Summer Madness

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will make 7 weeks of waiting! We are passing the days with great disorganization and a minimal amount of structure. I don't like that. Most people love summer and look forward to the lazy days where anything goes. Not me. I love structure-too much structure. I know, however, that my children need some sort of break, so we slow the pace in the summer and I try hard to pretend like I like it. This week looks to be especially unstructured as we have 3 doctor's appointments, the in-laws are coming, and of course, the customary July 4th festivities.
Today was doctor's appointment #1. We got Isaac's fracture re-checked and he's got the all clear to bike and scooter again. He was forbidden from performing any stunts for another 4 weeks.
I will be returning to the dermatologist on Thursday to have a suture removed from my cheek. I went in last week to have a little spot on my face looked at, and they decided to do a biopsy- we're hoping of course that it's nothing, but we'll find out this week.
However, the highlight of last week was not my surprise biopsy, but our road trip to see the African Children's Choir perform. Ryan and I had seen them years ago, in college, and I thought it would be fun for the kids to see them. So, Friday afternoon we loaded up and headed to Fayetteville. Everyone enjoyed the favorite Campbell road trip meal- Cracker Barrel. Then we attended the performance- which was wonderful. Let me tell you, those kids need to make an exercise DVD. Their dance moves would kick tail on any cardio workout I've purchased from Amazon! They were amazing! Fun was had by all!
We seem to have passed the inspection hurdle on selling our house. We think we've agreed on all of the necessary details, and the financing appears to be solid, so we are just praying for everything to go smoothly for that July 31st closing. I need to start practicing my happy dance now! Hey, maybe I can use some of the moves I saw on Friday night!
Things continue to be stalled with our agency, although hope of a resolution appears to be on the horizon and they have done a phenomenal job of working through it. I simply cannot say enough good things about Gladney at this point! We continue to pray for those families who were further along in the process than we were when the slow-downs began. We are anxious to see someone, anyone, get some action with their case. However, we continue to trust in what we know to be true- and I personally have been spending a lot of time belting out Chris Tomlin songs at the top of my lungs. I'm especially hooked on the ones that remind me of how big and awesome and trustworthy God is. It's a great coping tool!

Taking the plunge

Well, we've officially taken what I consider to be a major plunge.  Okay, maybe it's not so major, but it was still a step of faith.  Are you ready?  We bought THE bedding- the CRIB bedding. 

First of all, I should explain that Ryan and I are house people.  We don't own a boat or go snow skiing or golfing, but we do spend time doing house stuff.  We both have strong decorating opinions and we've spent more than our share of time watching HGTV.  We get gazillions of home decorating catalogs, and I have to sneak them into the trash when the pile gets too high because Ryan likes to keep them all for "ideas."  

So, as soon as we decided to adopt, we began keeping our eyes open for bedding that we would use for the baby.  Now, this isn't as easy as just finding a crib bedding we like-that would be easier.  The baby will be sharing a room with Isaac, so we had to find a bedding that we liked for the baby that had coordinating twin bedding that we liked for Isaac.  This meant Ryan, Isaac, and I all had to agree AND it had to be something that would be appropriate for a baby and a bigger boy.  Isaac will probably be 9 or so before we replace this bedding, so it obviously couldn't be too preschool-ish.  So, after a few months of scoping the Land of Nod, Pottery Barn Kids, Company Kids, and a few of our other favorites, we all agreed on one.  

I thought I would wait until we got a referral to actually purchase the bedding.  But, the corporate giant that is Pottery Barn decided to discontinue our chosen bedding and we decided we better go ahead and take the plunge lest it all be gone before referral day comes.  The positive side of this is that we got all of it for 50% off- which made it almost reasonably priced. 

So, we've made our purchase and the bedding is safely tucked away in a closet waiting for referral day when we bust out the green paint and start looking for the sailboat model Isaac is expecting to have in his "new room."

It's a little thing, but it's SOMEthing.  Something that reminds me that despite the current stalls and the continued wait,  we are going to have a baby, and he is going to be sleeping in our house, and I do need to make preparations- maybe not just the fabric kind, but the kind that come with the prayers and petitions of a loving mom who can't wait for the chance to delight in another soul entrusted in her care.   

Crazy Busy!

