Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.....

...that's what MY little boys are made of.
Good grief, they came in the house with a 'find' today. A spine of some sort...some remnant of an animal or bird long past. I would have been content knowing that was in our backyard..but not the boys. They had to do some searching for more. At the end of an hour looking under leaves in the corner of the yard, they managed to find a tail (fur still attached, thank you very much), a leg bone or something like it, and the monster of all finds.....the skull. Completely intact bones and teeth, just mysteriously detached from it's other little squirrel parts. Oh, they also found some peanut shells.....assumably from the stomach or cheeks. BLAH!
This was better than any adventure money can buy.

The kids are absolutely filthy.....Tomorrow is one of those days where we're gone by 7am and not home until 12 hours later.....I'm starting a diet tomorrow, or is it Sunday....or maybe it's Monday...I can't remember.....and I just finished my 189th budget list...it looks the same as the 188th.

Lighthearted moment of the day.....Tanner in the car on the way to the park asked me if I was proud of him. I said "Yes, I am." "Every day?" he asked. "Every single day"
Tony just came in and stopped before rushing back out, excited to continue with the archiological dig, and said "mom, this is the best day every" Hmm...think it will always be that easy?

The spirit of adoption

I just read this today. I love it.

You Know You're An Adoptive Parent When . . .

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you.

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adoptedchild's "real" parents.

7. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.(2 years!)

8. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing where God calls you He will provide.

9. You have ever taken an airplane ride half-way around the worldwith a child you just met.

10. You believe God's heart is for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means, and you can actuallypronounce it!

13. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that youadopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

-Author unknown

Spring has sprung

Finally, spring is trying to peak through. I'm so tired of the cold and snow....the sun is a good shot in the arm.
I still haven't called the agency. I"m hesitating and I'm not sure why...nervous that we're not ready, financially, to start the process. I know I'm wrong, but I'm still just cautious about it yet.
Cindy helped with the kids today while I went to the dentist and dr. Got a tooth "fixed"...ahem.. and got some meds for this sinus pressure. No sinus infection, but I was probably on my way there. She gave me some good stuff...should knock me out cold tonight. LOL

Went to the meeting on Monday for the Springfest chairs. I think it'll be fun...a lot of work...but fun.

Jay noticed yesterday that the window of his truck was busted out. It didn't look like an accident at all. Makes me nervous to think someone was vandelizing in our own yard. I don't know what they thought they would find?? There's nothing in there to take and we removed the remote for the garage door, so that's good. Stupid people.



Easter was nice. I had everyone over and mom did an egg hunt in the backyard. Cindy brought mimosas which were yummy and the food was good, so all in all a good day.

Back again

I can't believe it's been a year since I last posted. Okay, yes I can. I start stuff like this and then just give it up....no time, no interest, too tired...whatever the reason. But in the past year, so much has changed and in the year to come so much WILL change that I thought it best to start back up and try and hang in there this time.
Let's recap, shall we?
April 08'...last time I posted
May 08'....started doing daycare, began licensing process
Aug 08'....got licensed and started getting kids and making money
Sept 08'....got serious about researching adoptions from all sorts of countries and began to look for agencies
Dec 08'....talked to Helen about China's adoption program and started to fall in love with the idea of a little Asian girl.
Winter 08'-09 full house with daycare and boys....paying off all debt for a fresh start in the spring. Felt drawn more and more to China's waiting children program for adoption.
April 09'....completed all debt repayment! YAY! Now, we can focus on bigger and definately better things!

So, there it is.....our last year in a nutshell. We are now at a point where we can start to realize our dream of adopting. I've known for many years that this was a desire that God had placed in my heart. And amazingly, in all His wisdom, He led me to a man, when I was only 18, who would be so open and loving to the idea as well. What a blessing for our family. I can hardly wait for it all to start happening.

Lighthearted moment of the 'week'....we told the boys on Sunday about our plans for our family. We talked about why mom has been doing daycare and what it will mean for our family in the end. When I said the words "dad and I would like to adopt a little girl".....Timmy just put his face in his hands and started to cry. Trae started to cry and Tyler had tears running down his face. So, of course I started crying...the I look over at Jason and he's wiping HIS eyes. What a bunch of saps we are. LOL Actually, I know what it is....we love our little girl before we've even met her.

