Eleven Weeks Later....

It has been 11 weeks since I broke my foot.  And when I say broke my foot, I really mean severely sprained my ankle and broke a bone in my foot in 2 places.  It hasn't healed completely and never will.  I will have to see if it gives me pain or discomfort and if it does, I can choose to have surgery to have a pin put in.

In those 11 weeks, I've had a lot of time to sit and think.  I also spent a lot of time sleeping (pain pills will do that to you), and a lot of time watching Downton Abbey.  I didn't feel like reading, I couldn't move around well, and I was in pain. 

You really start to appreciate the little things when you can't:

• drive
• get in and out of the shower by yourself
• get yourself any food or drink
• easily get on or off the toilet
• leave the house except for a doctor's visit or maybe church
• clean the house (sure a break is nice, but 11 weeks?!?!)
• cook dinner
• do any kind of chores
• sit at the dinner table with your family

It wasn't that I couldn't do all of these things the entire 11 weeks.  Most of them lasted at least 6 weeks and others the full 11.

The break, the resting, the sitting and doing a lot of nothing was fine for the first few weeks.  But then you get restless.  You want to go out into the world and do something, but it's too much effort to even get out of your pajamas and your husband is working 50+ hours that week so there's no one to even go out with.  You get in a rutt and you want to get out.

I don't remember much of the first 2 weeks.  I watched episodes of Downton Abbey that I don't remember and I apparently had a conversation with a lady at church that she remembered but I didn't.  I felt bad that my husband had to work 50-60 hours a week, including 12+ hour days with some of them starting at 4:30am, and then he had to come home exhausted to help out with the evening routine.  My teenagers were VERY helpful, but there are certain things that needed to be done that they just couldn't do.  My poor husband is so tired!  I think he's more excited about me FINALLY being able to drive than I am!

I had friends and family that helped out a lot along the way.  They took me to the grocery store, drove me to church and homeschool group, brought me delicious homemade bread and took my kids to their activities.  There were people I only knew through Facebook (law enforcement wives are VERY supportive of each other!) who checked on me, encouraged me, and asked me how I was doing.

I know this period of time happened for a reason, and I may never know that reason.  I know that I had very important plans that were changed and God knew that all along and still allowed me to miss a step off my back porch.  I also know I could've used my time better, but I didn't.  

I look forward to the changes that will come from being mobile again.  I look forward to slowly walking up and down my road to get back in shape and see how my foot holds up.  I look forward to getting back into a routine and getting some order back in the house.

And I hope I never break a bone again!

 

Getting Closer...

I got an email the other day from our adoption social worker that this long process is soon coming to an end.  The word from the clerk is that they will mail our adoption decree the beginning of April!

From the moment he moved into our home last July, he has been a member of our family.  He calls us "Mommy" and "Daddy" and refers to the teenagers as his brother and sister.  He even argues with us all as if he's been in our family for years!  But his last name is different than ours and that is what this decree will change.

It has been a long time in coming.

We were told we could file for adoption in early October, except we were waiting on other people to get their paperwork in order and that didn't happen until early January.

Then when we filed, there were problems with how the paperwork was filled out (not on our end) so the process was delayed while those things were corrected.

It's a 30-90 day process and when it's all over, I think we will hit over 80 days... With the way things sometimes go for us, that was expected by us even when no one else thought it would happen that way.

By the time we have the decree in our hand, it will have been 2 years from when we first made the phone call saying we were interested in adoption through foster care.  To some, that may seem like a long time, but it really isn't.  There were countless hours of training (and we have more to go to keep our foster care license current!), homestudy visits and meetings. 

It was actually pretty fast in the adoption world because from the day we submitted our list of children we were interested in learning more about until our first meeting about our soon to be son, it was only 6 weeks!  

From the day he moved into our house until the day the adoption is final will be right around 9 months... Just like a regular birth!

We plan on having a small family celebration once that decree is in our hand... Some take out from a favorite place and a cake that my friend is going to make that will show our new family.

I'm sure some of you are wondering if we're going to do this again.  And I can give my answer with great confidence.... MAYBE!  I have my eye on a young boy on the website, but I'm afraid that with the uncertainty of the healing of my broken foot, we won't be able to pursue anything right now.  So, who knows.... maybe later this year?  Maybe next year?  Maybe never.... God only knows at this point.  We do hope to do some respite care (taking care of someone else's foster child for a short period of time) and maybe even foster again.

So, what will I miss from this process?

• Our wonderful therapeutic and adoption social workers.... We have laughed together and they have been with me through pneumonia and a broken foot...

What will I not miss?

• Paperwork!  Oh my goodness, just when you think the pre-placement paperwork is over, there's the therapeutic paperwork!  In our state, there are 2 levels of foster care- family and therapeutic.  You get different amounts of reimbursement and so there are different levels of work involved.  With therapeutic care, there is daily medication paperwork, daily behavior paperwork, monthly contacts and monthly information, including what activities you have included the child in.  I will NOT miss this aspect of things!
• Asking permission to give OTC meds, take him out of state, etc.  I understand WHY we have to do this, but it's still a pain to have to defer to others who may not care what our choices or plans are.  Thankfully, his worker has been very accomodating.
• Training, training, and.... MORE training!  I also understand the need for training, but at some point you realize they're saying the same thing over and over again...

