the church I still didn't feel like my kids would be welcome there so we left. I could not get over the thought of what had been said to me in front of my young son.
A couple of years passed and I watched this church slowly destruct due to embezzlement, infidelity by the Assoc. Pastor and lies to the congregation....so much for a wonderful group of Christians.

I Have had long talks about religion with Dr. Bernard, how I have felt lost and burned by people who call themselves Christians, I am afraid to commit to a Church out of fear that I will once again be led astray by holier than thou people who live in the flesh and not the word. I am young in my faith and want so much to learn, but to learn the right things. I have felt harsh words directed my way, other peoples way, my children's way, by people who profess to be living in Gods word. It makes it very hard for me to want to commit to a church family.

This church has not given me ANY reason to think it will be the same, the people are wonderful, kind and have not said or done one thing that makes me think otherwise....it is just MY fear.

THOUGHTS???

Friday, January 11, 2008

Wonderful News

Well, it is hard to know if you should post some things, but I am just bursting and need to say it out loud.

Hunter came home at 2 months of age, back when adoptions from Haiti were easier....MUCH easier. The hope of getting an infant from Haiti is a thing of the past. Hunter's Bfather came to the NLL office quite often to pick up photos and update letters we sent, probably until Hunter was 4 years old....then suddenly he stopped coming. I talked to Dr. Bernard about it and for years he always reminded me how tough Haiti is, that his Bfather was ill and had probably passed, never to be heard from on this Earth again. This was sad for me, a man that I loved that I didn't really even know. He gave such a blessing to us in the form of a son, that there was no amount of thank you I could ever say to be a sufficient thank you.

We continued all this time to send photos to Dr. Bernard and extras for IBESR and some for his file..."should Louis ever come looking"....we always said. Dr. B would smile and remind me that Haiti was Haiti and that Louis was gone. In an argument (I use the term loosely since every conversation in Haiti sounds like an argument..hehe) I stated that I wanted to believe that Louis was somewhere in Haiti living his life the best he could and was just fine. Dr. B would shook his head and smile at me as he walked away, knowing much more than I ever wanted to admit.

During our adoption of Kai we took the time to see if Kai or Demi had any siblings that were available for adoption before we were open to being referred another child....just to possibly keep siblings together. It came to be that during this time Hunter began to realize that he was probably the only one of his Birth family that had survived Haiti and had a chance. This was so hard for him. We held him as he cried and mourned family that he never had a chance to know and never would know...a sadness that I truly could not understand but deeply wanted to.

Today I got an email from Dr. B. It said the following: "You will never guess who Claudette and I ran into, Hunter's Birth father..."
WHAT? My mind was racing.....could it really be? I had tears streaming down my face as I called my hubby to tell him...LOUIS IS ALIVE!!! We decided to tell Hunter tonight our news that we had received.

We set Hunter down and talked to him, the look on his face. The confusion, the happiness, the sadness, the What look....so much for a 10 year old to digest.
We talked about what him being alive meant...link to Haiti, info. about his Bmother and Birth siblings, someone to write to that was a biological link to himself.....by the end of the conversation Hunter said he would LOVE to write letters to him, take photos to send.

We explained to Hunter that it does NOT hurt us that he wants a relationship with his Haiti father, and does not make us upset if he does not....it is his choice. I hope and pray that he can make a relationship with him that makes him happy, and that he does it for himself, not us or anyone else...but himself.

Praise God, Louis is alive...I love the sound of that!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Wednesday's Post

This is a post for Wednesday:

1. Kids Snow day...enough said
2. So much snow that the Internet was out all day
3. No Internet meant no regular Internet phone, only cell.....
4. ALL the kids Friends decided to play HERE for the snow day
5. Roads so slick that AWANA's and Basketball were cancelled, further frustrating the cabin fever family

Just enough said........hehehe

My Sweet Demi

The picture you see here is of Demi Roo. Demi turned 8 years old on January 7th. I cannot believe that she is 8 and that she has been home for 6 years now. Demi has grown into such a beautiful young lady who LOVES to cook. This is a picture at Mammy and Pappy's house (my mom and dad) where she spent Sunday- shopping for, cooking and decorating her own cake as well as shopping for a birthday outfit. I will post a photo of her in her outfit soon...I have to download it from the ole camera...hehe
She LOVED the fact that Mammy and Pappy picked her up after church and took her to lunch. They then bought the things she wanted for her cake and came back to their house to make it. While it cooled they went shopping and she picked out shoes, socks, dress, headband et al..."that was sparkling and matching"...her description...hehe She wore them to school Monday and was happy to be the belle of the ball when I brought cupcakes to her class to celebrate. Everyone LOVED her outfit.
Monday night we celebrated like we always do, the b-day family member gets to pick where we have dinner. Demi chose Golden Corral Buffet. Everyone was happy with that decision since you can pick your own food and dessert; she also picked her Friend Annie to go with her. We told the server that it was Demi's B-day and they sang to her while having her stand on her chair with salt and pepper shakers and using them like maracas....hehehe...she was so embarrassed! ;-)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEMI! WE LOVE YOU SWEETY!