The boys at the family reunion...summer 08'

Now what?

I called Lori today to tell her I was interested in watching the boys, but she never called back. I'm beginning to think her question was more rhetorical and that maybe when she got home and thought about it, she decided I was crazy. For now, I'm writing it off as a possibility. I sure got excited about it for that short amount of time. I thought it was an answer to prayer. Now, I feel like I'm back to square one.

An answer?

Could it be that the thing that has been bothering me all week...keeping me in tears every day....keeping me up at night...could be solved?? My client tonight asked me if I would want to watch her and her friends little boys for $1200 a month. I thought she was kidding at first, but she wasn't. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this could be just the thing I've been praying for. This would be what we need to pay for the boys schooling this year. This could get us out of debt earlier than planned. And most of all....would we finally be able to seriously consider adopting? I can't even imagine, and I won't get excited about that yet. Too much to come first before even thinking about it.
Would it be crazy around here? Yep. Would I wish some days that they weren't coming? Yep. But at the end of it, would I regret doing it? Nope! No way. Now that I'm thinking seriously that I'd like to do it, I'm afraid to think about it too much cuz what if they change their mind. Or what if her friend doesnt' want to. I'm trying not to get my hopes up about the possibilities here, but dang....this could be really good! Lord, just guide this through to completion if it's what I'm supposed to be doing. If it is, Lord, thank you for bringing it to me. I will call Lori tomorrow and let her know.

Today, I got an email from Rachael that she lost her baby. I'm so sad for her. I know she was hopeful for this little one. I think I'll ask the other mom's group girls to go in on some flowers for her.

Lighthearted moment of the day.....When Tony came downstairs from bed tonight to say he was thirsty, I noticed he didn't have his pj bottoms on. I told him to put them on cuz he'd get cold. When I went to tuck him in after he'd fallen asleep, on his legs was his pillow case that he'd taken off his pillow and crawled his legs into instead. Okay....guess that works. LOL

DONE!

It's been a few days since the wedding and I'm really just recovering. I know, I know..that sounds dramatic, but honestly, it was quite the couple days! Thur. night I thawed out the cakes, got them filled and tiered then rewrapped. Friday morning, I started right after the boys got on the bus. I decorated the cakes from about 8am to 2pm. Lindsey's dad came and helped me bring them to the hall where I put them in the cooler until after the rehearsal dinner. That night I was able to set it up and just do everything but the flowers, which I quick did the next day.
We stayed over at the hotel on friday night and I got up to do hair at 7am. I did Lindsey and her 6 bridesmaids before 11am...just in time to get back to the room and get the boys ready and myself so that we could check out and get to the church. Turns out the photographer was 30 min late so I raced for nothing, but oh well....it all worked out. I'm kinda racing through this description too, but it was such a long 2 days, that any more details would take up too much time.
I really enjoyed the reception...we get so many compliments on the boys and the comments I got about the cake and hair were endless. It was pretty fun actually. The cake was soooo good, tons of ppl told me how good it tasted. The girls hair all was great too, I was really proud of that. It was a good night and it was so good to see Pat so happy. They make a great couple and I'm really happy for both of them.
I was thankful that there wasn't a gift opening on Sunday morning. We all slept til 10:30-11am. By 11:30 I told Jay I felt sick, I was soooo tired! I went up to bed and slept until 4pm!!! Would you believe I still went to bed by 11:30pm. I really needed that.
Fast forward to today. I had the mom's time girls here this morning and then at work tonight it was the first time I've washed my hair or put on makeup for days. LOL
I'm really mad at Jay right now, but I don't even want to get into that tonight. Maybe tomorrow. For now, I'm getting tired and should head to bed.

Was there a lighthearted moment today??? Well, it was sort of funny when Jeanne reminded me of the time I got to work and had realized that in my haste to get to work, I'd come in Jason's slippers. HAHA!! Okay, that made me laugh. I'd forgotten about that. Shoot, they're lucky I'm dressed half the time. :)