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)

A Wise Woman Once Said

Sometimes The fear Of The Unknown, The Fear Of Leaving Our Own Comfort Zone, Keeps Us From Doing What Is Truely Planned For Us~Please, Let Me Not Be Afraid...
LeAnne 2011

Hot Dog Cook Out

For our 20th Wedding Anniversary my parents got us an outdoor fire pit. Many a night the kids beg "can we burn our own dinner?" Nothing better than Brats, hot dogs, Smores and memories!

Mitch taking charge of 3 brats





















C-Man posin' and looking cool




















Daddy burning his meal


























Roo trying to fend off Goefer the dog
























Boo eating his 'burnt dinner'

Mitch Cheer Fun

Here is Mitch and her Bestest friend J...Two peas in A Pod!

Summer In Full Swing

Hey, long time no see!

Summer is in full swing and we are enjoying it tremendously. Evening bike rides thru the neighborhood with the kids; 5:45am walks with hubby; Day time fun for the kids with K, The Nanny Extraordinaire, and busy work schedules. Been able to set aside time to attend Church EVERY SUNDAY! God is VERY good!

We are approaching a new life change with the possibility of adding a new member to our family. We shall see how the Lord plays the plan out before us, but we hope and pray for this person every day. We shall update everyone if it happens..until then Prayers are coveted for God's Will to be done.

Of course, those that know me, know my OCD is in FULL SWING with the above possibility and the paperwork involved...what a roller coaster of a ride. Beginning Home study visits soon and we will go from there...oy vey! ;-P

Frustration..Vague

Have you ever wanted to do something that everyone didn't like? Have you felt drawn/destined by God to do something that ever mortal person thought you were insane to do? THAT has been the last month of our lives.

We have been contemplating doing something that we feel drawn to do only to be met with odd looks and major cautions from people we love. We know that their desire is good, that they love us and care for us and our family, but it is frustrating....to have NO support about something that is life changing for so many. I have felt utter frustration over the mixed feelings...elation at the ability to help someone and fear that I held in my own heart. Came to God in Prayer and with my family in our home and felt that we were all in agreement that we are making the right decision only to have others look in from the outside tell us NO, you are CRAZY.

We continue to pray for God's guidance, and understanding from the outside world. That only God's will be done, not ours or others.

R.I.P. Grammy!

Mary Perryman
Mary (Pegram) Perryman went home to be with her husband who couldn't wait another day. Mary was the love of his life.
She missed his teasing, his affection, laughter and most of all the dancing. They loved to dance.
Mary was born May 14, 1932, in Caldwell, Ida., to Garry and Goldie Pegram of Homedale, Ida.
She married Richard "Cotton" Perryman June 27, 1948, in Winnemuca, Nev. They had four children, Pam (Ron) Garner, Cheryl Clark, Garry (Susan) Perryman and Richard Perryman II.
Mary was a devoted wife, a loving and kind mother and a caring grandmother. Her favorite things in her earlier years were knitting, crochet, and macramé.
She loved fishing and enjoyed traveling with Cotton, especially after his retirement. They enjoyed so many, many friends and treasured times with their families.
Mary's favorite times were family reunions - the camping, laughter and card playing. But any trip to Jackpot or Wildhorse she could be ready with a day's notice. She knew how to talk to those machines.
Mary loved lots of shoes, purses and her jewelry. She missed the days of fancy hats, dresses and gloves.
Mary is survived by her daughter, Pam Garner of Caldwell, and her son, Garry Perryman of Trenton, N.J., eight grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and two great- great grandchildren.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Cotton in 1998, her daughter Cheryl in 1999, and son Rick in 2008, her mother and a sister.
Mary became too weak to battle a return of cancer. Three days before she left us, she asked her nephew Terry and her sister Betty to get her up so they could visit - Mary's way of saying, thank you for your constant love.
Services will be held at Flahiff Funeral Chapel in Caldwell, Idaho at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 31, with a private family interment following at Wilder Cemetery in Wilder, Ida. A luncheon will take place following the services at 2005 East Linden at the community hall next to Mary's home.
All friends and family are asked to attend and share your memories of Mary. Mary's online guestbook is available at www.flahifffuneralchapel.com. Published in Idaho Press Tribune on May 26, 2011

Argh

I have not posted for a while. I have been busy, heart sick and just ARGH!

