Blog Therapy...Upcoming Trip

As you may well see I go for a while without a thing to say...to busy running after kids and frankly, my own tail.  I like to use this area to 'talk' about things that are on my mind, document them so I don't forget years later or to just...be.  Right now my thoughts are JUMBLED to say the least. I have a trip coming up, back HOME to Haiti. I am all over the map when it comes to trips, ANY trips...but get one where I am going alone and my mind cannot wrap itself around it.

First off, don't get me wrong....my hubby is AWESOME as a Dad and can handle his own here at home. HOWEVER...I often worry about the 'little' things that go on every day that he may forget about.  I have lists that go along with all of this; lists that I start making as soon as the trips are planned and I know I am going.  Grocery lists, kid lists, chore lists, bill lists, Honey do lists and it goes on and on.  I worry about things like-who has a P/T Conference when? Did they remember to feed the dog? Cats? Fish and Turtle?? Did they lock the doors? Are they locked out? Things that every OCD mother thinks about when leaving her family...there are other moms out there like this...right???!!!

I have been fundraising for this trip. It kind of came up out of nowhere and I had the very strong 2x4 to the head telling me to JUMP and do it. I have been to Haiti 5 times. All the times I have gone have all been for adoption related 'causes' or work in the Creche our children are from, New Life Link www.newlifelink.org
This trip will be with new people, new Ministry www.mtmhaiti.com and new priorities...medical care.  You see, I am a Retired EMT and EMT Instructor and have always enjoyed reading up in the medical books and have a keen sense of memory when it comes to non-traditional/Jeopardy type stuff...(Don't ask me how old I am or where I parked my car, but ask me the name of the guy who played Tatu on Fantasy Island or the name of the little thing that connects your lip to your face and WHAMMO! : Herve Villichaize & Lip Frenulum...seeeeeee)
Now, put that together with my LOVE for Haiti, my eagerness  stupidity to step out of my comfort zone and sleep in a room with 8 other people under mosquito nets, flush ONLY when it is BROWN
and let it MELLOW if YELLOW.  WHY?  because it is something I feel called to do.
While fundraising for this trip I have been asked the usual:
1. Why dont you volunteer HERE, which is people's not so subtle way of saying: Hey, what about America?  Well, I go where MY heart is called to go...what have YOU done for anyone...anywhere...lately?
2.  What have those Haitians ever done for us?  Well, IF they had the ability I am sure they would help...but between starving, fighting to live life everyday and generally being stuck on a island...that kind of hinders their ability to help.  HOWEVER, the ones who have been lucky enough to make it to the land of the Free & Home of the Brave, they become people like: Edwidge Danticat--Famous Author, Wyclef Jean--Hip Hop Artist, Jonathan Vilma --The New Orleans Saints' linebacker and the list goes on and on.
3. Does any of the money I give actually go to help anyone?? As a matter of fact-YES! It has helped buy my plane ticket, room and board for the 7 days I am there, 50lbs of much needed medical supplies I am buying to take and puts ME in Haiti.."BOOTS ON THE GROUND" (ala Mitch Coats..hehe)

So, as I sit here, thinking of all the things I still need to do, should do, probably wont get time to do and realizing it is 11pm and I should be sleeping so I can go to W..O..R..K.. tomorrow, THANK YOU to ALL who have donated, no matter how BIG or small it may be; every Mission Trip beings with nothing but $5 & Someones dream of helping someone else.

Here is a poem that has ALWAYS meant alot to me...it is MY LIFE'S PURPOSE & behind ALL my trips to Haiti:

                                               WE PRAY FOR CHILDREN: By Ina Hughes

We pray for children


Who put chocolate fingers everywhere,

Who like to be tickled,

Who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,

Who sneak Popsicles before supper,

Who erase holes in math workbooks,

Who can never find their shoes.


And we pray for those

Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,

Who can't bound down the street in new sneakers,

Who never "counted potatoes,"

Who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead in,

Who never go to the circus,

Who live in an X-rated world.


We pray for children

Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,

Who sleep with the cat and bury goldfish,

Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,

Who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,

Who slurp their soup.


And we pray for those

Who never get dessert,

Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,

Who can't find any bread to steal,

Who don't have any rooms to clean up,

Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,

Whose monsters are real.


We pray for children

Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,

Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,

Who like ghost stories,

Who shove dirty clothes under the bed,

Who get visits from the tooth fairy,

Who don't like to be kissed in front of the car pool,

Who squirm in church and scream on the phone,

Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.


