Ten years from now, I might forget the day-to-day Crazy involved in raising 4 kids and keeping house. So little of it is tangible: You fold laundry, and one day later it is dirty again ("where is the evidence of my work???"). You make meals, and nourish your family, but growing bodies- as gorgeous as they are- don't provide obvious evidence of that French Onion soup you spent all day making. So much of it is good, good, rewarding work. Other tasks aren't, yet they need doing anyway.

Today, I just feel like writing it down so I can remind myself of why this season of life passed quickly. It'll likely be a boring post for the rest of you, but I have a feeling I'll enjoy looking back on the snapshot of an average day.

We always talk about birthdays, vacations, promotions, pregnancies, and church productions.

We snap pictures of anniversary dates, opening Christmas presents, and the day our child rides a bike for the first time without training wheels.

But, the average day- with its average qualities- may be the most missed of all with the passage of time.

My friend Jess, who is also a photographer, said that some of her photography friends take on a challenge one time per year to keep the camera out and photograph an average week: eating breakfast, tying shoes, grocery shopping, doing homework, going to church, having family dinner etc. I thought this was a brilliant idea! I still haven't done it; average life seems to have gotten in the way... but it's on my to-do list.

Without further ado, My Day So Far:
- alarm at 5:45am
-wake Grant at 6, and then again at 6:10 :-)
-make school lunches (sandwiches, popcorn, cut carrots, hard boiled egg)
- make coffee for my sweetie and me
- quiz Grant in preparation for a History test on Constitution, Bill of Rights and Amendments
- 7am: kiss Grant and Eric and send them off to school/work
-7am: wake Lael, Dean, and Dorothy
- spend some time nagging so Lael and Dean complete their morning routines
-dress Dorothy
-change out of robe and into workout clothes
-run elementary kids to the bus via van due to frigid snowy morning
- turn on 30 Day Shred video, excercise, and think about how annoying Jillian is, but how this whole thing works so I'll just keep plugging along
-congratulate myself on losing 5 pounds since Christmas
-9am: hop in shower
-throw on clothes
-run Dorothy to pre-school (late! started at 9, we made it at 9:20!)
-Errand time!:
-Insurance office regarding possible new policy
-Hobby Lobby for craft supplies for kids gifts, and a few proactive purchases (craft kits for my kids for the next snow day!)
-Bank for cash, and money orders for Dorothy's OCI card application
-Costco for groceries (Q: where else does a family of 6 shop for cereal?!)(A: no where, silly! Even the huge Costco boxes are gone in the blink of an eye!)
-Whole Foods for things we don't need in insane quantities
-Home to unload groceries (12:15pm)
- play with Sandy (I think I forgot to post that we got a dog...ooops!)
-eat lunch slowly at home in solitude over a good book
-hop in the car to pick up Dorothy (2pm)
- greet Grant (home off the bus) (2:40)
-greet Dean and Lael (3:30)
- survey the damage of them unloading backpacks
-ignore the mess to write this blog post (4:15pm)

To come:
-pick up
-cook dinner items for church small group
- open the door at 6:30pm and enjoy laughter, prayers, and fellowship with dear friends
-whatever else the day holds

What does your average day look like? And, are you cherishing even the mundane moments?

I want to.

Filling the Void,

A month or two back, while on the phone with my friend, Heather, I realized that I wasn't giving many updates on the blog, here, about normal day-to-day life. What have we been doing? I figured everyone wants the big adoption related stuff to be posted, so I write about that. Then, it seems, I don't have much time to post anything else.

But, I've been filling the void. I don't really mean the dramatic, emotional type of void like, "there's a void in my heart because Dorothy isn't home yet". Though, I suppose there are days when that is fitting. No, I more mean, an actual physical void. On my wall.

We have 22ft. ceilings in the living room. One of the projects since we've lived here has been to Put Something On the Wall. And while some may find that type of large space freeing, I just felt intimidated and frustrated. Truly, if money were no object, I'd fill it with large scale, breathtaking art that inspires, and uplifts and changes your life. Grand art. Amazing art. Okay.... you get the picture.

So, instead, I came up with this:

The picture is horrible. I took a quick snap and resisted the urge to "stage" the room for a better picture. The reality is, my boys were playing a video game and there was likely a huge pile of to-be-folded laundry on the couch.