I have had several families contact me about problems with their adopted children...possibilities of disruptions and just frustration. I want to help so much, I really do...we have struggles of our own as well, and contrary to popular belief, I do NOT have all the answers. ;-)
I had written a long post about how I felt about adoption, disruption and the pain it causes ALL parties involved. It was wonderful to get it out of my head and heart, but not for public consumption. I do NOT want to seem like I am judging anyone, do not wish to hurt anyone or not be able to get my point across in the way it was meant to come across....therefore, I have deleted it.

I also heard today that my Grandma P is ill. Grandma P is 70 some odd years old and has beaten Cancer and live to tell about it. Over the last year she has aged so much, she is tired and worn from the years of loss she has suffered....outlived a husband, a daughter and a son. She is currently in a nursing/assisted living home. My aunt called me today to tell me that Gran may not be long for this Earth....I am so conflicted about how I feel about it...happy for her to finally be with her husband she has missed so much, but sad for those of us who will miss her. Whatever the good Lord chooses, I know it will be the right one, but not for us to understand until some time later.

I pray every night, and ask those of you that check in here, to pray for me as I try to discern what is ahead, choices that are made and that wisdom pours from me to others so I may make some difference to them

Loss in Adoption

One thing people always say when they talk to us or our children when we discuss adoption is how 'lucky' the kids are that we adopted them. I love to tell people that WE are the ones who are lucky enough to be blessed to raise them as ours, and that we have the opportunity to do so because someone else made a very difficult decision to give their child/ren up.

One thing many do not understand bout adoption is the loss involved in it. In order for us to be happy and joyful that we have children, someone else must be sad that they are giving their child away to be raised by someone else. While I am so honored to have the kids I have, in a perfect world, their Birth families would have had the option of raising them on their own, without this even being a 'choice' they had to make.

People underplay the loss that a child feels during the process of adoption, one that can last their entire lives. I see this sadness, anger, misunderstanding and grappling with the truth in my own kids every day.
Does this mean they are unhappy with their lives? No. Does it mean we are not doing a good job raising them? No. What it means is that they have an innate NEED to know WHO they are, WHERE they came from and WHY their life is the way it is.
One of the things we try to tell our kids often is that it is OK to ask questions about Haiti, Adoption, their Birth Families etc. We WANT them to understand that it does NOT make us angry nor does it make us feel inadequate...it makes us happy to be able to share with them what we know about their pasts and to find out what we do not know so we can fill in the blanks if possible.

To see your child hurting due to something no one can change, it is hard. I pray that we will be blessed to pass on to our children as much knowledge about themselves and one day make a trip to Haiti to see where they are from and hopefully reconnect with Birth Families. Until then, I pray for guidance and wisdom in raising them to be proud of who they are, sure of their places in this world and their guarantee for the next one.

Praying for Japan

Prayers of healing for the People of Japan. A 8.9 Earthquake hit and then set off a Tsunami with 30 Foot wall of water. For an Industrialized Nation, where Haiti is not that industrialized, this is a major hit. Many have passed during this tragedy and the counts are not all in yet. Remember Haiti, New Zealand and now Japan, as they battle to survive.

Good Visit

It has been an absolute wonderful 4 days with my Sister, R. I am hoping she puts some pics up soon so I can scavenge from them and post them here.
R's visit came at a hard, but wonderfully healing time. Monday, March 7th, marked 3 years to the day our Dad died. This is the first time R has been here since the funeral, and it allowed us to spend some quality time alone and visit at Rick's grave. We talked ALOT....healed ALOT and enjoyed just being together.

Being the oldest of all of my Sib's (E from the same mother) and R.L and R (from the same father) has allowed me to share my wisdom with them. I am 6.5 years older than E and was raised with him in the same home. I am 19 years older than R.L and 21 years older than R, they were raised in California with their mother.
I was able to experience life with Rick differently than R.L and R did. Our memories are different of him, and I was given many messages for them by Rick, in case he was not able to share his life with them as they got older.
I hope I was able to give some of those messages to R in a clear and concise way, to make sure that she knows that she was loved ALOT by our father, even tho many times he was unable to show it outwardly.