And we pray for those

Whose nightmares come in the daytime,

Who will eat anything,

Who have never seen a dentist,

Who are never spoiled by anyone,

Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

Who live and move, but have no being.


We pray for children

Who want to be carried

And for those who must,

For those we never give up on

And for those who never get a second chance,

For those we smother.

And for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind

enough to offer it.


We pray for children. Amen.

RIP Kym

This is a hard post to write. We lost my dear cousin Kym....She was a beautiful 42 year old Nana who had so much on Earth to live for...God saw her as being needed with him...we may never understand the timing, the reason or the cause of our sorrow, but we hope to see her again one day!
Curtis and I had the pleasure of Officiating the ceremony to Honor and remember Kym...mostly Curtis, I began to cry to much and could not do it...Thank you sweety, for stepping in and doing the Honors...you made me, her and her family proud!
We love and miss you Kym (Kim...the name your parents gave you and the Y inserted just to be 'cool') hehe  LOVE YOU!




KIMBERLY ANN GARNER-DILL

OCTOBER 9, 1969 - JUNE 24, 2012

Our beautiful daughter Kim passed away at home in Walla Walla WA on Sunday June 24 2012. Kim was born Oct. 9, 1969 to Ronnie Garner of Weiser Id and Pam Garner from Caldwell Id. She was sister to Shane Garner of Milton Freewater Ore. Kim married James Dill Sept 1987. They have 4 children. the family moved to Walla Walla in 1999. Kim loved the medical field and was planning on furthering her education this fall. Kim's biggest joy was her 4 children, Mandie, Christina, Cody, and Courtney. Kim was blessed with 3 grandbabies: Bella, A.J., and Lexi. She was their 'nana'. She loved her 'girls spa nights' with Bella, going to monster truck shows with A.J., and buying him 'press-on-tattoo's, and cuddling with her 'doodle-bug' Lexi.

Kim loved her home, cooking for her family and playing with her grandbabies. Kim's favorite flower was the Peace Rose..so fitting for a girl with such a loving,kind heart and great sense of humor. Kim always cherished her time with her brother Shane. She had special memories with her family and so many life-long friends. Kim bragged she married 'the perfect guy' and in Sept they were going to re-new their wedding vows for their 25th anniversary. Kim brought us so much love. She was perfect. We miss her and cannot believe our time with her was cut so short. Thank you for loving us Kim, and know you are loved in return. XOXO

Services are Saturday June 30, 2012 at 3:00pm at Herring Funeral home: 315 Alder st. Walla Walla Wa. Memorial dinner will follow at Kim's home: #4 North Wilbur St. in Walla Walla.



.Published in Idaho Press Tribune on June 30, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOO

This is Boo.  Boo is the only infant we ever had.  I do not believe we set out for it to be that way, that is just the way it happened.  We always joke that we were probably just made to raise kids, not infants.  When the kids do something iffy, ornery etc, we always say we attribute that to the 'orphanage time' ;-P   With Boo, we look at him and realize WE are responsible for every idiosyncrasy he has...and maybe THAT is why we never had any more infant, God knew best! LOL
As of today, Boo is 15.  To look back at where he was 15 years ago today, makes my heart hurt. He has come such a long way!  For Boo I see the future father, the lover of children.  Boo has always had a soft spot for babies and I hope that he finds himself working with them in his future.  He is the most laid back of the kids and tends to be a total tease monster when given the chance.  He is known for breaking into song, rhyming one of the other kids names with something that sounds like fart....Oh, to be a teenage boy!
HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY BOO!  WE LOVE YOU~

21 Years And Counting

Today marks 21 years of marriage for Curtis and I. We met when I was 14, almost 15 and he was 16. We began seeing each other, which meant he came to the house and watched movies, helped with my homework etc, since I was not old enough to date. This went on until 2 days before my 16 birthday...a Christmas dance put on at school..my first date!

A long time has passed, we have seen ups, downs and middle ground. We have lost 4 babies to miscarriage, adopted 4 times and moved 4 times...never going far from where we grew up.