Today makes the 5 week mark of being waitlisted and time is absolutely flying by!  The last 10 days have been way too busy, but things are finally slowing down. Some of the highlights of the last couple of weeks include:

Two Sundays ago, we held our first mother daughter book club meeting.  Abby, Lizzy, and I are hosting a mother-daughter book club for the summer.  This month we discussed the book Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace.  The whole Betsy-Tacy series is a delight for school-aged girls.  Somehow I missed them growing up and I know I would have loved them.  We had 8 moms here with their daughters and we had a great time.  We made sand art just like the book characters and we also shared tea cookies and cambric tea.  We're looking forward to our July title, Ruthie's Gift.

We spent last week preparing for Abby's 10th birthday sleepover.  I think she had a great time, although I'm still recovering!   I tried my hand at a "whimsical" cake, and she was delighted by it.  The Paris theme ended up being lots of fun- we made "fine" french soaps,  explored "fashion" by making our own purses, and of course we ate French foods, including fondue.  

Saturday night Abby and Lizzy attended a Father-Daughter dance hosted by some friends of ours.  They took brownie bites as their contribution to the dessert table- about 1/2 of which they brought back home with them.  They were so tired by the time Sunday morning rolled around.  I don't know if it was the lack of sleep or the excess of sugar, but they were wiped out. 

I took the littles to Wendy's while the olders went and out to dinner and danced with daddy. They were thrilled with their frosty's and Lily warmed my heart with her Wendy's dinner prayer.  "Dear God, thank you for this food and please help our baby brother to have enough to eat today.  Amen"

Sunday, we had dinner with my dad and I made a black-bottom banana cream pie for dessert. So at this point, I've made a birthday cake, 4 dozen brownie bites, a pie, fondue, and chocolate crepes- all in one weekend!  Needless to say, Ryan and I have been detoxing for the last 24 hours.  

I also managed to earn the horrible mommy award this weekend.  Almost two weeks ago, Isaac had fallen and hurt his arm while playing at the neighbors house.  I thought it was no big deal- gave him kisses and sent him on his way.  He complained with it off and on, but he was riding his scooter, swimming, and biking just like normal.  Well, Saturday night he wakes up screaming that his arm hurts, so Ryan decided that we better go get it x-rayed the next day- ELEVEN days later.  I continue to insist it's not necessary, but he wins.  So, after Father's Day dinner, Ryan takes him to the urgent care and, you guessed it, it's fractured.  They thought we needed to see a surgeon, so yesterday we went to the surgeon.  He was wonderful and he thinks all we need to do is protect it for a couple of weeks.  So, we have a cute little sling for him to wear when we're in potentially "harmful" situations.  I felt terrible!

We did get a contract on our "extra" house yesterday.  It is supposed to close on or before July 31st and we are very excited.  This buyer seems to be in a better position to purchase the house than the buyer in our first contract, so we're hoping this one works out.  We will be doing a serious happy dance come closing day!

We continue to wait eagerly for any movement on the adoption front.  One word from Gladney and we'll be baby shopping maniacs.  We can't wait!

The Men I Love

Thursday, I went to run some birthday errands for Abby's party and I decided that I would try to pick up Father's Day cards while I was at it.  Since my in-laws were in town, I was actually alone and I could take the time to read more than 3 cards before I had to grab one and go.  I have to say, the whole experience made me very grateful for the men in my life.  You see, I read nearly every card in the Father's Day section at Walmart and I'd say about 85% of them referred to being drunk, having a potty mouth, hogging the remote control, overuse of duct tape, or farting.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love a funny card, but it just made me realize how very low our esteem of the men in our society has fallen.  So, I decided I would take a minute to thank the men in my life for making most of those cards not applicable to our relationship.

To my daddy:

Thanks for being such a constant in my life all of these years.  You taught me how to work hard and the value of a dollar.  I have always known that you would do anything you could to help meet any need I have ever had.  You have made an example of simply doing the right thing by people.  You are a great "pa" to my children- even if you do go a little heavy on the caffeinated sodas now and then!  You've even come a long way about not nagging me to change my oil.  I love you and I 'm so glad that God made you my daddy!

To my father-in-law:

I first want to thank you for raising such an amazing son.  I think the hours you poured into him out in that wood shop paid off very nicely!  I thank you for being such a wonderful, godly example of a husband for your son.  Thanks also for being such a dedicated "pap."  I don't believe that any grandchildren could do any better in the grandparent department than mine have.  Thank you for the hours of prayer you've invested in my home, my family, and my life.   I love you and Jeanette!

To my husband:

I am so very glad that you decided to ask me to the movies that Friday night nearly 16 years ago!  I couldn't have known then what an amazing father you would be.  Thanks for being our provider, our spirit lifter, our devoted one, our joke teller, our tent putter-upper, and all of the other wonderful roles you fill so well.  You are such a joy to me- I know that our children will always be glad for the gift God gave to them when he gave them you as a daddy.   I love you!