 We're looking forward to that day when it is all official!

 

It's Been Awhile

It's been over 3 weeks since I blogged.

There has been so much going on, but yet nothing much.

My foot is still broken and I still can't drive. 

We are still waiting for the adoption paperwork to be processed and finalized.

I've finally healed enough to be able to get around better.  I'm trying to make the transition to using only one crutch around the house so that frees up one hand to be able to carry things.  It feels great to not always have to rely on others to bring me even a drink of water or the phone!  We'll hear more about how the bone is actually healing at my appointment next week.  Apparently I have a bad enough break that I was a candidate for surgery the week after it happened.  When I got my 2nd xray a week later, the Orthopedist told me that if the break was in a slightly different place, I'd need surgery NOW... Oh my goodness, I am thankful that was not the case!  The doctor will see how I've healed after 12 weeks and decide if I need surgery to put a screw or pin in and I'm really hoping that's not the case because that's almost the last thing I want to do this summer!

We had a particularly busy week with lots of appointments, meetings, church and night shift.  And not just regular night shift, but the early one where my husband has to be ready no later than 6pm.  Of course, he is usually ready around 5:45.  There's nothing like cooking dinner at 4pm (well, cooking for me these days is sitting on the bar stool chopping vegetables) to eat at 5pm and then showering and getting your jammies on at 5:30 because you can't get in and out of the shower yourself.  Life could be worse of course, so it's important to keep things in perspective.

So, I am learning that the things we think are so important in our schedule aren't always.  If the house doesn't get a good cleaning every week, your family will survive.  If all you can do is lay in bed and then move to sit on the couch and then back to your bed again, do it with a good attitude.  If God sits you on your rear for a few weeks, you better not try to fight it and instead make the best of it!

 

A Change in Plans

I had it all planned out...

I was going to work really hard last week getting a ton of things done, so that my daughter and I could go out of state to help a relative who is going through a health issue.  Then we'd meet my husband and the boys for a school trip/family vacation.

But that's not how it all turned out!

I'm not an outdoors kind of person.  I do like to hike, but we don't get to do that much.  If I have the choice between reading a book inside or doing almost anything outside, you'll find me snuggled up on my couch with my book.

But last Tuesday was such a beautiful day that I decided to kick the soccer ball around with the kids after our youngest got home from school.

I was standing on the back steps and not paying attention as I turned to walk down... That was a bad choice, to say the least!

I missed a step, or landed wrong, or something...  I ended up breaking my foot.  I was hoping it would be a simple break, but it turns out that it was a pretty bad one.  Apparently, the bone broke in 2 places.  The good news is that I am in a boot and not a cast.  

So, for the past week, I've been home bound and bed/couch bound.  I've been instructed by the doctor to keep all weight off my foot and I've been following those orders.  Perhaps I've been overdoing it on the doing nothing, but I want the bones to heal.  

I'm forbidden from driving for SIX weeks.  After 12 weeks, the doctor will see if I need surgery to put in a screw.  That is absolutely NOT in my plans for the summer, so that's why I'm doing a lot of nothing.

So far, I've watched almost 2 seasons of Downton Abbey.  I've played on my Kindle Fire.  I've folded a load of laundry (mostly socks and underwear).  I've organized our taxes.  And that's been spread out over 6 days!

I have no desire to read a book, to sit on the porch or to play any games.

It's not even easy to just quickly use the bathroom.

Showering and getting ready for bed at night is exhausting.

Getting dressed and ready in the morning makes me want a nap when I'm done.

Normally, I'm not good at following doctor's orders.  About 7 years ago, I had a stress fracture in my foot.  My doctor told me to use my crutches and rest it a lot and it would heal in about 6 weeks.  I did none of those things and it was probably 12 weeks before it felt completely better.  So, that's why I'm resting this time around.

I'm not a person who is normally on the go every minute, but I do keep busy during the day getting stuff done.  I am a homebody and don't like the weeks where I have to be out every day.

But being able to do NOTHING and go NOWHERE is getting pretty frustrating!

My family has been helpful and my friends have been checking in on me and offering their help.

And in the end, compared to health issues far worse than mine, I really have nothing to complain about.  I should just sit and enjoy this time to rest, read a book, play a game with the kids, and quit my whining.

I'll let you know how that goes!

 

2013 Goals

Early this year, I posted my goals for the 2012 year.  I did well in some goals and struggled in others.  But I found it was good to have some goals written down so that I could at least see what things I wanted to accomplish this year.  It was also important not to get tied down to getting the goals accomplished, even when life happened and made it virtually impossible.

So, as we begin another year, here are my 5 goals for 2013!