What you are seeing is three IKEA shelves, stacked, with some great silver IKEA platters hung on the wall, some candle holders, and books. Totally budget-friendly, and slightly unexpected. The shelves are about 45 inches wide and spaced about 19 inches apart. So, it takes up a good portion of wall, yet, goes so nicely with the curtain fabric and the mellow griege wall color.

I love asymmetrical arrangements, but it is still *balanced*. The peony flowers are in these great green glass compote containers I found at the thrift store for about $2 each.

And the candle holders in turquoise were previously brass/ gold that I spray painted to match the pops of color I have in our house. Again, thrift store. I think they were about $2- $3 each. The books were from our collection. I just looked specifically for the bindings that were in shades of white, blue, and green, removed the dust jackets, and arranged them until it looked right to my eye.

So, there you have it- one of the projects I've worked on these last few months! Soon I'll showcase a few others.

[Wall] void filled!

NEW PICTURES!!!!

Still no smile. We'll fix that soon, I hope. Doesn't her hair look so much thicker? And she looks slimmer, and taller, and like a big kid. Her eyes, as always, are unavoidable. *Sigh* I know I'll just look into them for hours if she'll let me. And, purple!- so cute in purple!!!!

About the previous posts:

1. roof. We will be getting a new roof! Praise GOD for breaks in life. After van repairs, dishwasher repairs, medical bills, a broken dryer (all in the past few months!)... this is a very welcome outcome!

2. travel to the U.K. Thank you, all, for your hopefulness and encouragement and suggestions. We have stopped pursuing this as an option. I did think of the "meet in the airport" option. However, remember the higher fee for extending time in England (making it a multi-destination trip)? Apparently, that applies to changing the layover time, also. I messed around online with itineraries, and each time I changed the departure from England to allow more time at the airport (6 hours vs. 2 hours, for instance) the fees would change. In essence, we'd be paying the $500-$600 extra per ticket to stay for lunch and to hug my family. That's an expensive lunch! Additionally, "hoping for the best" while in India doesn't work, either, because if the visa processing were to take too long, we might have trouble getting her passport back (not to mention that we would have had to buy tickets before ever setting foot in India). We consider this a closed door and are moving on. I'm just praying for miraculous ability to see them a few months after Dorothy being home. That might mean me flying to England alone with Dorothy- we'll see.

Roof, Roof!

Okay, this has nothing to do with a dog- it actually has to do with a a real roof.

Here in Middle Tennessee, tornadoes and large hail and strong winds happen. Almost every year. Some are worse than others. During a particular storm in 2008, I saw the largest hail I'd ever seen- it was about the size of nickels to quarters!

Well, this can "bruise" the roof and cause it wear terribly, crack, and break, aging it well ahead of it's normal end date. On our cul-de-sac, almost everyone was having their insurance company replace their roofs due to storm damage.

We called our insurance company, and they denied the claim. Having had about 4-5 roofing companies come out with estimates, we got lots of opinions to the contrary. But, with a roof over our head that wasn't leaking (yet) we didn't feel ready to shell out of pocket for a new roof ourselves. I was bitter, and frustrated every time I heard the pounding and hammering going on around us- it felt like everyone was getting new roofs except us! [pout] "I want a new roof!"

This spring, there was another storm and we soon found that a leak was coming in through our dining room. Turns out, in April there was another sizable storm with severe wind that has disturbed countless homes in the area. We had a handyman patch the issue temporarily, and he recommended we place a claim with insurance.

Having dealt with them the previous year, and be shot down, I didn't feel like wasting my time on it immediately. Yeah, yeah, I'll get around to it. But then I didn't. See, the leak wasn't coming in anymore and I got busy.

This week, I finally had a roofing company come out (not just a handyman) and they were insistent that a new roof was necessary and they "couldn't believe" an insurance company would disagree. All cynical like, I said "we'll see" and told him I'd follow up with him after a call to insurance. Which I placed yesterday.

So, today, the adjuster called me back and gave me a list of roofers they work well with and said we could deal directly with them without an adjustor's appraisal (because they trust these roofers and would rather not waste their time, I guess). He was very matter-of-fact and much less difficult than whomever I spoke with last year. He didn't use "if" language, and used more of the "when you get your roof" language. This was all very encouraging to me and I am cautious but hopeful.

So, while this is itty bitty in the realm of What Is Important In Life, I would appreciate prayers for favor and happy well-wishes sent our way when the roofing guy comes this afternoon. A new roof, out-of-pocket would cost 6-10 thousand dollars. However, if it is covered, we only owe a $500 deductible. Not to mention house value and peace of mind.

