Look What We Have Coming

* ROADS MAY BECOME IMPASSABLE DUE TO HEAVY SNOW OR ICING...BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY...TRAVEL MAY BECOME
VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

* ACCUMULATIONS: SNOW ACCUMULATION IN EXCESS OF 10 INCHES IS POSSIBLE. ICE ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE.

* TIMING: PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE MONDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* OTHER IMPACTS: WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH ON WEDNESDAY IN COMBINATION WITH POSSIBLE ICE ACCUMULATIONS MAY RESULT IN DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES.

 Holy Canoli!  Perhaps a week at home then.

We Went... And Came Back

I did it.  I had courage and bravery and maybe even valor.

I took my kids to the Children's Museum whilst a threat of snow was among us.

I read and reread the weather report though, and the weather folks labeled it as 'snow showers'.  So, yes, I did a search for 'snow showers definition' and they said it was a short snow.  Okay, I can handle a short snow.  Just pull over and wait it out if I need to.

Well, dear people of the blogosphere, it didn't even snow at all.  At all!  My reward for the above attempts of motherly greatness.

And we had such a lovely day, the boys and I.

It did snow last night, so the boys and Paul were up at 6:30 this morning to clear the walkways of their four clients.  Paul has a 7:30 Bible study on Fridays, thus the earliness.

In case you were wondering where Peter is tonight, he and his cousin are having a Secret Agents' Sleepover at Nana's house.  So giddy he was.  I should have videoed him as he explained to me everything he packed, including his new lie detector kit, two lightsabers, an invisible ink pen, a secret message ball, and an extension arm grabber thing.  Ha.  They'll have so much fun.

And we're having fun.  Kind of weird to only have Reuben at home.  Tomorrow we'll treat him to breakfast at Papaw's, the local diner.  It used to be Laura's and before that it was Patsy's.  The one where I wear yesterday's clothes and come home and change to remove the smoke and grease smell from my body.  The boys love to go there.  More for the biscuits and gravy than the wafting odor.  Right now Reuben has a quarter in his spending money jar and he is so excited to take it to Papaw's to get a gumball from the gumball machine.  It's going to be a thrilling Saturday.

So Productive

This very day I...

• Made our room reservation at the state park lodge for Petey's birthday!  Two nights at a lodge with fun indoor water park - $3.00.  Yes.  Thank you gift card.  And our good friends booked a room too.  Yahoo for fun times.

• Bought a swim suit for the aformentioned swimming event and general swimming.  One day I will lap swim again.  This is the suit I bought.  That is not me.  I always pose with my right hand on my hip.

• Bought four one-way tickets to California for this summer's camping extravaganza.  Love that.  Maybe we will buy the return tickets.  I don't know.  I hear California is pretty nice.

• Made an appointment to get my hair cut next week.  Ugh and yahoo.  I do not get my hair cut very often because I rarely like what the stylist does to it.  But my split ends and lack of layers in the front can no longer be ignored.

Doesn't that feel good?  Check, check, check, and check.


Now, tomorrow I cleared my schedule to take the boys to the Children's Museum for one last hoohah before our membership expires.  But it is going to snow!  I do not drive in the snow.  No.  I did it once and almost met the grill of an oncoming semi.  I can feel the stress in my glands under my neck.  I think my body is forming a way out of the snowy trip by instantly becoming sick.  So caring I am to myself.

Would someone like to make a wall-sized poster of the food pyramid for me?  By Friday 8:30am?  I need it for the PE class I teach.  Thanks.

Sadness

I am having one of those days when I'm just sad for the world.

For the things I feel helpless about.

The orphans who are mistreated and abused.

The teenage girl who is gang-raped.

The women in my local world who don't understand... what it means to be transformed in Christ... to put to death our old selfish selves and to, from now on, live for Him.

The money wasted that could be used to help others.

Our sinful nature.

I do what I know I should not do
and don't do what I know I should,
Paul wrote in the New Testament.

God, forgive us.

Give us understanding.

Lead us down your path.

I pray.

A Trio of Trips - Part Three

Trip #3:  Family Camping in the Far Northwest

Oh, yes.  This is going to be a grand time.


I have three married siblings...

 (so cute they are ~ oof, I love them)

...and two (also married) parents...