1. Read through the Bible in a year- AGAIN!  I did this last year and there's nothing wrong with doing it again.  I'm using a different Bible translation (NKJV this year; Holman Standard last year) and probably a slightly different format.  Our church preaches line by line through books of the Bible and at different points during the year I am involved in other Bible studies, so I find reading through the Bible in a year really does work for me in keeping me on a schedule and not sticking only to the books that I "like".
2. Travel!  When I looked ahead to our month by month plans (as of now, God willing), I saw that we will be traveling somewhere almost every month of the year, minus the crazy 3 months of the soccer season!  We are thankful for the opportunities we have to go to a variety of places this year and at a low cost due to having friends and family in different areas with places we can stay!
3. Enjoy & Prepare- Life will once again change when we I homeschool our youngest in the new school year.  He's different from our older children in how he learns and he will require quite a bit of one-on-one work with me to complete his work.  I'm used to my high schoolers basically getting their work done on their own, so this will be VERY different for me!  So, I'm resolved to enjoy these last few months of "freedom" before I move into a time where my time will be occupied much differently.  And because his learning style is different, I will also need to spend a lot of time preparing what he will be doing for school- finding the activities, games, books, etc that will help him learn.
4. Relationships- Whether it's longtime friends that you've lost contact with or new friendships you want to nurture, it's important to leave some time in your life for friendships.  They laugh with you through the good times and encourage you in the bad times.  Sometimes you lose touch due to circumstances in your life, but they're always there to pick back up with you when you need them.  I want to be sure this year to spend time with friends, those good friends you know you'll have in your life for a long, long time!
5. Healthy Living- Many people have the goal to eat right and exercise as the new year rolls around and they realize how much the ate during the holidays. I actually lost about 10 pounds over the holidays, but not in a way I would recommend to anyone- pneumonia and stress!  I'm sure I gained a pound or 2 with Christmas eating.  I think for 2013, I would like to continue healthy eating (little to no processed foods, infrequent eating out and healthy recipes) as well as being active (walks with my husband, hiking, riding my stationary bike).  I don't want to obsess about it, but simply to make those changes that will best help me to have an all around healthy lifestyle!

Last year, one of my most popular posts was on my 2012 goals!  That's good, because that gives me some sort of accountability in knowing that people know what I said I wanted to do and they just might ask me if I actually did those things!

What are your goals for 2013?

Tragedy

Last week, the unthinkable happened...

20 children were murdered in their classrooms...

6 adults, including teachers, a principal, and a guidance counselor were killed trying to protect the students...

A mother was killed in her sleep with her own weapon... By her own son...

There are many unanswered questions and many theories floating around. 

We are wondering about gun control and mental health issues.

We are wondering how and why...

We have few, if any, answers.

20 families don't have their children with them for Christmas, not this year or ever.

6 families also lost a loved one and even though they are adults who died, the loss is just as painful.

There are also 2 men who lost a mother and a brother/son and have the added grief that their loved one is the cause of this tragedy and the profound grief that HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS have to go through...

The children who survived and will at some point have to go back to school, if not in that building then elsewhere...

The teachers who saw a killer's face or heard the gun shots in the school and have to continue to teach with that fear in the back of their minds...

The police who responded to the unknown and quickly realized it was like nothing they have ever seen or imagined...

The medical examiner and his staff who had to perform too many autopsies on too many young people... and the officers who had to view those autopsies as well...

The firefighters at a station so close to the school who comforted family members for hours into the night...

The EMT's, doctors and nurses who were waiting and hoping to care for the injured but instead could only helplessly hear that there were so few injured...

The police and crime scene techs who processed a crime scene for hours in a location that should never be a crime scene...

The parents, siblings, friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, students, community...

So much grief, so much hurt, so many unanswered questions...

I'm a Fan of "Not a Fan"!

It seemed to take me forever to read this book that should have taken me 2 weeks or less to finish.  But it seems that these days of school and soccer don't leave me much time or energy to focus on reading... (And on a sort of related side note, it took me OVER 2 months to actually finish and post this!)

Now that I'm finished with "Not a Fan" (written by Kyle Idleman), I can say that it was worth the time!

This book really makes you look at whether you are REALLY following Jesus or if you're just going through the motions.  Are you REALLY willing to do WHAT He says, WHEN He says?  Is He your ONLY priority or one of your priorities?  

Sure, it's easy to read this book and start thinking of the people you know who NEED to read this book because you know they are going through the motions at best.  But when you put those thoughts to the side, you realize that YOU really need to read this book because we ALL go through the motions at one point or another.  We ALL need to be reminded that Jesus needs to be the one in charge and we need to be following what HE says, not what our friend says or what we "feel" is right...

A line in the book that I love is "They (fans) want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them." 

That should make you think of whether or not that statement applies to YOU!

What do we think are some of the "benefits" of following Jesus?

• Good health?
• Enough money to pay our bills AND have extra?
• A job we love?
• Stuff?
• Vacations?
• Well behaving, academically gifted children?
• A thriving ministry?

 But what if the TRUE benefits are:

• Strength to get through an illness or disease?
• Faith to get through a job loss and bills to pay?
• Comfort when our friends and family abandon us?
• Wisdom to deal with rebellious children?
• Patience to deal with a special needs child?
• Encouragement when dealing with a failing marriage?

Sure, sometimes the benefits of following God ARE tangible, but sometimes they're not.... Regardless, do we ONLY want those benefits that are pleasant or are we willing to follow so hard and so close that we WILL go through hard times as Jesus promised us several times in the Bible so that we can experience God in a way we never have before?

That is just one of the questions you will ask of yourself as you read Not a Fan.

Even though the questions you are asked in this book can be difficult, it is well worth the read and the look into your life to see just where you have put God in your life!

I recommend reading this book and be prepared to search YOUR heart!