Say it with me, "Roof! Roof!"

Happy Independence Day to all Americans!!!

We're painting the playroom/school room today, going to a wonderful neighborhood party later, and enjoying the temperate weather. A nice relaxing family day. Ahhhh....

Earlier in the week, I got together with a dear friend, the kids played, and then, while we were making a July 4th craft, I read a book to them about the history of Independence Day and the birth of our country.

I love this book, and we've started to read it every year around the Fourth of July. That's for kids- but I also highly recommend the HBO series, John Adams, for adults, to bolster your historical knowledge of the birth of our country.

Eric and I borrowed the DVDs from Netflix about a month ago and watched the mini-series an hour at a time. Each episode that ended, I wanted to keep going but with 6 hours, it would have been impractical to accomplish it all in a single sitting. It's very well done, and I think that there are plenty of segments that are appropriate for kids as education snippets if you're willing to do some creative editing. When we cover US history, I know we'll get it again to make the subject matter come to life. Anyway, I recommend it!

Have a safe and splendid Independence Day!- 233 years since the first one! Amazing, huh? I'm going to go call my dad and rub it in. Hee. Hee.

(for those of you who don't know, my dad's family is English, though I am American)

Room re-do

Yes, yes, I know... I still haven't gotten back to our trip pics from California or anything else that's really happened in the past month (it's a lot, and I might never back track enough to really catch up).

Let me distract you with the super cute sheets I just bought for the girls' room. We're mid-process on a great room re-do with bunk beds, and new paint and... pretty much everything. Gotta make the space work for two princesses instead of just one!

Edited to add: For all that asked, the sheets are on sale at Target right now.

Just to remind myself....

Having three children is amazing.  Somehow, I'm always busy and yet I feel like I have nothing to show for it.  At the end of the day, feeling slightly defeated with what I wanted to accomplish (foolishly, I assume) and did not.  Here is a list of what I *did* do... I want it to count!!!

-breakfast for the kids

-Bible study during breakfast

-clean up breakfast

-unload dishwasher, reload with more dishes

-colored my own hair (about 1 hour start to finish)

- Read Aloud school work with the kids

-art with the kids

-make lunch (re-warm chicken soup I made for last nights dinner and plate with bread and veggies)

-clean up lunch mess

-Post Office to mail an artwork order

-Costco for groceries, and cross my fingers that $220 worth of food lasts a week (gosh these kids eat a lot!)

-run to dry cleaners with cocktail dress I will use soon while in New York during for our dinner at the Modern

-unload groceries while a neighbor watches Lael play in the cul-de-sac with her kids  (thank you, Kathryn!)

-run the sprinkler on all our new grass seed

-finish school work with the kids: Language Arts, Math, handwriting, reading with Dean

-make dinner

-put away laundry

-eat dinner

-clean up dinner

-get kids ready for bed

Mothers, let me encourage you that your jobs are necessary, and valuable, and while there may not seem to be anything tangible that you've done, you have fed into your children.  You have blessed the next generation.  You've, on the most basic of days, kept another human (or 2 or three!)  alive and healthy.  That, THAT, is amazing!

Bits

If you've been around LifeTrain awhile, you're familiar with my "Bits" posts.  

The name comes from what I've commonly heard my sweet English grandma call meals that are a table spread of pick-what-you-like.  Usually a sampling of cold items, a buffet, that can survive not being eaten on time: salad, fruit cocktails, chilled smoked salmon open sandwiches etc.  She usually has Bits for us when we arrive off the airplane because we'll be hungry, but can't be guaranteed to arrive on time after a 12 hour journey.

For my blog, it usually means that I'll post a bit of this, and a bit of that.  And it also usually means that it has been waaaay too long since I've posted and there is a whole heap to catch everyone up on!  :-)