 

 (adorable ~ love them too)

...and it is a rare day when we are all together.  Rare, people.  But we are going to be!  In July.

In the Pacific Timezone.  Three hours earlier than our Eastern Timezone.  So our kids will wake up at four.  At a campground.

But, we will be with Craig and Tiffany and Cade and Riley and David and Nicole and Gigi and Brody and New Baby Girl and Carly and Chase and maybe a couple dogs and my Dad and my Mom.  We'll be all together!

And I am really looking forward to that.

This group of people has actually never been together.  Some of these people who are related have never met.  Do you have family members whom you have never met?  Probably.

Did I mention the camping bit?  And the three hour time difference?  Uh-huh.

Why can't life be perfect?  Just how I want it?  Like, I don't know... all of us together without camping and a time zone change.  Impossible, the time zone part.  (And that's totally our fault for moving east.)  And the camping... I just need to love it like everyone else.

There we go.  All solved.

Ever soothe the anxiety right out of a trip just by declaring it gone?

I love to camp.  I love to camp.  I like being cold.  I like being cold.  I like night-time wild life scampering about.    I like small children waking four hours after midnight because of their internal clocks.

But really what I love?

Oh, I love my family and I miss them, miss them.  And it fills my love tank to be with them.


So let us recap this Trio of Trips:

• Skiing in February when I might die due to the lack of abdominal strength.
• Homeschool Convention in April when I will cohabitate with other women.
• Camping in July... that will be perfect.

A Trio of Trips - Part Two

Trip #2:  To The Homeschool Convention

You are thinking, "That sounds boring."  or "That's sounds nice."  and  "What about this trip makes you quiver with nervousness?"

Just that I'll be sharing a car and hotel room with three other Moms of whom I barely know.  For three days.

We homeschooling moms are kind of weird.  And we're all weird in different ways.  Put us together for three days and it could get a little beyond weird.

Here's the main thing.  I know Laura and Mary shared a bed as sisters in the Little House stories.  And I share a bed with my husband.  But it is far out of my comfort zone to share my bed with... oh gosh...  I could use so many descriptive words here... another weird homeschool mom, say.

Churches often have women's retreats, right?  I never go.  You know why?  I don't want to share a bed with a stranger.  I will risk my spiritual health as a woman and stay home.

But I'm going to this convention because I really want to and so I wrote a post to our homeschool group inviting others to go with me.  Yes!  I initiated this awkwardness.

"Why don't you just go by yourself?"  Oh, that would be a treat.  I would love that.  Hmm...  Wow.

Can't.  I don't know anyone in the city where the convention is.  No one to open up their home to me and offer their finest in hospitality.  I don't even know someone who knows someone.  So I must hotel it.  And I could priceline a hotel for a decent price, but still, the thought of splitting the cost with three others is just too much to pass up.

Remember, we are in huge savings mode as we prepare for an adoption and a family trip to Korea.

There is a fabulous upside to sharing this event with three other home educators:  We will get to share what we're learning from the conference with each other.  You know, debrief and ask questions and provide suggestions and encouragement.  Last time I went I tried to go over everything new and exciting with Paul, which I will do again (get ready).  But to have back and forth dialogue with these in-the-trenches moms will be valuable too.

So that is Trip #2.  Happening in April.

More chocolate.  More yoga.  Excuse me.  Will return tomorrow.



Seriously, though, your idea of me and a weekend getaway all by myself...  This should be required as part of the R and R portion of the conference.  "Moms, you may come, but you must incorporate quiet alone time to recuperate and rejuvenate."

 Can we make it a Bed & Breakfast while we're dreaming?





And let's move the convention here...

A Trio of Trips

These upcoming trips are neat and fun and exciting.  But they also give my stomach a twinge of nervousness, each with their own unique reason.

Trip #1:  Ski Trip with Peter.  

Oh man.  I haven't skied since high school.  Eighteen years ago.  Three abdominal surgeries ago.  I'm a little scared.  Will I be strong enough to... not die.

You probably didn't know people went skiing in my state.  Just corn and soybeans, you thought.  Ha.  The glaciers didn't flatten out everything.  Three hours south is a ski mountain.  With chair lifts and everything.  And they have Homeschool Mondays.