  

Holiday Plans and Traditions

My goal was to post on this topic BEFORE Thanksgiving, but a little "distraction" called Pneumonia changed those plans...

Here's a little peek into some Holiday plans and traditions at our house:

Thanksgiving:

• We always watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while eating yummy appetizers.
• We usually have my parents and one set of my husband's (divorced and remarried) parents over for an afternoon dinner.
• We put up our trees and decorations either a few days before or the day after Thanksgiving.

Christmas:

• We rarely open gifts ON Christmas Day... Honestly, I'm the one who can't wait that long!  Last year, we would be away on Christmas so we opened our gifts on the 22nd.  
• We have appetizers for lunch while watching a Christmas movie, playing with our gifts and cleaning up.
• We usually spend the day with just our family.
• For the month of December, we've had a Christmas Chain- green and red construction paper links with a fun activity for each day of the month.  We usually have things we're already planning on doing and then fill in on other days with things like watching a Christmas movie or roasting marshmallows.  Now we have a "house" with numbered doors and have activities printed out inside each door.
• We go out to eat with my parents to celebrate my mother's birthday at a wonderful local restaurant that decorates beautifully for Christmas.

Now for the reality of this year....

• My husband had to work Thanksgiving this year for the first time in probably 5 years so we had to change a few things up.  In fact, he worked Monday-Saturday of Thanksgiving week so there was no time to postpone the big dinner to another day.
• We continued the parade and appetizers tradition.
• We waited to have our Thanksgiving dinner with just the 5 of us until my husband got home from work.  Thankfully he was ON TIME for the only time all week so we were able to eat around 6:30.
• We put our trees up the day after Thanksgiving.  I decorated less than usual, partly because I was still exhausted and also because my dining room, foyer and living room looked so beautiful from my friend helping me decorate that I didn't want to mess with it too much.  So, instead of taking out my 10+ nativities, I brought out my favorite few and used only those.
• We still have quite a few trees: the tall one in the living room, the police one (blue lights and police ornaments) in the dining room, a table top with colored lights and JESUS ornaments in the living room, a lit tabletop "Places" tree in the kitchen and unlit tabletop in our bedroom, and one in both kids' rooms.  Technically, that's 7 trees!  But we love them all!
• My husband is working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and every weekend in December.  We have to rethink our celebration time as a family as it's now greatly diminished from other years.  We'll still have fun, though, because we like spending time together.
• I imagine we'll open presents on Christmas Eve so that my husband can be there for it... If he gets home from work on time!  Hopefully even the criminals will decide to take Christmas off!  ;)  I doubt any of us will complain about opening presents early!
• We'll probably have a low key day on Christmas.  I might see what a fellow LEOW whose husband is working that day is doing and maybe we'll meet up sometime that day... 

With my husband working so many holidays this season (he's also working New Year's Eve!), we will have to adjust some of our traditions, but we'll still have a wonderful holiday season spending time together as a family when we can!

 

Second to the Job?

I follow a page for wives of law enforcement on Facebook.  It's helpful to get updates and support in a line of work that very few outside this life understand.

I saw a comment recently that made me stop and think.  A wife said that LEOW's (Law Enforcement Officer Wife) need to stop complaining about not getting to see their husband and that an LEOW will always be second to her husband behind his job.  She pointed out that her husband thinks he needs to check in at his department, even on his days off, and that means that he's passionate about his oath...

That comment made me stop and think....

Is it right for a husband to put his job above his wife?

My husband is a hard worker and when he is on shift, he is there 100%.   He trusts me to take care of things at home in a way that I don't have to "bother" him with things that I can take care of on my own.  

But when he's off duty, he's OFF DUTY.... Sure, he works extra jobs when they are available to him.... Yes, he takes phone calls from work when he's not on shift.... Of course if someone with rank higher than him asks him to do something on his days off, he does it...

While he has a great reputation at work and does his job with excellence, he doesn't for one minute think that the rest of them can't function without him.  

When he is on duty, he is there to get the job done.  But if I need him, he does his best to be there for me.  It's not always possible to even get in touch with him while he's working, so many times I have to take care of something because he's simply not available.  If I'm sick, or one of the kids has an important event, or we are wanting to go on vacation, he has no problem with trying to take the time off to be there for his family.  

I'm hoping I misunderstood this woman's comment.... Hopefully she meant that her husband is into his job 150% and not that she is content with always being second to the job.  I don't think I could ever be content with being 2nd to anything in my husband's life other than God.

I'm thankful to have a husband who loves his job, does it well, is thought of highly by his co-workers, but who also loves his wife and children MORE than he loves his job!

 

 

5 Things I've Learned or Confirmed From the Election

You'd have to live under a rock to not know the results of the Presidential Election this past week.

It seemed to me that this election season was extremely bitter.  I learned and/or was reminded of a few things during this time...

