Dinner Time

Tonight at dinner the Princess shared something she had learned at school. (a little background before you think I feed my kids only junk......we had a huge lunch after church so no one was really hungry for dinner but I knew we all needed something in our bellies or we would be rising at 2AM with grumbling tummies) So as we are fine dining on chicken nuggets, fruit, asparagus and cheese puffs...Princess proudly holds up a cheese puff that is extra long that is shaped like an "S". She says "Look I have an extra long puff and it is shaped like an S" We all admire and are a bit shocked thinking - how did that happen. A few minutes later she giggles and says the same thing again, proudly displaying yet another one. Well apparently dear ol' Mom and Dad are not paying attention. I said "What are you doing to make that happen?" Lots of giggles and she explains what she has done "Nibble off the end....lick it........nibble off the end of another one......lick it......then stick them together......like this" Proudly displaying yet again another "S". Dear daughter of mine, where did you learn this? Grinning from ear to ear she says "At school from M" (a little boy in her class who I will be nice to his parents and not put his name out there for the world to see) Oh the joys of the lunchroom :-) Sorry I didn't take any pictures, fingers were too cheesy to hold the camera.....not that I was making any 'S's" of my own.

Take the Time.........Please

So here's the deal, I wonder if anyone other than the few folks that leave comments (THANK YOU) ever read this blog. Awhile back I added a little widget thing to let me know where 'readers' are from so I know this is read occasionally. I have been amazed at where people have 'come from'. Canada, Moscow, England and of course the good 'ol USA. Regulars from:

Lots of cities in Oklahoma-Norman, OKC, Tulsa, Jenks

several from Texas-Arlington, Plano, Wylie, Dallas

Herndon and Reston, Va

Mobile, Al ;-)

Washington

Oregon

I laugh at some of the hits from g00gle, makes me also have to think about the words I type.

I know who a few of you are-but clueless to others. Would you mind taking the time to comment and let me know why you read-are you another adoptive parent, mom of a RAD kidddo, find our life fascinating ;-), our chaos makes your life seem normal, you are sweet family and like to keep up with us? Just curious, guess you get to keep reading even if you don't comment-but it sure would help with my curiosity. Thanks for reading!

One Night at a Hotel

Man oh man, one night at a hotel offers A LOT of blog material! I am used to traveling and checking in a hotel with four kiddos by myself, because of our summer travels to visit our Alabama friends often include Dad flying to join us for just some of the time, with summer being his busiest season of work. So the strange looks of having four children lined up following me, all totong their belongings into the lobby while I check in I am used to :-) One man was in the check in line in front of us (while his wife and two kids were hanging out in the lobby). Apparently, this man wanted to make friends with the lady behind the counter and share his life story and where they had been, why they had come, etc. When the gal behind the counter showed no interest, he decided to strike up a conversation with me. Sorry buddy, I am friendly, but not stupid. I will not tell you were I am from, where my husband is, my name, why I am here or for how long.......you are what is called a 'stranger' I will be pleasant but you will not get details, while I am staying out of town with my kids alone. Waiting behind you for 10 minutes is entirely to long when I have to pee and have a little girl doing 'the dance' beside me-quit talking, get your keys and move it! When it was finally our turn and we got our keys, I thought 'relief' is on the way- let's get to our room. On the 8th floor, all the way at the end of the hall-kids were thrilled with the elevator time and the long walk (mom not so much). However, I was pretty thrilled with the idea that the end of the hall meant less foot traffic come bed time. Little did I know that our only neighbors had at least two screaming children. Not just an occasional scream, more like the whole time they were in the room, along with either bouncing off the walls or kicking it constantly especially when my children are trying to go to sleep! However the 'best' of the hotel experience was the next morning as we were headed down to the pool. The lights flickered and then went out, elevators stop-thankfully we were waiting on one and not in one. We choose to take the stairs, only their stairs were only fire stairs-meaning all the doors to the floors were locked, you could only exit outside at the back of the building. We exited a bit dizzy from the round and round of 8 flights, which were really 16 I think, we froze as we walked to the front of the building in our swim suits to get in. By this time I guess the whole hotel had lost power, meaning all the fountains and water flowing down the slides were not happening. So much for a 'water park'. The kids swam in the pool and had a good time anyway, just for a shorter amount of time. All dried off, ready to head up the room...........how to get there.......can't take the stairs because the door to the 8th floor is locked.......a nice maintenance man said he would take us to use the freight elevator (apparently the only thing running on a generator). So several dark hallways and many 'behind the scenes' looks at a hotel later we made it to our room. Told all the kids to take a turn in the shower to get rid of the chlorine residue and there is NO HOT WATER, not even warm, only ICE COLD. Guess they have electric hot water tanks-no showers for us (such a luxury we take for granted). We gathered all our belongings and made the round and round trip back down the stairs. Stood in line to check out, only to be told we couldn't. Excuse me, I understand you don't have your little computers up and running but I am leaving, I don't want you to run my debit card I have cash I would like to give you. One could have thought I was asking them to move mountains, amazing how I had to convince her to take my $. I am sure she would have happily charged me for a late check out and another night when her computers came back up, though.