For $18 we get a lift ticket, equipment rental, a lesson, and lunch.  Isn't that fabulous?  Everything we need.

So here's our plan.  We are going to stay at a State Park Lodge with an indoor water park for two nights and use a gift card to make this free.  Yahoo!  Paul and Rube will play in the water while Pete and I go ski.  And it happens to be Peter's birthday, so he's asked to bring "balloons, streamers, the Happy Birthday sign, a bowl of Oreos, and a cookie cake."  Sounds fun.

But I might die.  But I have to be outwardly brave and cool so as not to deflate Peter's invincible confidence.   See the nervousness?

Okay.  That's all I'm emotionally able to write about today.  You'll have to come back tomorrow for Trip #2.  After I have some chocolate and flow through some yoga to soothe the nerves.

Piano Pete

Peter has been taking piano lessons for two and a half years.  He has a very patient and kind teacher who listens to all his ramblings and ideas.  And she somehow manages to improve his skills.

 Paul took this photo.

He thought is was pretty funny with the arsenal of Nerf guns

waiting for piano practice to cease.

 

Here he brought his weapons in his pack

to practice at church.

Listen to this boy wonder.

Wow, I know.

And I dug this one up from the archives of Carly's wedding in March 2009.

He didn't actually play for the wedding,

though I'm sure that would have been cute.

But he was in a suit.

And we had some time.

And there was a piano.

Before the wedding.

Maybe someday he will be a gifted player

like his cousin Mozart Kevin.

More likely, I guess, all those practice hours

and lesson dollars will somehow boost

his agility and confidence in the

Nerf Wars in which he dreams of battling.

Yummy Yoga

Ooo, my shoulders are all loose and my back is feeling good and my legs are all stretched and my core is all toned (more tone than it was an hour ago, anyway) and my heart is all calm.

Yoga.

A friend of mine told me about her cousin's yoga website www.yogaisyummy.net and I've been practicing ever since.

I had never done yoga before, so all I know is from Polly and her site.  What I like is that she loves God, so she's not going to lead me into meditating to some unknown spirit.  She also thinks Trader Joe's is the best grocery store ever and she shares creative healthy meals.

Green oats.  Yum!

She also introduced me to Green Smoothies.  Super yum.

(Just put all your usual smoothie ingredients into the blender

then fill the rest of the space with fresh spinach.

Promise you can't taste it.)

So, yoga.  Yes.

She teaches yoga classes at a studio, (that's her in the stripes) but also has twenty-five short videos you can do for free on her website.  It's like a yoga buffet.  I love it.  Each time I can pick and choose which 10-minute classes I want to do.  Love the variety.  Keeps me out of a rut.

My top three go-to classes are:

• Yoga For Runners

• Yoga For Your Muffin Top 

• Yoga For Low Back 

 If I feel like a good grunting/laughing session, I attempt:

• Yoga For Golfers

• Yoga For Arms 

Don't be fooled.  Yoga is tricky.  I fall over.  But then, a few weeks later, I don't.  Proof that I'm getting stronger, more flexible, and building my balance.

And, I don't sweat.  I get warm.  But I don't get sweaty.  I like that.  Doesn't totally interrupt my day with all that showering nonsense.

Try it.  Then try it again.  I don't have a mat or a block, and I use a belt for a strap when needed.  See?  So easy to get started.

Then have your kids and husband try it with you.  Laughing Fest guaranteed.

Preacher Peter

Our church does this thing at the beginning of the service called Call to Worship.  Anyone can do it.  It's like a little pep talk or mini devotional time, calling us all to worship.  Most people dread being asked to do it.  Peter really likes doing it.

He usually reads a Scripture and asks questions to encourage audience participation.  Last week he went the artsy route.

 He drew this picture.

 Then Paul helped him write out a few thoughts.

Before church he practiced.

Cue visual aid.

Here's what he said.

We worked on speaking slower and clearer.

Great public speaking experience.

And so cute.

Revisiting the Hanbok

Reuben has been talking daily about Korea and his new baby and his three Moms.  This led to him wanting to try on his hanbok.

 A little short in the sleeves.

 This hanbok was a gift from his foster mom.

 Trying out his Tae Kwon Do skills.

He originally wore it three years ago on his first birthday.

It was a little big on him then.

But so cute.

Still so cute.