1. The mainstream media IS in fact biased against conservative candidates...  When you have misspoken words on the conservative side taken out of context and given days upon days of coverage, but you have misspoken words on the liberal side barely being given a day's worth of coverage.... That's called BIAS!  BOTH sides misspeak!  BOTH sides lie!  The only fair thing to do would be for the mainstream media to hold BOTH sides accountable for those words in the same way!
2. Our country is VERY divided... I think I remember President Obama in his first Presidential campaign talking about bringing people together?  I understand that this takes BOTH sides, but I have felt very little from President Obama in this regard.  I pray this changes in his next term as America so desperately NEEDS to work together for the good of this country!  BOTH sides need to compromise to make the changes this country needs!
3. Millions upon millions of people in America STILL don't understand what an incredible right and freedom we have in this country to VOTE!  There are countries in this world where you CAN'T vote!  There are countries in this world where you can "vote", which just means that you can check the box of the ONE person running because you have no choice or say!  I don't know what it will take for Americans to wake up and realize this and exercise their right to VOTE!
4. It still makes me sad that so many in this country care more about their paycheck, vacation, new car, pets than the fact that MILLIONS of innocent human babies have being slaughtered in the name of choice.  What potential world leader, cancer curing researcher, doctor, teacher, parent was not given the chance to LIVE because of "choice"?  It just makes me sad...
5. People can be MEAN!  This happens on BOTH sides of the political spectrum and it makes me sad.  It has gotten so bad this election season that I didn't even want to post about the issues because I didn't want to receive any more rude comments about the opinions I have.  We can NOT make generalities about people we've never met based on their opinion!  And yet I saw name calling from both sides of an issue.  I was called and idiot, ignorant and.... this one is my favorite.... "rich or married to a rich man"!  THAT one made me laugh!  Just because you disagree with me doesn't mean I have the right to call you names.  I have many friends with opposite political opinions from me and yet we show each other respect.  We CAN all get along, but we DO have to be tolerant of people with opinions different from ours!

I am thankful that this election is over and we can move on with our lives.  While the results of the election are not what I would've liked, it is reality and we have to work with what we have.  If we don't like the election results, we need to pray even harder for God to change the hearts of our leaders!

How NOT To Spend Your Week!

We made it through October fairly well, considering the CRAZY schedule we had...  Why did I assume November would be uneventful?

I was happy to spend some time last Monday afternoon with a good friend who was helping me redecorate my dining room.  We had lots of fun shopping and then sewing and decorating and the rest of our families joined us at our house for dinner that night.  The dining room, foyer and living room look GREAT and we have some more plans for a few things that are left in the dining room as well as work on the master bedroom.

Tuesday my husband took off work.  We at first had thought of heading downtown for a little field trip but we were all slow moving that morning so we decided instead to get milkshakes at Chick Fil A (Peppermint Chocolate Chip- YUM!) and run a bunch of errands.

I woke up that morning with a little tickle in my throat but didn't think anything of it.  Sometime in the afternoon I started feeling rundown and by the time we got home near dinner, I had a fever.

I stayed in bed for days feeling absolutely ROTTEN!  My fever got as high as 103.3 and along with that came the aches and chills.  I felt just absolutely terrible.

I had a meeting regarding foster care and adoption in my home Thursday afternoon that could NOT be rescheduled, so I managed to shower and get ready (in some sweats and the entire process took hours) and sat in my chair to get the meeting done. 

We tried to get some medical care Thursday night.  One nearby Urgent Care had a 2 hour wait.  At the second Urgent Care, we learned that apparently where I live, you do NOT need an ID to vote, but you need one to receive medical care!  Who knew!  They wouldn't even let my husband show his id and insurance card and sign something accepting responsibility.  No, instead they rudely told me they couldn't see me and we left.  Apparently the lady we spoke to is often rude, as the security guard told us when we left.  We are following up with a complaint.  I can understand the rule, but I can NOT understand treating someone in such a rude and nasty way!

So, we tried again on Friday morning.  The CVS Minute Clinic had a 1 hour wait so we went back to the first Urgent Care we tried the night before (NOT the rude place, we will NEVER go back there!).  We walked in, filled out paperwork and were in a room very quickly.  After an examination and chest xray, we had a diagnosis of Pneumonia!

You wouldn't think someone would be happy about having Pneumonia, but with how badly I had felt the previous 3 days, I was "happy" to learn that there was in fact something wrong and a way to fix it!

I had some side effects from the antibiotic the first day- a horrible pounding headache for hours and trouble sleeping.  Thankfully, I also had a cough medicine with codeine for the nighttime so I was able to sleep.  I spent the weekend on the couch and in the bed, resting up for the coming week.  I surely need to get caught up on some things and prepare for a Fun Family Weekend coming up!

My older kids took very good care of me on Wednesday while my husband had to work.  They kept the house in order and gave me some peace and quiet.  My daughter helped the youngest before and after school, which was a HUGE help.  My neighbor, who usually does the afternoon carpool was able to take the boys to school in the morning so I didn't have to get out of bed.  My parents watched the kids during our failed attempt at medical care on Thursday night, took the kids out on Saturday while my husband worked so that I could rest AND brought us dinner that night.  My husband was also a BIG help in cooking, cleaning and running errands.  I know he did NOT enjoy doing all of that, but it was all worth it when I ventured out of my room Saturday morning to a CLEAN kitchen!  :)

I was not able to exercise at all this past week but I did lose a few pounds from not eating.  I'm sure those will come back along with my appetite as I start to feel better.

I am so looking forward to feeling 100% and getting things done and spending time with my family.  I'm trying hard to NOT feel like I am behind on things.  Even though all I did from Tuesday night until Saturday was write the grocery list, attend the meeting in my house, go to the doctor and watch tv, I am confident that I can catch up next week and I'm thankful I don't have to put the house back together because my family took such great care of it while I was sick!