- I *just* bought fall/winter clothes for the kids.  School around here starts in mid-August, so all of the fall/winter clothes are out then for Back to School (everyone always wants new clothes for the first day of school!).  But, August is usually our hottest month and you really don't need to wear wool sweaters and mittens during August in Nashville.  September sometimes holds a few brisk days and October usually is a gamble.  But, if you can wait this long, so much has been marked down it's crazy!  This year, though, we haven't had a single "cold" day yet.  In fact, our neighborhood is the hub-bub of activity in the evening like it always is with kids playing in the cul-de-sac and adults visiting with each other... we have to remind ourselves that its mid-October (yesterday's high was in the 80s, I think).  So, we've really lucked out this year.  Anyway, since we're homeschooling right now Back to School clothing was a non-issue.  But I think we've done this the past two years, as well, and just bought a new outfit or two of the on-sale summer stuff for Grant to wear during the first week of school when it's hot then did fall/winter shopping later.  Now, like I said, this year has been warm, but there was a year when I waited a bit too long and we had a sudden cold snap and I had to wrap the kids in a blanket to stay warm on the way to the store to buy warmer clothes.  Oops!  The flip side is $2.97 shirts at GAP... can't beat that!

- My brother finally set a wedding date, so we know that we'll be going to Southern California in March.  When he first announced his engagement about a year ago, I thought we'd be bringing our daughter with us on this trip to introduce to all of our West Coast family.  As time went on, and he hadn't picked a date and we hadn't received a referral, I got nervous that he'd be married right as we might be traveling to Taiwan.  Thankfully, *that* won't be happening.  Sadly, *that* won't be happening. 

- I have not stopped putting Newman's Own Lime salad dressing on my salad since I bought the bottle about a week ago.  I had two neighbors over for dinner last Monday who enjoyed it with me, but other than that, the bottle is nearly gone and I've had salad nearly every day!  Sooo good!  On a side note, now that all of these articles are coming out to remember the life of Paul Newman, I can TOTALLY see why my mom adored him... he was really cute during her young years!  Besides that, he has an amazing body of work in film and I think Eric and I are going to watch a few of his better known movies when we have time and when Netflix sends them.

-Time.  Yes.  Eric has had hardly any time at home recently.  He has been working on the project of his career thus far- a huge, expensive, consuming project.  Not only that, another big project has come on it's heels.  He's tired.  I'm tired.  I am so proud of him though and so thankful that I have this amazing man.  You really can tell what a team we are used to being because I completely SUCK without him here.  The house is falling apart, my kids are behaving less sweetly, my mind is frazzled, and I just plain ol' MISS HIM.  November holds promise as a month when he'll finally see some relief.  Pray for him.

- We have about 30 kids on this tiny street of ours.  So, already, quite a blessing.  I just met some neighbors down the street who are a bit outside our normal play zone (so we hadn't met even though they've been in our subdivision a year) who have three domestically adopted kids.  Then, this past week, a new family moved in two houses down from us.  They have 4 kids, and the two youngest were adopted from China.  The girls are very close to Lael's age, and they hit it off immediately.  I love that our family is situated in a place where other races and adoption are commonplace!

- Dean is reading short vowel words!  I'm so proud of him.

- Ever since discovering the hair blog I wrote about, I've been making an extra effort on Lael's hair and am actually getting compliments.  If the compliments are within her earshot, she'll give you a pretty pose.  She is sooooo girly.  Lately, she's been walking around with a plastic/pretend make-up compact that came with some Princess dress-up set of hers.  Armed with an old make-up brush of mine, she goes around giving everyone painted faces.  At least 4 times a day, I stay still so that she can, very carefully, do my eyes, lips, and cheeks.  It's all pretend, so I'm fine.  Well, a few weeks ago, she was babysat while we went to Life Group.  One of the other kids (7 years old) at the babysitting house gave her a REAL makeover!  Oh My Goodness.  Aqua eyeshadow, bright blush, and pink lips.  Kind of scary, but Lael had such fun!  We do have talks, since I see her tendency to love clothes and make-up, about how she is ALWAYS beautiful and that it doesn't matter what make-up or dresses she has on.  In fact, I've told her, too much make-up is NOT pretty and you don't need that much.  So, as she's watching me in the morning pt a bit of make-up on, I often get lectured that "too much make-up is not good".  One time, when she thought I'd been at the mirror applying too much, she actually swiped the brush from my hand!  There are days I leave the house without anything on at all, so I know she was overreacting.  :-)

- I'm going to New York at the end of the month!  Oh My Goodness- SO EXCITED!  Three of my high school girlfriends and I are having a girl's weekend!  I've never done such a thing before and have declined their previous invites because I was pregnant, or nursing, or we had already spent too much on travel that year  for me to go on such a splurgy trip (the downside to having family every where!).  BUT, it all lined up this time and so Kim and I will be flying to meet Candie and Jen in NYC for 4 days.  We've bought New York Passes to enjoy some tourist-y stuff, and have reservations at two amazing restaurants, but does it really matter *what* you do when you're with good friends, in a cool city, without kids?!  I think not!