Castle Creating With Kix

We are in the midst of the Middle Ages in our history book, Story of the World, Volume 2.

That means castles and knights and great fun.

This week the boys made a Kix Castle.

Pretty much a Rice Krispy Treats recipe

using Kix instead

to look more like castle stones.

We have an activity book that goes along

with what we are reading.

It does all the creative thinking for me.

It's been a great resource and

it really enhances the lessons and helps us

remember them beyond today.

 Look at them work together!

 Time to get messy.

 Digging in to the pot of goo.

Building the castle walls.

 See the corner towers?

 Ta-da!

 Embellished with flagged toothpicks from Korea.

 So they called Paul to come home

and check out the finished castle.

Rube's on the lookout and

Pete is ready to ambush him, Nerf style.

 More fun.

Eating the castle.

And this is why we love History.

War Wounds Past and Present

I have a rug burn on my elbow.

When's the last time you got a rug burn?

For me, it was when I was wrestled to the dark brown carpeted floor of my youth by my older brother.  Like in 1990.  And it probably included a round of tummy taps.

So this new one... My first rug burn of the new millenium.  From my husband and four-year-old son.  Wrestling me to the light brown carpeted floor of my adultness (what's the opposite of 'youth'?).  In 2011.

It stings.


And since we are reminiscing to my childhood home and today is January 11th, let's go ahead and wish my childhood next door neighbor, Celene, and happy birthday.  I have this weird thing for remembering random people's birthdates.

Like Joe McIntyre - you know, "Please don't go girlllll..." from New Kids on the Block.  His birthday is December 31st.

And Mike, this guy in jr/sr high that I was friends with and secretly wished would ask me to a dance... His birthday is March 20th.

My Great Aunt Phyllis... May 1st.

Your Great Aunt Doris... Sempnovember 32nd.

My future child... Let's say... February 24th.  Just guessing.

The Menu

Because I have nothing of excitement nor importance to communicate to you, I give you our dinner menu for this week.  Peter's request?  "Can we have normal food?"  I guess he's done with the international cookbook.

Sorry, our first meal is Turkish.

• Beef Dumplings with Yogurt
• Zucchini Fritters

• G'ma Robb's Scalloped Chicken
• Cooked Apples

• Chili-Topped Sweet Potatoes
• Chocolate Bread

• Mexican Chicken
• Levee Camp Griddle Cakes

• Mexican Delight

• My Mom's Stew
• Biscuits

• Spanish Style Lentils and Rice
• Curried Pineapple

• Pineapple Turkey Melts
• Sweet Potato Casserole

When should we expect you?

Playing Around

Not much happening.  A lot of indoor play.  Although Reuben has ridden his bike twice this week.  In the snow.  And he piled sticks on our fire pit.  Hopeful for a cookout.

Some kids got together and made a band...

Peter had music and played O Christmas Tree

on the keyboard

while everyone else improvised.

It was pretty funny

and sounded pretty horrible.

Now the big guys have the spotlight

singing about their Big Green Tractor

while Peter strums on the guitar.

I think Pete is singing Jingle Bells

with Rube groovin' on the twirling ratchet thingy.

Guess what the boys are doing here...

This is what we call Balloon Volleyball.  Looks like wrestling.  But it's volleyball.  The yarn is the net.  The balloon was given a Sharpie face by one of the boys.  That looks like Reuben's creation.

Tomorrow we have an outing to a nearby library for a Lego Building Party.  Then our social worker visits for our annual homestudy update.  This would be an opportune time for you to stop by for a visit.  Our house is very clean.  I make no guarantees past Saturday afternoon.  Swords, Nerf bullets, and the basket of quilts can only stay tidy for twelve hours, max.  (And most of those are sleeping hours.)

Happy Weekending to You.

The Email

Hi Stacey,

I'm writing to share that your family was not matched with S___ or with M___.  I am thankful that these kiddos have new families, but I was really hoping that your family might get matched this time.
 
Our Korea Program Coordinator did share that there was an overwhelming response from families who wanted to be matched with M___ and S___ (she said 42% of the families in our Korea Program asked to be matched with one of the children alone!). She does keep track of which families express interest in waiting children. Your previous interest in accepting a referral of a waiting child is a good thing for future requests to be matched.