It's Been Awhile.....

I was doing so well at blogging once a week...

But then came the fall....

I've had several stretches of 2 weeks in between blog posts....

Not that it's a bad thing or anything, we have just had so much going on that I haven't had time to sit and blog and/or my brain hasn't had enough energy to even THINK about what to write!

I started a "book review" of one I just finished, but seriously my brain said STOP!  So, I'll finish that when things calm down just a little bit.

We are right in the middle of the "beginning of the end" week.  We had our youngest's birthday, my husband is 50 hours into a 135 hour stretch of work, we have our last soccer practices and tournament of the season, and the kids are trying to stay current in their homeschool work.  We have seen my husband very little, but are still sane.  He is absolutely exhausted, but he'll make it through.  

We are looking forward to having some time together next week when soccer is over and my husband's bizarrely crazy work schedule is a memory.  We won't have nearly as much time as we think, as the schedule is already filling up, but at least we will be able to have dinners together with the FIVE of us!  That is something that we enjoy doing but hasn't happened much at all in the month of October.

And the "funny" thing is that once Thanksgiving comes, our busy time is just about over!  I actually don't mind the "busyness" of Thanksgiving, Christmas and what follows for us: 2 kids' birthdays and then my husband's.  Once we get through the fall, we are good to go!  



 

 

Same Old, Same Old....

It's been 2 weeks since I last posted...

I've been finding it hard to blog because it feels like we do the same thing every day and every week since September started...

Public school, homeschool, soccer, regular shift for my husband, off duty work for him too, soccer, homework, church, meetings, appointments....

Repeat... And again...

You get the idea...

How exciting can that be to read about?

With all of those things going on each week, things can get a little crazy around here.  There have been periods of time due to my husband's schedule where we haven't seen him for more than 30 minutes in over 48 hours.  And we all survived!  It was a good preview of what October could be once he starts working off duty at our State Fair.

To ADD to the craziness of the above list of things going on in our family in the fall, we add several more things in October: 2 soccer tournaments, our anniversary, and our youngest's birthday (and first with our family...and during the Fair).

But this schedule is really not that much different from many other families.  We are ALL busy...

EVERY fall our family experiences this same craziness...

EVERY winter we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, 2 kids' birthdays and then my husband's birthday...

EVERY spring we get a little break from the busy and look forward to finishing out the school year...

EVERY summer we get a little time to rest and plan for the upcoming school year...

And then there we go again...

I'm not complaining, REALLY I'm not!  

I LOVE soccer season, even though we rarely get to sit down to eat dinner together as a family.

I'm used to the off duty work that piles on in the fall for my husband.  He is at the point in his career where he has little opportunity to work off duty during the year, so we don't turn down the chance to work it in the fall, even if it does mean adding in an extra week's worth of work every month.

So, that is the routine, boring, same as last month update from our family!  And to be honest, I kind of like it this way!  ;)

 

 

Spoiled....

I have a friend who is on a two week mission trip to Uganda.  He is experiencing something that is not seen in churches here in America.  When he described it on a Facebook status, it caught my attention:

"We taught for 6 hours straight and they begged for one more teaching.  It was hot and crowded and most people stood and yet they wanted more.  You can't get Americans to sit still and listen for 30 minutes without looking at their watch.  Help us, Lord!"

It made me think about how I view my church experience.  

• Do I want the worship to entertain ME or am I really listening to the words and singing them to God?
• Do I look for topical or surface sermons that I can shake my head in agreement to or do I want the preaching to be deep, even if it's not entertaining to me?
• Am I looking at my watch after the preaching has reached it's 20 minute mark because I'm ready to move on to the next thing?
• Do I really want MORE or am I just saying that because it's the "right" thing?
• Can I even comprehend sitting standing for 6 hours, without complaining... and then wanting MORE?!

My friend followed up the above statement with another one...one which I agree with 100%:

"America has a big problem and it's called spoiled."

How true that is, especially in my own life.

Can I even imagine spending six hours in church, not listening to our awesome praise band, but in hearing preaching from the Bible without complaint?!

Honestly, I can't imagine it...

When was the last time I spent 6 hours listening to a preacher, reading my Bible, truly studying it's words, spending time in prayer?

Sure, we're busy.... There ARE things we have to get done... But the point is that we would probably gladly spend 6 hours:

• Playing golf
• Watching our favorite sport
• Shopping
• Spending time with friends
• Planning our next vacation
• Researching a cause dear to us
• Reading the latest bestseller...

 
As I was writing this, I was thinking of all the ways I am spoiled... There are MANY ways!

I am challenging myself, and anyone reading this, to really take a look at how time is spent in the coming week.  Take a look and see if there is anything you need to give up or get rid of in order to spend more time in prayer and Bible study, learning more of who God is and what He expects from you.

This doesn't mean we never have fun, never read a book, never go places.  It might mean we read less, watch less tv, spend more time studying the Bible, spend time mentoring a young Christian (this will challenge you to study your Bible more!)...  It might involve repenting to God for our prideful and selfish attitudes... It might even mean turning to God for His free gift of salvation...

Do you think you are spoiled?  Could you stand in the heat for 6 hours and then ask for more?  