When we were reminiscing last night, we discussed how we never in a million years, imagined our lives the way they are now. We are happy, celebrating a milestone and have 4 healthy, happy and pretty well adjusted kids. Not saying we are perfect, but we are FAMILY! We laughed when we thought about how you imagine your life when you are young, and neither of us imagined being married to the one we met so young...having 4 Internationally Adopted children (Who look nothing even remotely close to us) and to be here, where we are today. When things were bad, we now know they were for a reason, if we would have had the babies we were 'trying for' we would not have had the 4 we have now. What would life be like for us if that had happened? If we had waited to marry or married even earlier?

We have seen many, if not most, of our friends divorce and move on from one another. I love the fact that even if we have differences, we can still make each other laugh and swoon..something that you don't often find after this many years of marriage. We are comfortable in our marriage, in who each of us is and know that at the end of the day the other one is coming home because home is where their heart and mind and soul is....home makes us happy.

Thank you sweety, for 21 wonderful years...I am looking forward to at least 21 more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROO

This is Roo.  Roo came home at 24 months of age.  On Jan. 7, 2012 she hit the 12 year mark. That includes Jr. High, Teen years, being taller than you are supposed to be, 7 teachers and a locker instead of 1 teacher and a back pack.
Roo has always been the one who excels at anything she puts her mind too.  Hard exterior, soft interior and fiercely loyal to her friends.  From what we have seen of our lovely young lady is that she knows who she is and no one will change that.
In the future I see Roo either being a Chef or CEO of a company.  She will be known as the har as* boss, but deeply respected by her staff for her attention to detail and know how of just about anything.
Roo, we are so proud of you and all that we know you will become.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY (albeit a tad late on here) WE LOVE YOU~

RIP GOEFER

Today we said goodbye to a wonderful family member. Goefer showed up one day at our old house on KCID. We called local Animal Shelter to let them know and ran an ad in case someone was looking for her. After several days it became apparent that no one was...she was ours. Her name became Goefer due to the HUGE holes she would dig in the dirt. That girl LOVED to dig a huge hole and lay in it to keep cool. When we moved to our new home, she went and was able to have a fenced yard and a new friend, Fizgig. She and Fizzi had free run of the back yard. Still, even with all the grass to get into, she chose nothing but dirt to dig in, pretty smart if you ask me.

Goefer was with us before we had children. We have pictures of Goefer in our home study to adopt Boo. It took 18 months to adopt Boo, who will be 15 in May...Goefer was grown when she came to us, so she is AT LEAST 16 years old.

For a medium/large dog that is OLD..ancient.

Over the last few years she has become hard of hearing and her eyesight is not the greatest. She was still great with the kids, always smelling them and then realizing they were 'her kids' and never harming them or getting grumpy with them. She would smell the girls rolling on the grass trying to practice their tumbling and she would promptly go over and sniff their hair and lick their faces as they hung upside down.

Goefer-we love you, we will miss you so much. Fizzi will be lost without you. We know you were tired, sore and not having as much fun as you used to. You were able to spend your last day laying in the afternoon sun eating treats...what a good end to a wonderful life.

My Family

This is a Picture of our Family on 12-31-10. All of us tired but smiling. Hoping for a repeat this New Year!

As the new year approaches I think of so many blessings, struggles, changes that we have had through out the year. Boo is now a full fledged Teen/ Young Man.....Roo is becoming her own Teen/Young Woman, C-Man is entering 11 and Mitch will be 8 soon. We have not had any new children come home in 5 years. Hard to imagine that 5 whole years has passed since C-Man and Mitch arrived, it seems like they have always been here.

All 4 kids have bonded well, grown tremendously and are healthy inside and out. Not that they are without issues, but they all know that

THIS is HOME

THIS is FAMILY

THIS is FOREVER!

Broken Hearted

As a parent I have always wanted to shield my children from any heartbreak, bad moments, bullies and the like. Lately, I have seen that it is IMPOSSIBLE to do this, and may not be the best for the child in the long run...although it is NOT easy to see your child hurt, it is something they need to experience to grow as a person.
Case in point:
Mitch has a girl at school that is mean to her. Now, if you know Mitch, you know that it is hard to NOT like her...she is friendly, kind and loving to everyone. She sees no enemies and truly wants the world to be the perfect place it should be. We have explained to Mitch that this is not so, and that there will be mean people all over the world...just to avoid them if possible and live her life the best she can. A mother bear moment took a hold of me when Mitch came home and told me that this girl told her 'she hated Mitch and would stab her in the head and heart until she died'. Yeah, NOT HAPPENING you little punk-ette! Mitch did the right thing by telling the Teacher, Principal and us, and anyone who would listen. Now the school is aware but the Principal wants this girl to 'confess' what she said (although 4 other girls have come forward with the same info) so she can adequately punish the girl. I have made it known that THIS is NOT going to matter, that is that child says this to my kid again, I will call the cops! Lesson learned....