Besides the hotel craziness, we had a great time and saw some special people who don't get to see as often as we would like. I didn't take my camera, I know hard to believe, I just wanted to enjoy the moment. So I don't have any 'good' pictures only some on my phone. We were able to see one of my bestest friends whom I have known since 8th grade and roomed with in college. She has four precious children, the youngest being twin boys who are 3. Eight kids -10, 8, 7, 7,6, 4,3 and 3 only two Mommmies makes for a busy dinner with not a whole lot of finished conversations but entertaining for sure. (Me and my buddy Gus)

We also had lunch with a beautiful Godly woman and Brother's precious God sister. It was fun watching him take 'ownership' of her and feeding and helping take care of her. He adores her and I wish they got to see each other more often.

Spring Break.......

*before reading the following, please know it was written after a LONG day-don't be judgmental please. Writing this for anyone who might be reading who has experienced a day like this-YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Wrote this Friday night and have waited to post it until today, making sure I wanted to share it*

Spring Break is suppose to be a great week, a break from school, filled with not having to be anywhere early(I would say sleeping in but my darlings have never learned that art), a week spent serving by building houses in Mexico (several years spent doing this-LOVED by all) and sometimes a vacation to somewhere-that's at least what it looks like in our house. Well, no vacation anywhere this year-building a house kind of takes precedent along with the funds, not ready to leave the country quite yet with all of us, so we stayed around home. We have hosted our almost 3 year old nephew from down south for a couple of days-spent a day at the zoo and a lot of time in the beautiful sunny outdoors. We also took a quick trip about 1.5 hours away to see some dear friends and enjoy a small indoor water park at a hotel (that we have been to before and the kids have been asking to go back, but this hotel experience deserves it's very own blog post for another day).

All of this fun, change in routine, along with a little guest has been too much for J. I was fully prepared mentally, anticipating some rough times, expecting some not so fun behavior, choosing my wardrobe appropriately for some 'pocket time'.........let's just say I have experienced all I had expected, anticpated and a whole lot more. J has been so dissregulated and everything I have done to try and help hasn't had a whole lot of effect if any, or so I feel. It has truly seemed like she is in a 'spot' and is unable to budge or move out of it. Makes me sad, frustrated, angry........she comes from a tough place, has dealt with more in her short life than I ever have or will probably have to deal with and my heart breaks for her.....by the end of the day the 'yuck' had effected us all.

Sharing some of what this 'yuck'- it's tough to do. (Makes me wonder how you will view my children, our family. But if just one other parent reads this and gets the feeling that they are not alone, it is worth it all.) What this yuck looks like in our world is a little girl who works really hard at being annoying to her siblings, seeking everyone's attention at any cost, excessive talking-especially in the car, and playing 'dumb games' just to give you a glimpse (how to buckle, where is the fridge, how to get dressed-all things that she is fully capable of doing). All these were in full force Friday, I will spare you the details.