- I'm currently reading "Are Those Kids Yours?", which was recommended to me by my adoption agency.  So, far, though, I haven't hit any information I didn't obtain elsewhere.  I've done the With Eyes Wide Open online course (which I would love for all our friends and family to take- I think it is the easiest, most concise format for anyone), read "Toddler Adoption: the Weaver's Craft", and "the Broken Cord" (a story of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in adoption).  For the adoptive parents out there, what was your most insightful book/resource?

- I've been thinking about Christmas lately and the economy, and poverty.  I don't have the answers, but I have this desire to do more than clutter our house up with stuff we don't need- especially toys.  I feel conflicted most years about excess (and I don't think we do a TON), but this year especially.  I'd love to see the hearts of my kids so passionate about serving others that they volunteer to forgo gifts so they can give to others.  Is that a pipe dream?  Do we just say that is what we're doing and do it?  The Samaritan's Purse catalog came yesterday and further drove home the needs in the world.  We've done the Operation Christmas Child in years' past, but have never ordered from their catalog.  Have any of you done something "radical" in your family to celebrate Christmas?

- We're having our lawn (lack of lawn, *ahem*) aerated and seeded on Monday.  Hopefully this will end the weed/bare patch misery that we inherited when we bought this house.  I must be diligent to water every day until then so that the machine can pull good "plugs" for the lawn guys.  Then I must be diligent to water every day for 3 weeks to help the seeds germinate and the grass to root well.  So, dear God, I would love rain, for I am not so good at being diligent about watering and it will certainly impact our water bill this month.  Today is overcast- cross your fingers!

My walls are Happy!

Two new-ish paintings up in our home.  I love them!

This one is 16x24", acrylic on canvas.  My gumption was rewarded, here, friends.  Simon and Ruby marked me as a shop favorite on Etsy.  When I clicked on their shop, I fell in love with these abstract pieces and suggested that if she liked my art, and I liked hers we should trade!  And we did; isn't it fabulous?!

This piece is done by my dear friend, Amy.  It was given as a gift to me,  and I couldn't be happier with how it looks in our home.  While this photograph doesn't allow you to see the texture or the sheen in certain places, trust me that its charming, and perfect.  I have it hanging near my kitchen and only recently noticed that the pop of red pulls out the accents of another piece of art hanging nearby.  Serendipity.  Word has it that she'll be opening up an Etsy shop soon.  I'll certainly let you all know when she does!

With school back in session, I haven't devoted much time to art lately.  But, this week, I finished a piece I was commissioned to do for Rebecca.  Once she gets it in the mail, I will reveal it here; I just don't want to spoil the surprise.

Sorting clothes

Currently, I'm sorting through the ginormous mess that is Lael's closet.  I had some garbage bags with outgrown clothes in the bottom, waiting for her little sister.  About a month ago, she got into them during a dress-up-gone-wrong incident... dresses, panties, shorts, bloomers EVERYWHERE.  I threw it all back in the bottom of the closet until I had the motivation to properly sort them by size and season and box them up.  With Tape.  Tightly.

Today is the day.  I've been working on it for a few hours.  Maybe it would have gone faster if my sweet little "helper" wasn't pulling out clothes to try on.  To try on and plead with me that they aren't too small and that they "look good still".  

She's a funny one.  She has a hard time parting with the stuff that is recently outgrown, but quite easily is willing to donate her current wardrobe to her cousin, Olivia.  She also is often willing to stash away items (toys, clothes, shoes) for her sister.  

Anyway, right now *I'm* recipient of the cast offs.  My daughter, ahem... I mean fashion consultant, thinks it makes me look "bee-yoo-tiful"!

I just know all of you are going to race out and empty the stores of 12 month sun hats!

Day 3

Yesterday was the hardest day with the kids.  I didn't plan any activities, have any appointments, and we never ventured out into town.  But, I think that was a mistake.  Cramming a lot in the first two days was more work for me, but produced happier children.  With constant change of scenery, or things to play with, or things to do they never hit boredom.  Yesterday, I was feeling a bit worn down, so I decided not to go to the gym.  And it rained all the way until the early afternoon so we didn't go outside.  The result was more bickering, more whining, and lots of tattling.  Oh, and a tornado of mess to the kids' rooms and the playroom!  In the afternoon after school let out, Amy and her girls came over to visit.  Partly I was thinking of Chloe who we will be seeing less of now that her class is in session, and then the visit was partly for me who really appreciated the adult conversation with Amy.  Sadly, she witnessed all of the chaos and probably doesn't believe that the first two days were pretty good.  