I was glad we were able to go to Rick's grave on his anniversary, leave some flowers, cry and blare The Beatles from the truck as snow fell....Rick, You are missed!

The Gift

In my lifetime I have received many Gifts that have reminded me that GOD is watching over me. Today, I was brought to tears by a gift from someone, a blessing from a messenger...the hands and feet of GOD on this Earth.

After work today I was approached by somone I know and love dearly, a family friend. This person told me that even though she does not 'go to church', she has always been Christian and tithes to an envelope. Once that envelope is full, she prays to GOD to tell her where that money is to go. She said often times it goes to the local Homeless Shelter, Salvation Army, or person she knows needs it.
Her envelope was full, and she had not felt the definite answer the last few days as to where it should go...not 100% like she usually does.
She said that last night she prayed again for GOD to put in her heart a name, a place where the money was needed and could be used...my families name popped into her head so vivid that she woke her husband to tell him, he smiled and said he agreed, that we were needy and that the funds could be used to the best of its ability.
Today when she appraoched me and handed me an envelope, I thought it was a card. She told me what I have told you, and that it isn't from Her, but GOD...that she wants NO THANKS other than seeing it work the way it needed to, where GOD had intended it to go.
I kissed her cheek and hugged her and off I went.

I ran a couple of errands and dropped kids off at home before heading to a friends to pick something up. I reached into my purse and saw the card. I smiled, thinking how sweet it was for a friend to think of me, and assumed it had a nice note and maybe $20 in it. At the stop sign I grabbed it and opened it and I saw the money...NOT $20, NOT $30...but money that could be used to pay some bills before utilities are shut off and shoes fall off of Mitch's feet...M...O...N...E...Y... A true GIFT FROM GOD.
I quickly closed the envelope, not wanting to count it, cold from shock that this person would think of my family in this time of need, that GOD would put this on this persons heart to give when their envelope was full......
I came home and gave it to Curt...I told him what was said and he opened it...he teared up, I cried.....Tomorrow bills will be paid, Mitch will have new shoes and I will KNOW that GOD truly does perform MIRACLES, although they seem small to some, they are miracles none the less. He uses his disciples DAILY to Bless one person to another.

THANK YOU, A MILLION THANK YOU'S.......YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Vacuums Suck

Have you ever felt like you are stuck in a vacuum?

I have such frustration sometimes that all I do is getting me nowhere. I get frustrated that many days work is slow and I am bored...now don't get me wrong...getting paid to do a whole lot of nothing is nice sometimes, Other times it is down right sucky. I tend to sit there doing a crossword puzzle and think of all the things I COULD be doing at home or elsewhere. I feel I have accomplished nothing during my day and that makes me restless.

I have sent a resume out to a few places but nothing serious. I love change, really I do..but the unknown freaks me out to no end..(enter control freak here...) The thought of going somewhere else and losing my freedom to come and go as needed for the kids scares me alot. What if one of them becomes ill or there is a meeting at school I need to attend? What if one of them has a sporting event I want to go to? ARGH!

I also look back on some things and some people with regret. Many times lately I have looked back at the loss of my EMT license with quite a bit of sadness. I would LOVE to go back and get my EMT license again, possibly even go to EMT Advanced and get a job with an Ambulance locally.
Negatives:
Bottom of totem pole and cruddy shifts (BAD for family time)
Starting anew in something that I really do NOT have time for to begin with.
More loss of time with family and not sure of where I would go with it
MONEY to do the classes
So, when I see friends that are doing the classes I feel such anger at myself and a little bit of the wishing it was me doing it as well. I am not 100% sure that if I had the money I would be able to come up with the time. I am very overwhelmed some days with a job, house, kids and life in general to take time for a class 2-3 nights per week, but still I think about it often.

I don't know what the future holds, but I can only hope and pray that I can keep up! ;-)