Boo is having his teen issues...Oy Vey ;-P Boo decided to try out for Basketball. Very proud of him for trying! His High School is big, over 110 boys tried out for Bball and only 14 spots per team (Varsity, JV, Frosh) were avail. Some of those were taken due to returning players....after 2 days of try outs, he did not make it. To see your son stand there and NOT be chosen made my tummy hurt. I wanted to kick the Coach and ask him why my son was not picked, he was just as good as other boys....according to my hubby, THIS would have been embarrassing to Boo, so I did NOT do it. hehe
Boo was bummed, but I know he will recover. He knows what he needs to work on and hopefully will try out again next year. I however, still want to kick someone.....

I wish I could take all the hurts, the brokenness my children see and experience....I know it cannot be done, and probably should not be done....however, this does not make it easier.

On The D.L.

I have been staying off my blog and staying Down Low....trying to keep things inside and work thru them...not sure it is helping. I do not like to write things that could hurt others feelings so I tend to bottle them up until my chest hurts-physically hurts....not good.

Just say a few prayers for me-that I can work thru extended family issues, that may all be me and in my mind, but may also not be just me and my mind.

Hurtful things have been said and done and I have let them fester without saying things to the offenders...need to rectify this with God and myself so I do not hurt the people that I do LOVE, but often times do not LIKE 100% of the time. Need to remember, we are all but humans

Two Adults, One House, No Fun....

Over at www.dreamingbigdreams.net Jamie wrote about loving our husbands and our children. I enjoyed her post and read it feeling quite overwhelmed and guilty. Curt and I do NOT make time for Date Nights, not once a week, not once a month and we barely squeak by with once a year (I think it usually ends up being his Companies Christmas Party). I am ashamed to say that our children have taken over our lives. :-(

I guess it isn't bad to be involved in your children's lives, but I think we have been overrun with them and their activities...we have become two adults just living in the same home.
We commented to each other the other night (a rare stop and talk to each other moment) that we each felt in a rut...Football x 2, Cheer x 2, AWANA's x 4 kids etc....it goes on and on. We both feel that we spend so much time running from activity to activity, barely meeting in bed at a late bed time, that we never get to enjoy each others company or just 'be'.

I feel we have begun surviving life, not living it.

It has been 4 years or more since we have gone camping....a vacation-YEAH RIGHT! I cannot remember one, alone or with our children.

I hope this changes once Football is over...that we can make it a PRIORITY to spend time with just us...to remember that we should not and can not wait until the kids are grown to do this. It must be important, to be taught to our children that we are as important to ourselves and each other as they are to us. Hopefully in doing this, we will cement their worth in themselves and future spouses.

Daily Life-Every day I'm Shuffling

Daily life around here has been going crazy-what is new?? My new Calendar reminder on my phone plays the funky LMFAO tune-'Everyday I'm Shuffling', definitely fits!!!

On a sad note, we lost our dear neighbor, Isabel Pena. Isabel was a GREAT lady. She made tamales every Christmas and always had special treats for the kids in the cul-de-sac every Halloween. The kids would always go over and take her mail in when the weather was bad and scoop her sidewalk when it snowed. We will miss you Isabel- your smile, your kindness, your belief that the Saints were with you every minute of every day, your ornery giggle that you gave while hiding your mouth and shrugging your shoulders while we talked about the crazy neighbors...RIP!


Football x 1.5 boys is in full swing (I will explain the .5 in a minute) and Cheer x 2 is in full swing.