A Rollercoaster Week!

I can't believe we survived last week!

Thankfully, "W" continues to adjust well into our family...

Here's a brief look at some of the craziness that happened within the first 3 days of last week:

• My husband was on night shift... Which is normally hard... But he had to start work at 6pm, which means I needed to have dinner ready by 5pm.
• My son had two nights of soccer practice... Which started at 5pm...
• "W" had an appointment that kept us two towns away at the moment that my husband needed dinner AND my son needed to be at soccer! 
• Knowing the schedule for the coming 2-3 weeks would also be very busy, I was determined to get the house cleaned... I just was hardly home for two days in a row so it was virtually impossible to do...
• I forgot to put dinner in the Crock Pot on that same night, so there was not hot meal for my husband to eat before he left for work.
• The AC unit in our upstairs bonus room stopped working over that weekend, so add a visit from the repair man in to an already crazy day!
• I tried to register "W" at his school and was told that since the school year had technically started the day before, I would need to drive 45 minutes away to register him... I'm still trying to figure out when we can add THAT in to the schedule!
• On the first night my husband didn't have to work, he had a meeting at church that was longer than I expected, which meant he was gone for over 2 hours when we all had seriously not seen him for much more than an hour total over the previous 72 hours. 

In the midst of the crazy moments, there were just as many times of wonderful!

• My husband is so low key that not only did he not mind eating a slice of 3 day old pizza and a hot dog leftover from lunch for his dinner when I forgot to make it, BUT he also cleaned our bathroom for me while I took "W" to his appointment!  All after working all night and sleeping through the noise we were all trying so hard NOT to make!
• My friend and her husband went out of their way to transport my son BOTH WAYS for one of his soccer practices since both my husband and I were unavailable. 
• The bonus room losing AC was the best case scenario since it is an optional room for us.
• My husband sleeps so well on night shift that he didn't hear us trying not to make noise!
• My daughter and her friend made dinner for us on the night I forgot about the Crock Pot... Mac and Cheese and Strawberry Smoothies never tasted SO good!
• We were able to go on a tour of "W's" new school and he seems to be really excited, although I'm still not thrilled about spending 3+ hours getting him enrolled sometime this month.
• "W" was invited to a birthday party of a boy he knows from church and had a wonderful time with his new friend at the pool!
• Our family of 5 was able to spend 2 days at the beach... Thinking we'd cram into a hotel room... But ending up being able to spend the night in a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house with a pool and hot tub... FOR FREE!  It was 15 minutes from the beach and "W" LOVES the ocean!  I think we'll go back next summer, maybe even for the week!
• "W" continues to adjust well into our family, bonding well with us all.  He is starting to test us some, but it's nothing unexpected or all that bad.

So, last week really had MORE wonderful than it had crazy...


Looking forward to the coming weeks of wonderful and crazy!

It's Move In Day!

After over a year of active work, over 72 hours of classes, stacks of paperwork, a homestudy, a list of 20 children, a couple thousand miles on the car, many trips for pick up and drop off, 8 visits totaling over 30 days.....

It's MOVE IN DAY!

In some ways, this feels like it has taken a while... In other ways, it's been a short amount of time.  I know there are people who are waiting YEARS to adopt through foster care.  From the time we submitted our list of children we were interested in until the date of our first meeting about him, it was only 1 month.  That is pretty quick.

Then came the meetings and visits, too many to really count.

The visits were important in us getting to know him and in him getting to know us.  It was hard to give up so much time (a full day each week was spent in picking up and dropping off) in transportation, but it was worth it in the end to spend time together. 

Our schedule has been CRAZY during the past few months in trying to figure in these visits along with my husband's work schedule.  He doesn't have weekends off like many other people do.  He needed to take some days off in order to spend any time with us during each of the May weekend visits.  Thankfully, he has a lot of time he can use as well as some understanding supervisors who were willing to work with him to give him time with his new family.

It all comes down to today... It's our last trip 2 hours away to that Chick Fil A we have spent so much time at these past few months.  This time, it's forever.

My husband has taken a few hours off to be here when we get home. 

We have planned an easy dinner but one that he has enjoyed in the past: Chicken Quesdadillas, salad and homemade vanilla ice cream with crushed M&M's and Heath Bar on top.  We'll probably play some Wii (it will be too hot to play basketball) and he'll have 3 small gifts to open in celebration of him joining our family.

And then will start the adjustment period.  

We'll have lots of appointments to go to to get him established at his new doctors.

I'm curious to see how he'll be after about 2 weeks here.  Even with his longer visits with us, none were over 12 days.  I'm sure he'll have some sadness at missing his foster family, even while he's excited about being with us.

We've got some fun things planned for the summer... A day trip to the beach, swimming at friend's pools, going to the local museum, going to the movies, and more.

I've tried to not overschedule my days so that we have some time to spend together. Obviously, there are things we need to get done, but some things can wait while we have good family bonding time.


I won't be posting any pictures of "the boy" on Facebook because as of now he is our foster child and there are rules about those things.  I don't even know when or if I'll be able to post his name.  I'm already kind of secret about those things out here in blog-land...  So, just put up with us as you are able to hear some updates but really not experience it all like you might want to!


Continue to pray for our family as we bond together and as we need patience during this transition time!