Highlights:

• Mint tea with the girls in the early morning hours before anyone woke up while I read my Bible.  There's nothing quite like a 6:30am tea party!
  
• Breakfast: gf/cf cold cereal with Almond milk and banana
  
• Duke escapes (again) and is *thrilled* to be running at full speed.  I wonder if his tendency to escape has less to do with getting away and more to do with the ability to go full speed?
  
• Lunch: mish-mash! 1/4 gf/cf bagel, scrambled eggs, "sludge" drink (Bolthouse Green Goddess)(my kids love this stuff and think it's fun to call it sludge!), leftover roast potato, carrot sticks
  
• a bit of video game playing (caved again!)
  
• Dinner: split pea soup with ham and extra diced veggies, rice crackers with ghee
  
• movie night in the playroom with all the kids
  
• having Eric home on time and watching Project Runway with him when the kids were in bed (I am so happy that this completely creative show is back for another season!)
  

Today is the last day of my foray into being a mommy of 5.  Ethan and Olivia will be picked up by a very refreshed Mommy and Daddy before bed tonight.  (Whenever they'd get sad that their parents were gone, I would tell them that "Mommy and Daddy need alone time to celebrate their marriage and this makes them better mommies and daddies for you".  One of the times Olivia was on the phone with Angie, she said, "Are you a better mommy now?".  Too funny!)  

Day 2 and 15 months!!!

Yesterday was our second day with Ethan and Olivia.  We hit snags here and there when the children squabbled, or when someone didn't want to do things that I was instructing them to do (finish their meal, pick up, buckle seatbelts).  But, that stuff happens with my three kids (any kids, right?); having five children just means that the snags are louder and more emotionally driven.

Day 1 was a completely solo day- none of us saw Eric.  Thankfully, last night he joined us for dinner.  Poor guy is having a VERY busy work week.  I'm tired, too, but there is laughter and fun around here that is priceless.

Yesterday's run-down:

• Breakfast and Bible reading: gluten-free/casein-free french toast sticks, eggs, nectarines and apples eaten while listening to the story of Moses and Pharaoh and the plagues
  
• 6 month cleaning at the dentist for my children.  We bumped into friends we hadn't seen for months in the waiting room who will be homeschooling this year, too.  So good to see them and it will be nice to reconnect.  Everyone's teeth are healthy and everyone behaved.  I thought of rescheduling the appointment but there wasn't another one for MONTHS; I'm so glad I didn't remain fearful and Just Did It... it wasn't that bad!
  
• Went to the gym and worked out and showered.  This has been great because the kids have fun there, and I get a little break along with an uninterrupted shower.
  
• Lunch: leftover rice pasta with salmon, strawberries
  
• Rest time for everyone.  This day, I cuddled with Lael and dozed off for a bit.  Ethan and Grant continued with their reading of Calvin and Hobbes books while Olivia and Lael continued with their frequent questioning, "Is rest time over YE-ET?!"  Once again, Dean was the only one to fall asleep.
  
• Playing outside in the cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids
  
• laundry (I feel like a super star for getting 4 loads washed, hung to dry, folded and mostly put away.  Yay me!)
  
• Dinner: cf/gf/nitrate-free chicken sausage, roast potatoes, steamed green beans
  
• getting ready for bed and one show in the playroom (see?  I knew I'd cave!... but it was good motivation/reward for quick teeth-brushing and pjs)
  

Changing subjects- TODAY IS 15 MONTHS for us on our agency's wait list for our daughter!  Fifteen months closer to her!

Day 1

Day one of the 4 day/4 night time with our niece and nephew (and their dog) while their parents celebrate their 15 year anniversary.  