Thank you Jesus for filling my world with these amazing men who are providing such a legacy of faithfulness for my precious children.  I am truly blessed- duct tape and all!

Why?

WARNING: The following blog post contains opinions which may be offensive to those who would consider the author narrow-minded, old-fashioned, ultra conservative, or just plain ignorant. However, I AM going to go there. Read at your own risk!

Since we are experiencing a massive heat wave here in the Carolinas, Friday proved to be a perfect day for the water park. Our family spent the day in Williamsburg at Water Country USA. We had a very fun time. However, I was once again reminded of how very old and out of touch with culture I've become. Maybe it's because I haven't spent much time out of the tot lot portion of a water park in about 10 years, but I was absolutely floored by the amount of flesh I had to witness in order to enjoy a few family raft rides with my kids. And it left me asking myself- WHY?

I want to know why would a grown woman wear a bikini? Okay, I understand a few instances where a woman might feel compelled to wear a bikini. I suppose I understand why a young, fit, and single young woman might feel the need to wear one (although I personally don't consider it a good pick-up technique.) I also understand why a woman might sun in her own backyard with a 6 foot privacy fence wearing a bikini. Maybe that same woman would choose to don that bikini for a romantic evening in a hot tub with her husband. This, however, is not what I witnessed. I witnessed women walking around clad in nothing but a few triangles tied together with some string riding a variety of attractions which clearly stated something like this, "This ride by it's very nature creates forces of acceleration and deceleration." Let's translate that, "There is a good chance you will loose all or part of your bikini on this ride."

Now, if modesty is not a concern and loosing your garment is not a fear, then let's just talk about some basic beauty tips. I believe that there are some instances when wearing a bikini simply does not do anything to increase the appeal of a woman. These would include, but are not limited to the following instances:

If you have had a major organ removed and you have the scars to prove it.
If you have recently lost 100 or more pounds and you have the skin to prove it.
If you got scorched in a different swimsuit yesterday and you have the burn marks to prove it.
If you have gained 40 pounds since you purchased the bikini and you have the love handles to prove it.
If you have recently delivered a child and you have the stretch marks to prove it.
(yes, I witnessed everyone of these scenarios, and they weren't lovely)

That being said, even if I go alone, I'll go on wearing my old faithful Land's End one piece swimsuit. I'm hoping that there are at least a few other old-fashioned folks like me who have enough concern for their fellow swimmers to bikini responsibly (or better yet, not at all!)

Three weeks and counting!

Okay, so I'm afraid that I may not be so prompt with my weekly updates. I thought I would post every Tuesday since that is the day of the week on which we were wait listed. But somehow with 4 children, a husband, a church, and all of the fun things that go with them, I find blogging doesn't always make the top of the list. So, I thought I would use these few minutes during piano lessons to post about the highlights of our week 3 wait:

The kids returned home from KY and we've enjoyed the typical grandparent re-entry issues. You know, me spending the days saying things like, "No, you need to sleep in a bed, yes, it needs to be your own bed." or "Yes, you must eat your grapes before you can have a cookie." It seems like 6 months of attempts at consistency can disappear in one week of grandparentville. The thing is the grandparents try- they really do. The kids are just too brilliant when it comes to demolishing the boundaries!

I did manage to finish a 'baby" scrapbook for each of my four children this week. Next I'm going to work on a toddler to teen album that I should be able to maintain with a minimal amount of thought. It will be a few weeks before I get back to it though, as we have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us.I spent some time organizing my pictures and scrapbooking supplies so that I can find what I'm looking for without going through a dozen different rubbermaid containers. My label maker got a workout this weekend!

Abby and I spent some time making her birthday party invitations on Tuesday. She is having her first sleepover in honor of her 10th birthday. We decided to do a Paris theme, so maybe those 7 years of French I took will come in handy. Unfortunately, the language I'll need to plan a 10 year olds birthday will probably exhaust my French vocabulary. This is scary considering I was certified to teach French in the state of KY, huh?

It's been a pretty uneventful week overall. Other than church and the grocery on Sunday, my van has been garaged. That doesn't happen very often, but with the current gas prices, it might need to!


The kids and I decided to mark three weeks by making a photo out of our Math U See blocks. It seemed fitting as we are working hard on sharpening our Math skills through the summer. Time is really flying as the wait progresses- something that we're all glad for!