.5 Football=Well, about 3 weeks into football, and before the first game, Boo was completing 2 a days and working his fanny off..he made it to Starting Running Back for the Freshman Team...he.was.STOKED!
He came home one day complaining that he had 'jammed' his left pinkie finger, and could I ice it for him. After examining it, I felt that more damage was done than 'jamming' but what do I know....I was an EMT and Instructor, but when I talk to him I am just 'mom'. We iced and buddy tape for almost 2 weeks...me moving it and checking it every day, him telling me "it was fine and did not hurt...to quit making a big deal about nothing". One day, almost 2 weeks later, he comes to me and says "mom, my finger REALLY hurts and every time you move it to check it, frankly it makes me want to vomit!" Ok...into the doc we go-several x-rays and a Hand Specialist later, we have a severely broken pinkie that cracked into the knuckle and growth plate; surgery is a MUST.
Fast forward now to today, surgery was done Sept. 12 and required 2 pins into his knuckle, pinkie is healing and we are still waiting to be cleared for play in football...eh, maybe we will just be ready for Basketball when that season starts...haha
C-Man will be wrapping up his first season of Tackle on Oct. 8th...just in time to begin the newly formatted Basketball League our School District puts on. Not sure how I feel about it, since we are going away from 'Teams' and just having 'Clinics' on Saturdays for a couple of hrs. with 2-3 Saturdays being 'Game days'. Will definitely free up the week nights, which have been crammed with activities for 2 months now...YEAH!!!!!!

Cheer will begin Competition Season and our first one requires the girls and I to travel to a small town in the upper part of the state-great weekend getaway (I tell myself this and if it is a lie, don't remind me..)

If we were not busy enough, we have a new kitten, Gimli. Gimli's mama kitty is a wild stray at work. She had 3 kittens and while moving them, abandoned Gimli in the conex box for 2 days. After 2 days, the guys were sure mama was not coming back so they brought the 2.5-3 week old, hungry and matted kitten to me...now I am mama. Bottle feedings and washing her to get her to go potty has taken me back to the old days of Squirrel rehabbing, but it has been great. Daily Gimli goes to work with me and either sleeps in a cat carrier (or on the desk if she is whiny..ha) Rich people have purse dogs, I have a purse cat!

And The Tax Saga Continues

Alright, I didn't want to come here and complain, but here I am...We originally submitted out Taxes for 2010 in February 2011. New laws had taken affect for Adoptive Families, making the 'credit' you received towards your adoption expenses as completely REFUNDABLE. What happened before, is that when we adopted C-Man & Mitch, we received an Adoption Credit on our taxes that was carried over for up to 5 years. This year was the last year for us to claim our adoption tax credit, and next year our taxes will be completed like 'normal' people. ;-P
Out of many of the people I have spoken to, our refund amount is TINY..not to us, but to many. However, we are moving at a snails pace for the actual refund. We have received letters stating the IRS needed more info from us, to assure we were not defrauding them out of the money we say is owed to us, and that the children are actually people, and not pets I guess. We have sent all our paperwork that is required, once with the original packet in February and once again in April. Now, get this: we received a letter from the IRS, stating that we are "DENIED SAID REFUND DUE TO TRYING TO CLAIM REFUND ON OUR BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN"...really? Did you JUST put THAT in writing?
ANYONE that has ever seen my family KNOWS the children are adopted-it could be the extreme height of our Roo, The afro of our Boo, or possibly the fact that C-Man and Mitch came home when they were 5.5 years & 2yr 7mo...I don't know, but I WANT, NEED to know how it is POSSIBLE for a woman to give birth to a 5.5 year old and a almost 3 yo Simultaneously......
I asked today if it was possible to send a photo with my Appeal Letter, so they can see our smiling faces and see some of the 'differences' that make up our family unit.
WOW...so Proud to be in a Country where Idiots can have such a powerful job! FRUSTRATION at its peak!

Stormin' Norman...RIP

Yesterday was a HARD day for our family. We lost our beloved Stormin Norman Schwarzkopf, he was 8.5 years old.

Norman showed up at my mom and dad's house one day. Mom was out watering the lawn (flood irrigating) and he ran across the busy road in front of their house. He ran thru the water-stormin after my mom...meowing, begging for attention, he was a kitten. Mom and Dad kept him for about 2 weeks but their other 2 cats did not like him so she asked if we would take him...he was a doll that is for sure, we said yes.

Norman quickly became Boo's cat. He slept on Boo's bed (under the covers most nights) and laid on Roo's bed while she was at school. Roo has never been lovey dovey with pets, and her bed is OFF LIMITS to ALL animals...Norm would have NONE of that! ;-P

He grew, and grew until he weighed 20lbs and could reach the middle of your back when standing on his hind legs to tap you to pay attention to him, which he did often.

Norm was fond of stinky, sweaty feet, shoes and loved to have you rub his body with the smelly socks when you got home from a long day at work or school....Boo's cleats, basketball shoes etc were a favorite-they were extra stinky.