Saturday, January 05, 2008

A Child of Sixteen

PLEASE, check out my friend Kez's blog. Kez is a nurse that lived at HFC-NLL orphanage for about 9 months. She has posted photos and info. about some of the kids that are turning 16 this year. You see, in Haiti when a CHILD turns 16, they are considered an adult and unadoptable....16...that is a child. Believe me, I have met alot of these kids and would love to take them all....I have no room OR money right now for it.
I am currently looking into what it may take to bring the kids to the US on Student Visa's etc....if they miss the deadline, but what it would be like for them to have something we all take for granted...A FAMILY OF THEIR OWN.....

http://myhaitiankids.blogspot.com/

Friday, January 04, 2008

My Day

I thought I would write about my day....it is a good therapy and many may get a laugh off of me...therapy for them. :-P

I got up late but was able to get the kids off to school on time...PTL!

Went and did a few errands that needed done...finally...

I went to Wal-Mart (never smart after the Holiday's and to bring a 3 year old) and waited in line for 25 minutes to complete a money gram bill payment. I got to the front of the line only to realize that I did not have all the info. needed for the transaction. The gal was nice enough to tell me that if I filled it out and brought it right back they would let me just walk in a do it.THANK YOU!!! So, I go out to the car in the middle of the rainstorm with Nikaya, fill out what I need on the form and truck back into the store. I waited until a spot opened up and the same gal saw me. She motioned me forward.....PEOPLE BOO'ED ME....can you believe it?! I was actually Boo'ed at the Wal-mart...man, that is a new low for me. hehe

Then I went to this little store I pass quite often and stopped to see what they had. I bought a coat rack that I have been needing since no one seems to get the coats in the coat closet in the kitchen and it really isn't in a convenient spot anyway.
I got home and put the coat rack back together (the guy at the store took it apart so it would fit in the mini-van). I was so excited that I hung the kids sweathshirts on it and BAM.....stupid thing fell over...in half....right where the guy had separated it. I figured that I am not the most mechanical person, yes, it is a coat rack...but it may be a difficult one...So I try again, making sure that all the nuts and bolts were tightened. Low and behold the stupid thing fell over AGAIN! I put it aside deciding to wait for hubby to get home and fix it since it was really beginning to tick me off.

Kids came home from school and I decided to start on dinner. I put some things in the microwave oven to cook and I sat down to help with homework. Kai decided to use the ENTIRE glue stick for one piece of paper.....nice....
After we were done with homework...no, not completed, but done, I decided to start with dinner again.
I went back to the microwave and opened it to get the hamburger out. The door didn't close all the way so I pushed it again....it bounced back....push it again....another bounce. Finally I slammed it pretty hard...it bounced back and smacked me in the top of the head leaving a HUGE mark on my forehead.....OUCH! I was ready to just cry, just the straw that broke the camels back man....Demi looks at me and says "man mom, that looked like it hurt. I heard it clear over here at the table. Do you know you have a big red mark on your head?"
That was it. I went into the bathroom and just cried. It was more like a pitiful giggle-cry, the kind where you want to laugh at your circumstances but want to pout and be angry all wrapped up into one.
I sat there, listening to the kids talking and doing homework and coloring, the cat digging at the bottom of the door so she could get to me, and waiting for my sanity (Curtis) to get home and save me.

So, I have recouped and can now laugh at the mark on my forehead even though it looks like a third eyeball, dinner was edible, Curtis is fixing the 'new' coat rack for me and life will go on.

Go ahead...laugh and enjoy and remember......maybe your day was bad...but do YOU have a third eyeball?

Thursday, January 03, 2008

A Night With SIL

I had a pretty good evening last night. Unfortunately it started off with the viewing of my Hubbies Great Grandmother Cara Noland. Wonderful woman who lived to the ripe age of 99 years old. She lived on her own until the end of September of this last year BY HERSELF....wow...I want to be that spunky when I am her age. ;-)
She passed December 30, 2007. She had been ill and was just tired and ready to go to Heaven for her long awaited reward. We are all sad for us to see her go, but know that she is up there watching out for all of us. I was very excited that in her lifetime she was able to see and do so many things, and that our children all got to meet her while she was still here. GOODBYE Grandma Noland, you will be missed!!!

After the viewing we came home and had a quick dinner. I had been invited out to a movie with my SIL Steph (who was only going to the funeral today and not the viewing since she had already gone over and done grandma's hair). I decided I had time and wanted to help cheer Steph up so we headed out for dinner for her and dessert for me. After visiting for a while we went to see a wonderful movie....'P.S. I Love You'. WOW....I am a HUGE fan of 'The Notebook' and LOVED this movie as well. Sad, funny, and romantic all in one. I know it is the typical 'chic' flick, but man...it was a great one to watch. It has Hilary Swank (who kind of has horse face....), Harry Connick Jr (who is a cutie) and some Irish guy....he was a hottie..hehe
I don't want to give the whole story away, but Hilary Swank and the Irish guy are married and he dies young of a brain tumor. He had arranged for her to receive letters from him for about 1-2 years AFTER his death. All the letters arrive different ways, talk about different things from their marriage and make her relive their dating life all to help her learn to live without him. Sweet story. A definite MUST SEE!

It was great getting out with Steph and seeing a show. Usually our nights end up as horror pictures and double features until midnight. We got a late start and only saw one film, but it was long enough that I still didn't make it home until almost 1am.
Not good for my insomnia as I laid there in bed until 3:30am trying desperately to sleep. Made me think of my friend Ange's blog (Schneiderville Chaos) and her insomnia and I started giggling...I was trying so hard not to wake up Curtis that I had to get out of bed and go downstairs to giggle a little before returning to finally sleep. THANKS FOR THE LAUGH ANGE!!!
Blessings all around!