J's day needed to be done and she went to bed early Fri evening. After tucking her in, Princess greeted me with a hug and this statement "Sorry Mom that you have to deal with this (referring to some pretty ugly behavior)........after taking us somewhere special........thanks for taking us...........you now have all our laundry to do, too...........you could teach me and I would do it for you" LOVE this girl and my heart breaks for her, too. Not only does she have to watch/listen to her sister's behavior she watches her Mom struggle thru it. We were able to talk a bit tonight about the need to remember that J comes from a tough place and what she has had to overcome and there are times like this week that are just too much for her and she is not yet able to verbalize all her feelings, therefor they come out in her behavior. Our 3 biological children 'get' that, i really think they do, but they are children and easily forget it in the midst of dealing with the behavior (just like I do at times).

Praying that the Lord continue to lead us down this path He has chosen for us, for Him to continue to pave the road, to give us all the skills needed to be the best parent for each one of our kiddos. I am at peace knowing that all 4 of our kids are growing into remarkable beings because of one another, however, there are some times like this His peace is hard to feel. His peace that surpasses all understanding..........it's just that, we can't understand it........I do long for it and know that in the morning the sun will rise and we will be given the gift of a new day.

Another Great Car Conversation

I think I live in my car somedays, especially with driving out to the house to check progress (or lack there of) everyday. This also means the kids are in the car a lot. I try to strike up some 'good' conversations so as to keep everyone sane and not from killing each other with all our togetherness. Not sure how this particular conversation was started but it went a bit like this......

Brother: You know how you can't get to all the planets..........you can't get to the other side of the universe even on a space rocket..........and you can't get to Heaven until you die...........I think maybe Heaven is on the other side of the universe.............what do you think?

Princess: Bubba, that is what you call a hypothesis............that's your hypothesis.

Brother: It's my what!?

Princess: I Sa-id (with a bit of a sassy attitude) that is your HY.POTH.ESIS!

(I am trying to drive down the road with my eyes filled with tears from laughing so hard at the whole conversation, that my 6 year old is the one using the 'big' words that come freely flowing from Big Sister's mouth all the time and Brother is yet again weaving his faith into his everyday thoughts)

Big Sister to Princess: Do you even know what that means? (said in a loving but shocked voice)

Me: Well, she used it in the right way, my guess is yes.

Princess: (proudly) YES, it is an educated guess..........how you think an experiment is going to turn out..........and everyone can have their own.........it's Bubba's guess about where Heaven is since we don't know

Brother: Well Mom what do you think about my hipoth........hipoth...... (giggles) whatever Ma said

Me: I think I have some very wise children!

New Look Thanks to a Friend!

A sweet, precious friend volunteered to spruce up my blog and I love it! What do you think? Be nice in your comments, 'cause she will be reading as well ;-) She even tried to teach me how to do some things to change it more often-not sure if I will remember how and with how sporadic I blog I bet you faithful readers are laughing out loud at the idea of me changing the 'look' very often. Now for a bit about this wonderful woman (because it's my blog and I can write about whomever I want, but I will keep her nameless unless she would like to claim her creativity) This beautiful woman, both inside and out, has an amazing spirit. She lives her life as a servant and it is pure joy to watch her serve her family. Her husband is in school and she is his biggest cheerleader and I admire all the support she gives him daily and how she talks about him to others. She is truly a Proverbs 31 Woman. She has only been in my life a 'short time' but I am very thankful for God bringing them here and sharing their family with us. If you live nearby I might even introduce her to you.

The new rooms

In the process of building our dream home.......one with space and multiple potties! I took these pics a week or so ago and am just getting around to posting. Lack of posts=time spent on the house, or parenting, or life, or maybe just laziness..........Anyhoo the kids wanted their pics taken in the their new room, so now you can use your imagination to put some walls on the frame and 'see' their room, too.

The view from the front door (note the puddles from the crazy rain that keeps coming).

Little girls admiring the view from Big Sister's room (she is missing from the pics because she was busy dancing at the studio)

The princess proudly 'standing on her bed' so she said.

Brother-smiling big-notice lack of eyes (they disappear when he grins big)

Does this picture really need a caption.......think the stance says it all!

Radar Ears?

Is it possible that a conversation had at school in the evening during parent/teacher conference can be heard by the child in discussion who is at home being read to by Grammy?!?!? Ugh! The Ghanaian Princess has had a great few weeks at school and her teacher was singing her praises about how well she is doing...............then there was today. It truly seems as though she knew what we had discussed and chose to see how wrong she could do it today.