After C-Man and Mitch came home, Norm decided they too were awesome. He slept on C-mans bed until he fell asleep and then would move to Boo's until he was asleep, he loved to cuddle with Mitch on the couch in her blankets.

It was not unusual to find Norm laying in the bathroom sink, often making it very difficult to brush your teeth or wash your hands...he loved water. He very rarely drank like a normal cat, most of the time he drank out of the sink....when forced to be an 'animal' he drank by dragging his paw in the water and drinking off of his foot. He and his bestest buddy, Skittles, would gather in the kitchen for chicken, hamburger or anything else they could convince us to give them as a treat.

In the last year, Norm has had various health issues. He grew a tumor on his right ear, which we loving referred to as 'ear boob'. We had his ear boob removed, leaving a large cat with 2 different sized ears....he didn't care!

Norm began sneezing a few months back, we chalked it off to cat cold. About 2 months ago he began vomiting and not wanting to eat. We tried soft food, hard food, etc. Vets looked at him and he had good blood work with liver count a little high but otherwise they could not find anything wrong with him.

About 3 weeks ago he took a turn for the worse. Vets believed he had an ulcer and prescribed Pepcid every day.....let me say this-TRYING to give a 20lb cat Pepcid is a sight to see! Pepcid seemed to help, Norman continued sleeping with the kids and eating less, but overall feeling better.

About 1 week ago he crashed. He would not eat, everything gave him diarrhea, vomiting, water became non palatable and his weight plummeted to 11 lbs. He craved being in the sink, but was to weak to get in himself...I would place him there and turn the water on for him to stick his whole head in.

Yesterday we had to make the hard decision to let Norman go. Vet said that his liver was very swollen and he possibly had cancer...we will never know 100%, it doesn't matter now, he is happy, healthy and loving chasing the birds in Heaven. He is buried at the old house next to Bingo...his other bestest buddy!

Norm, you will be missed...we love you and will think of you often. Remember us as well! Your kids said a Prayer for you last night when we had your funeral, you were truly loved!

Atheltic Season Begins..Shoot Me Now! ;-P

Alrighty, now is when our lives become absolutely crazy!

Boo is in Freshman Football this year...makes me nervous, I will not lie. He played tackle last year, but the kids seem...BIGGER this year. I have been told, I am NOT allowed to enter the field if he is hurt, even if I have the skills to help him-it is TOTALLY inappropriate for your mommy to enter the playing field regardless of her abilities, she is still just your MOM. :-(

Roo begins Jr. High this year. She is excited as her 2nd year of Competitive Cheer begins, Hair extensions are in place and we have grown about a foot....nice-she will be taller than the teachers. Entering Jr. High also allows for other athletic choices, she is EAGER to have Track start-she, like Boo, RUNS LIKE THE WIND!!!

C-Man is in 4th grade this year and is beginning his first year of Tackle Football...see all of the above info about Boo to see how I feel about the whole tackle idea...ugh. We ended flag football with a broken toe last year, and that wasn't even a real game, that was playing flag football in a friends yard-BAREFOOT! Praying this year is easier on the body as C-Man is growing up and into his athletic own.

Mitch is hitting 2nd grade. This will be her first year in Competitive Cheer. She is excited to show off her moves and splits-I know this because we do it at home, the grocery store, the dentist office, Church etc ;-P

We are looking forward to more time with a new/old friend 'S'. S will not be able to come join our family, but he is going to remain a special part of it. We are excited to watch him grow and flourish where he is living now, and desire to be part of his life LONG TERM-something he has not had in the past. Life amazes me, the twists and turns and how I try to control it all from my end, when God has it all wrapped up ahead of time.

Looking forward to new things, old things and just being!

Roo Funny

Last night I was reading the news online while Roo looked over my shoulder. She was astounded at what she read-just the headline:

"Four Armed Men Kick In Apartment Door, Rob Residents At Gunpoint."

R: MOM, those guys had 4 arms? WOW!
Mom: enough said......

Bullets

So many things going on in my mind. Will bullet point it so I do not write forever

* Praying for Haiti-Tropical Storm Emily has been pelting Haiti with wind and rain. Who says prayer doesn't work-storm is now miraculously disappearing!

* Roo is excited....not only is she going to Jr. High, Saturday she is going to get her hair did...that is right, we are getting box braid extensions....WOOHOO for LONG hair! Will post pics later.