I will let you know as soon as new waiting children are identified. Thanks for again opening yourself up to these waiting children.  

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

T___

The Bloody Shoe Lace

Could also be titled:  Ode to My Nikes

But the word bloody is so much more interesting.

So we are at the shoe store.  Tra la-la la-la.  Checking out running shoes for me.  I finally find a shoe I like that has my size and try it on.

First I put on my sporty socks and I notice a little red spot on one.  "Hmm.  What's that?"  Must be fuzz.  I put it on.  Then I put on the shoe auditioning to become my new workout partner for the next fourteen years.

Cute, right?

 But what is that?!

What is that red all over the shoe lace?

Ah!

There's red all over my hand.

And on my shin.

And on my pants.

My detective skills led me to find a gash in my pinky finger.

Right on the hinge.
Blood pooling.

And smearing.

Smeared.

How did I cut my finger?

I don't know.

But now I have bloodied the lace of these shoes.

Great.

What would you do?

You would sheepishly go find your husband and tell him of your misfortune.

Then you buy the shoes.

I couldn't possibly just put them back in the box and reshelve them.

How gross to try on a pair of shoes and discover someone else's pinky blood on the laces.

But this is a big decision.

I haven't bought running shoes in fourteen years.

Oh man.

You can see a bit of the blood there.

It seems to have soaked in a bit.

So these shoes win.

First pair that I tried on.

Welcome to life on my closet floor.

Running shoes, meet dancing shoes, flip flops, dress boots, and clogs.

Oh, you know what they're called?

Marathon 10.

As if I am going to wear them in a marathon.

Humorous, humorous shoes.

I am wearing them around the house tonight.

Tag still intact.

Getting a good feel for each other.

I'm one of those hesistant shoppers.

I make a purchase, then keep the tags on a few days.

Just to make sure.

We've been married ten years, Paul and I,

and he still hasn't caught on to this.

He likes to cut the tags off as soon as we get home

and put the item right in its new place.

Even my things.

Noooooooo

Let me do it.

When I'm ready.

So I should go ahead and cut the tag considering the story above and the whole reason why I bought this pair.  Just give a minute.  Maybe in the morning.

Good-bye,

dear Nikes

that I bought in Rocklin

in 1996

with my dad.

 Slick-bottomed,

paint-speckled,

torn and stained.

Comfy.

That's what they are.

My good friends.

Farewell.

Adoption News

Our homestudy is about to expire, yes, so our Adoption Specialist shall make a return visit to our home next week.  (Time to clean up the Lego/Train Room upstairs.)  She will update our homestudy, then we will be good for another year of waiting.

Speaking of waiting...  While we wait to be matched with a healthy infant, our adoption agency emails information about waiting children with mild/moderate medical needs.  In the past year we have asked to be matched with five of these waiting children from South Korea.  I think they pretty much go by which family has been waiting the longest, so we have not been matched with any of these special kids.  Yet.

A few days ago we again asked to be matched with a waiting child and should hear early next week if we are to be her parents.  Or his parents.  There are two waiting children we asked to be matched with.  We would only be matched with one.

It is unlikely that we will be matched at all since there are still many families who have been waiting longer than us, BUT you just never know.  And as in the five times before, these few days of waiting consume my mind and I constantly check my email and answering machine for a message from our Adoption Specialist.

Email = not matched.  Phone call = matched!  It's like waiting the three minutes for the home pregnancy test to show the results.  Except it's not three minutes.  It's several days.

The first time we were not matched, I was a bit teary.  I was hopeful and had already started to bond with the idea of this child.  And it's hard for me not to start thinking long term...

If we are matched, then we'll travel to Korea in 4-6 months from now.  It's time to renew my passport.  Have I saved enough money from babysitting Nolan to buy the boys plane tickets?  And this child is a girl.  I get to start collecting girl things.  Oh, what am I going to need?  And how is her medical need really going to affect our family?

See?  My stomach gets all excited.

Then the stick reads 'not pregnant.'

Five times the stick has read not pregnant.

The loss has gotten easier each time because I have tried to be more emotionally distant.  But it's still a loss.  I am thankful for the peace of believing that God's hand is in this process and He is guiding the matching.  One of these days we will be matched with just the right child for our family.  And a child will be matched with just the right family (ours!) for him/her.