I think it's going well, but I find myself raising my voice more than I'd like just to get above the hum and buzz of 5 children.  The kids are doing really well.  The challenges so far are Olivia's special needs diet (gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free and a few other things), the fact that Eric is hardly home this week due to a big project at work, and the tendency for the dog to attempt escape.  Duke is the sweetest, most lovely dog around apart from this frustrating habit.  Oh, and I'm on my period (too much information, I know, but it is a factor).  Thankfully, Eric should be here Saturday to help, and Angie was amazingly sweet and brought two HUGE sacks of most of the special needs diet stuff I'd need for Olivia so that I wouldn't have to worry about having particulars on hand.  It's not *that* hard to worry about, I just need a little re-training.  Now I kind of know how everyone worried about feeding me all those years I was vegetarian (19, for those who didn't know me then). 

Anyway, lest I forget where the day disappeared to, here is what we did:

• nurse a bloody lip (how did that happen before breakfast?!)
  
• breakfast and Bible reading: eggs, gluten-free porridge with blueberries and real maple syrup while listening about Noah and the Ark
  
• video chat on iChat with Grandma
• get 5 kids ready and out the door
  
• exercise and shower at the gym
  
• 5 kids on a quick-as-can-be trip through Costco (ended up taking an hour)
  
• make lunch: bacon, carrots, zucchini, rice cakes with peanut butter
  
• 1 hour rest time for all in separate areas of the house (30 minutes to get all settled!).  I snuggle with Dean and fall asleep for about 20 minutes myself.  I love snuggles with Dean!
  
• dog escapes, neighbor retrieves him and she and I visit for about 15 minutes
  
• 1 hour trip to local park
  
• playing and dinner prep: rice pasta with ghee and salmon, steamed broccoli, rice dream for dessert
  
• sharing our favorite parts of the day around the table as we eat our ice cream
• baths for all 5 kids and one very smelly dog (how is it that he still kinda smells?- you can tell we're not pet-trained!)
  
• clean up all toys and get ready for bed
• make up silly story about "Suzy" (with black, pink and purple hair), the girl with a beach house who gets stranded on an island and helps herself, Goldilocks-style, to the amenities found in tents owned by a family of deer
• kisses and prayers and tuck-ins and extra blankets

Reflections: "I can do this.  It just takes organization, and routine.  It's also really hard.  But, I think it is harder because all the kids aren't mine: they are laughing and being silly and, at times, crazy because they are enjoying their cousins!  The novelty of this arrangement makes them a bit harder to reign in.  I do honestly think, that if all 5 were under my care continually, that we'd have less chaos.  Hopefully that's true because we're adding our 4th sometime next year!  For those of you with more kids than me, if that's not true- just let me live in my own little reality bubble for now.  :-)  Mostly, I think this is awesome, that I'm finally involved regularly in the lives of my niece and nephew.  I'm so glad they moved here."

A Little Experiment

I am going to go without our microwave for a week.  I've always held that it just can't be right- heating food up that way.  When I had Grant 8 years ago and was a new nursing mom and every piece of new-mommy literature cautioned against heating up breast milk in the microwave it really stuck with me.  The reasons were 1. that the uneven heating might create "hot spots" in the milk and burn baby and 2. that the microwave breaks down vital nutrients in the milk.  The same must be true of other foods, I reasoned.

But I don't cook in the microwave, and only re-heat things so I figured my exposure was minimal and never really did much about it.

So, this week, my sister-in-law moved into her rental and there is no microwave.  We talked about how bad they potentially are and she said that she hadn't been using hers for 6 months anyway in an effort to be healthier.  That was all I needed to give it a go- someone telling me I wasn't overreacting or being "crazy".

Yesterday was my first day.  I put a sign on the microwave that says simply "no." so that as I reach for it, I'll be aware and stop myself.  The times I reached for it were when my coffee had gone cold, and when I wanted to re-heat some of the black bean stew I made the night before for that day's lunch.  Easy Peasy on the stove top for both things.  Since I was re-heating little amounts, I found that I wanted my tiny saucepan a lot.  This is will be a vital kitchen tool, I can see.  Just so that is always clean and ready for use, I handwash it as soon as I'm done warming something up.  Again, easy peasy... this really isn't such a big deal.

What do you mostly use your microwave for?  I NEVER "cook" a meal for the first time in it.  I even prefer to do the jacket potatoes in the oven- they just taste better.  And, we use an air popper for popcorn.  I really only use the microwave for re-heating food/drink and melting butter.

I dare say I think this transition will be painless.

Never say never!

"I could *never* do that!"

"I'd never even consider that!"

I have a feeling that as soon as you utter such words, God sees an opportunity to challenge your thinking, making Him the God of the possible and the source of our strength.