A Relaxing Trip

Our family recently returned from a 5 day trip to visit friends in Charleston, SC.

It was a much needed time of relaxation as we prepare to become a family of 5!

We LOVE visiting the Charleston area and we LOVE seeing our friends.  

We always go on a double date while where there and this time we decided to take a dinner cruise, which was wonderful.  The weather was great... The food (BBQ, mac and cheese, cole slaw, and sweet tea) was delicious... Even the drunk man was only slightly annoying!  He gave us a good laugh when he pointed out what he thought was Fort Sumter to his friends.... Sorry, drunk man, that's the California Dreamin' Restaurant! 

We were able to go to the beach a few times and just SIT... 

We exercised 3 of the days we were there... You wouldn't think that exercise on vacation would be fun, but it was good to get back into doing something active.  I hope to continue, and in fact I did when we got home!  Now to just keep it up through the hot and humid summer...

We ate some delicious food while we were there... My friend (and all of her helpers) made Chicken Bryan from the Carrabba's cookbook and it tasted exactly like it does at the restaurant!  It's a very involved recipe but it was well worth the effort.

We are always sad to leave and can't wait to go back again sometime!

Last visit!

We are only a few days away from the end of our LAST visit!

This visit will end up being 12 days and it has been a good visit overall.  "The boy" is still getting used to having a big brother and big sister who are on his side.  He is still getting used to our family and our crazy schedule.  He is still getting used to sharing a room.

We have seen improvements in every area and we are thankful for that.  We know that there is a strong chance that we will not face the tough issues until he actually moves in.

He still refers to his foster family as "mom" and "dad" and talks about getting to go "home" in a few days.  That is all to be expected because that is the life he's known for 3 years.

He also talks about his "new school" every time we drive past and he has been asking more questions about his teacher and when classes start and end....and if they will have a basketball to play with. 

During this visit, he has gotten the chance to meet more family and friends.  He is doing very well with all the new people. 

It will be a little strange to send him back to his foster home this week, but he needs those 10 days to spend with them.

I know there will be a transition time when he moves in....We're all already use to each other, so that's good.  But he will have to process that this is his home and I think that will be hard for him.  He will still be able to call his foster family a few nights of week, but that will become less frequent as he gets settled into our family.

On our end, we've all had to work on being patient in answering the many questions, reminding him about different things, and getting used to everything.   


We're looking forward to becoming a family of 5!

We Made It!

I'm a wimp....

You'd think I'd be used to not seeing my husband, with his crazy shift and off duty work....

He was gone for 12 days this spring with our son on a mission trip to Ukraine and my daughter and I did just fine.

But he was out of town for 5 days last week taking a class for work and that was enough for me!

I've said before I don't know how wives handle it when their husband travels for work....

I certainly don't know how a wife handles a military deployment.

I guess I've found my limit on what I'm able to handle.  I can do the crazy shift work- having dinner ready at 5pm one week and 7:30pm the next... Being quiet in the house to let him sleep after being awake for 24 hours... And whatever other crazy stuff that seems to happen each month.

But I can't handle the being gone for a week or more with little to no contact.

Sure, we talked briefly each day during his lunch break.  And we even got on Skype a few times in the evenings.  But it's just not the same.

So, I am glad he's home again and hopefully he won't have to travel again for another year!

 

Stack of Books

I've got a stack of books that I'd love to read this summer.  I think perhaps I've set myself up to fail because I can't remember the last time I read 8-10 books in 3 months.... So maybe I'll extend that timeframe out a little into the new school year and get some reading done while I wait on soccer games to start.....

So here's my really eclectic list of books I'm planning on finishing in the next 4-6 months.....

• The Fitting Room: Putting on the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter.  I am reading this over the summer and meeting with 3 friends at the park each week while we go over what we've read, answer the questions in the back of the book, and challenge each other to live out what we've learned.
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Pearce.  I'm reading this with another friend.  We meet every other week to talk about what we've read and to talk about the struggles we might be having that week and apply what God says about wives to our marriages.
• The Truth About Islam by Anees Zaka & Diane Coleman.  The kids and I are going to be studying world religions this year, so I want to read up on Islam and contrast it with Christianity so hopefully this book will be helpful in that way.  
• World Religions & Cults 101 by Bruce Bickel & Stan Jantz.  This will also be a big help in our study of world religions this coming year.  I strongly believe that Christians need to know about other religions so that we can share our faith in a more effective way.
• Authentic Spiritual Mentoring by Larry Kreider.  I am a third of the way through this book and it's been good so far.  My goal is to finish the entire book this summer and possibly even review the beginning part...
• The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance by Heidi St. John.... This one is pretty self explanatory.....
• Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.  This book has been recommended by a few of my friends.  The back of the book says that it will "challenge you to consider what it really means to call yourself a Christian."
• Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches by Russell D. Moore. I have a feeling I'll blog more about that book while I'm reading it.
• The Ambition by Lee Strobel.  I had to throw a "just for fun" book in there somewhere!
• The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles by Carol Barnier.  At some point we will be homeschooling "the boy".  Until that day comes, I want to learn all I can on how he can best learn and I think this book will be a BIG help in that area.

I'll post an update when summer is ending so we all can see how many books I actually read and what I thought of them!