* Worried that AFTER the long hair will be in place, Roo will have a horrible tic due to the fact that she will for the first time in her life have hair 'that moves' that she will flip her head around so much that people in Jr. High will think she is....'special' :-)

* Boo is starting HIGH SCHOOL...this makes me weak in the knees. Am I old enough to have a high schooler? Will he enjoy being a Freshman? So...many...thoughts...

* Tomorrow is K, our Funsitters, last day. Always makes us sad to see her go back home to Cali. Of course, it means school will be starting soon as will though.

* Cheer season is starting again tomorrow and then throw in C-Man's Football...going to be running around like we work at Headless Chicken Industries (Thanks for the title Amy)

* Wishing our income tax return, the Adoption Credit part, would come...STILL reviewing it, since February...Really? It is OUR MONEY that we spent to adopt...I have a few choice words for the ole IR*, but if I put them here I could possibly be audited....haha

Dinner Conversation

Now, I would NEVER tell anyone that our dinner conversations were 'normal'. We enjoy sitting at the table as a family and talking about our days, enjoying each others company etc. Sometimes...this can be 'dangerous'

In our home we tend to be pretty open with the kids about our bodies, parts and functions. Having 2 parents that used to work on an Ambulance tends to do that. We 'prefer' the kids use different names for certain body parts when in public, but when at home, we are very frank about things, sometimes this can come back to haunt us. Here is a dinner conversation about 2 weeks back....

C-Man: Mom, where do eggs come from?
Mom: From chickens
Boo: chickens butts (said with ornery smirk on his face)
C-Man: eeewwww...really?
Mom: Well, yes
Roo: If it is an egg, it has to come from a girl chicken..girls have vagin*s...do chickens have vagin*'s
Mom: um...not sure, may have to google that one
Mitch: I'm a girl, do I have Angina?
Mom: V..agina is a girl part, Angina is a form of a heart attack/Chest pains. Yes, you are a girl; yes you have a Vagin*
Dad: Oy vey!

C-Man Funny

Two Sundays ago our Church had Communion. As Baptists, we do this maybe 1 time a month or so. C-man has now hit 10, and is to old for Children's Church and must sit in the main sermon area. I don't know if I agree with that since he has a difficult time understanding what is going on with the regular sermon, and I feel he would get more out of the children church activities than he does when he sits with us.
This, is the conversation we had yesterday, 2 weeks AFTER the fact...

C-Man: Hey mom, I liked when we were at church a couple of weeks ago and we had that snack.

Mom: What snack?

C-Man: You know, the little square and the juice, it wasn't apple juice tho...it was weird.

Mom: Oh....THAT

C-Man: Yeah, but we need to tell Pastor G that I was still hungry after that snack and we should get more.

Mom: Oh no C-Man (trying to stifle my giggle..he still cracks me up with the lack of understanding of many things since he was much older when he came home from Haiti) That was called Communion. We take it to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the Cross when he died for our sins.

C-Man: (staring blankly at me)

Mom: The little bread is supposed to be like Christ body and the juice is to be like Christ blood

C-Man: (Now a horrified look on his face) You mean, it is like we are eating Jesus?

Mom: um....Pastor.....

Visits & Summer Fun

Crazy Kids with K ;-P















Mitch @ the Zoo-She LOVED petting the butterfly



















Mitch with staright hair...peopel think she has Mickey Mouse ears when her hair is like this...haha





















C-Man and Mitch @ the Parade

Roo left home for the first time this last week, she was enjoying her time at Church Camp-YEEHAW..She had a blast, came home exhausted, full of knowledge and sad to be done but glad to be home..ALL rolled into one.

We had a visit with a little friend this past week, a little guy that we hope may some day be part of our family. Right now we have done paperwork, and put our names in with the appropriate people, now we must wait for the powers that be to make their decision.

If things pan out the way we are hoping and Praying for them to, we will post here if has indeed come to be with us. Continue to Pray for the right decisions to be made, (although selfishly I want it to be us) and that all, especially God and the little boy are served.

We are enjoying the past little bits of summer. The kids with K, the 'Fun Sitter Extraordinaire' are enjoying the zoo, water park, pool, lemonade stands and slip-n-slides.

My Favorite Peeps

Us on New Years Eve of 2011

Us at Yummy Tucano's May 2011

( Don't let Boo's sad look fool you, he is playing the part of a brooding teen)