When Grant was in Kindergarten and 1st Grade, I partially homeschooled him.  We partnered up with our church's homeschool academy and he spent half the week at home with me, and half in class at New Song.  At the time, I said, something like, "I could never totally homeschool".

Do you see where this is going?  :-)

Grant spent this whole past year in public school and over the last few months, we have realized that we are being challenged to walk a new road.  From so many angles, it has been confirmed that Grant and Dean should both be totally homeschooled this coming school year.  So that's what we're doing.  Grant for 3rd grade, and Dean for Kindergarten.

I'm really excited.  I know that it is going to require that I think a totally new way about managing our household.  Furniture is being arranged to accommodate a better school work area. And, I've been praying for some big things to happen in the lives of our children because of this.  Learning together.  Being together.  Growing together.

I am purging some books on the bookshelf to make way for the new stuff that will be arriving soon.  We're doing Sonlight curriculum and I think it will be a great match for our family.

So much potential

.and quite a steal.

This weekend, we bought a China Cabinet from a family that listed on craigslist.  The piece is slightly worn in a few areas but has amazing bones.  It looks modern, yet old.  Simple, but with some great details that keep the eye interested.  Like the turned legs on the bottom.  And the circular notches to slide the doors, and the unusual pulls.  I'm giddy over what a find this is!  And at $180, I couldn't buy the cheapest MDF piece at Walmart for that!  Seriously!  I am still undecided about paint color, and the wood tone is nice for now, which is good because we can enjoy the piece without feeling pressured to "make it look better" right away (painting walls, and sewing curtains comes WAY before this).  I see the backs of the cubbies lined with fabric, or wallpaper, or a contrasting paint color.  And, who can argue that the storage in this furniture is worth the purchase alone!  Hooray for form and function.

.

Hot Shower here I come!

We are the proud owners of a new hot water heater that we got for a $55 deductible (the purchase of our 10 year old house came with a home warranty good for 1 year after the sale) .  Great, no?

Now, everyone join me in hoping that our air conditioning/ heating units kick the bucket before the warranty expires in February!

Post yanked

Some of you on Monday may have seen my post.  A very frazzled Me wrote of our woes with the floor delivery.  Yes, part of the delivery was damaged by the freight company, and, yes, we've been discouraged by some of the planks having some flaws.  But, after Eric and I were unified in our acceptance of what had happened and had decided on how to proceed, I looked at what I wrote and figured it needed to be yanked.  No need to be whiny or to complain.  The floors are being installed, some of it "is what it is", and some of it "is what Tisra was overly tired and nit-picky concerning" (it is always helpful to have Eric come home and put some things into perspective),  and we are thankful that our home will be in order again shortly.  There.  Enough said.  Can't wait to move the furniture back in, and show off our house!  :-)  The floors are beautiful!

the BIG PROJECT begins

The wood planks are being delivered tomorrow, the floor crew is tearing out the tile tomorrow, and we should have fully finished hardwood floors by Thursday at the latest.  Really, it should be Wednesday.  For now, things are a mess- but an end is in sight!  The powder room sink and toilet will have been removed (as I type, the toilet still needs to be unmounted), the fridge, the oven, the washer and dryer, and maybe the dishwasher (we're still uncertain if the wood will be installed *under* the dishwasher) and- um, yeah- all the downstairs furniture is either in our master bedroom or in the garage...full chaos around here! And did I mention how tired we are?!  I suppose it doesn't help that The. Biggest. Week. for Eric's workyear is this week- the User's Conference they host annually for their clients.  Argh.  The timing of it all!  And the deadline- Eric's parents arrive on Saturday, so this all has to be ship shape before then.  Hee.  :-)  Well, at least they'll see it in a much more "finished" state- they haven't been to Nashville since we bought in this neighborhood.

Since we moved in, the floors have been the BIG THING.  It has driven us crazy for nearly 9 months (have we been here that long?!)- especially since we thought it would be one of the *first* fixes.  However, it took us all this time to arrive on a budget and a decision on flooring.

What a weight off it will be to have them installed, and the icky tile gone.  It will feel more like *home*.  Sure, there are other projects we want to tackle- but probably none that anyone else would give a second thought to (curtains, yardwork, custom paint colors...).  There will be nothing left that is "imperfect" or falling apart- it will finally be just down to normal personalizing and decorating of the house.  It will feel less like one big project, and more like Home.

Praise God for that!

Look, I have grey hair!

I'm still sanding!