Hello! Long time no talk. Sorry about that. These past couple of weeks has been a bit rough. Emotionally. We've had to overcome the illness that was running rampant in our home and deal with the announcement that my Mum is getting married. Deal with the announcement? you may ask. Yes.
My Dad has been gone from this life for 8 years. I took a long time to grieve his passing. He was my best friend and my greatest inspiration before my kids. He was my rock and my hero. He kept me grounded in reality when I had pipe dreams and my encouragement when I felt like I might fail in my achievable endeavours. To say that I still miss him is the understatement of the century. But I have come to terms with his passing and I know that he is proud of me from up in heaven. So now my Mum is getting married. I thought my husband and I had a whirlwind romance. Let me tell you their story.
My mum and her intended have known one another (actually our whole family has) for 40+ years. This gentleman is a very very good friend of my mum's brother for many, many years. He was my math teacher in high school and is very well known and respected in our community. About 6 years ago my mum took on a housekeeping position for this man and his wife. Now I know you're thinking uh oh. But no. They are both very strong Christians and would never entertain such thoughts. So anyway, this mans wife passed away last year. She'd fought a brave battle of illness for many years. She passed away with her family and very much loved. She passed in the spring of 2010. Just before Christmas 2010 my mum started mentioning silly little comments and gestures the gentleman was making to her and I informed her that he was testing the waters to see if she was interested in dating him. She assured me that wasn't what was happening. Well in the first or 2nd week of January she announced that they were dating. I laughed and said 'told you so!'. It wasn't 3 weeks later that she told me he was talking about marriage. It didn't surprise me. He's a few years older than mum and lonely. He'd felt alone for many years with his wife needing to be in a care facility he was, essentially, living alone. He was loyal and devoted and very much in love with his wonderful wife. He's also ready to move forward with his life. Fast forward a couple of weeks and it's Valentine's Day and the morning after I got a call from my Mum telling she was engaged and the wedding would be in August or September. Talk about a whirlwind. I'll say one thing for this guy, when he makes a decision nothing stops him.
So, now I've gone from knowing they were eventually going to get engaged and married to having to wrap my head around my mum merely dating to fully engaged and planning her wedding. Now don't misunderstand I'm thrilled beyond all belief for my mum and her beau! It's just a completely different story from knowing something is going to happen to having it become a reality before you were told it would. So I gave myself 24 hours to explore my thoughts and feelings and then delve head long into helping my Mum and her intended plan a beautiful wedding day. These two people are at a time in their lives where to find a compatible companion can be challenging and they found each other. That is a fact that makes me very happy. I get to stand beside my mum and witness her marriage and have her know that she has my full support and love. Her happiness, and no longer lonely, means the world to me and I'm blessed to be able to stand with her. So yes I had to 'deal' but it's all good when you know that your surviving parent isn't going to spend the rest of their lives alone and lonely.
So Mum, if one of your friends lets you see this, know that I love you and am so honoured to be your matron of honour, standing beside you and showing you how much I approve of this marriage.
So you're probably wondering what this has to do with adoption. Nothing. Just what's going on in my life right now. I suppose if I stretch my mind a little I could say that because I have 2 siblings, and the gentleman has 3 adult children that adoption of each other enters into it for us to become one big happy family but....no. I don't want to. I know his kids and they're lovely people and we'll all be friends eventually. But this marriage doesn't include adoption. It's just two families joining together...it's not like we're the Brady Bunch will all be living together. But I can see our family gatherings growing in number and being more fun.
So the boys are doing well. Everybody is mostly over the sickness. We have a couple of symptoms hanging on, like the cough and the sore throat, but we're mostly all good. We're working to restore order and routine and that's proving challenging for the oldest because while I was sick for the month and Daddy was sick but going to work, Nana was here looking after us all and no school work got done. He's not liking getting back into it. I'm trying to convince him that it's only a couple of weeks of work left and then he gets another break. He doesn't believe me. But I think he'll believe me when we hand in all his books and we don't make him do school work for a couple weeks again.
As for our next adoption, no news yet. :(
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day....
Considering today is my favorite day of the week, what better day for Valentine's Day to fall?
We had a beautiful, quiet day to celebrate and revel in our love. Sort of.
We're all still very, very ,very sick. Not one of us spent the day being happy and playful, but quiet and cuddly. Isn't it awful that I wish I could find a way to make my children cuddly like they are when they are ill? Of course I don't want them to be ill, I want them to be cuddly!
My 7 year old cuddles with one person and one person only, his Nana. No idea why only Nana but only Nana. It bothered him to no end today that Nana left after I got home from my doctor's appointment to go and cook a lovely dinner for her new beau! How dare she have a life! My 7 year old certainly felt that way. Although both my husband and I are home, sick, but home and ready, willing and able to cuddle him, he chose to sit on a love seat by himself cuddled under my comforter and with my pillow. We tried to coax him but to no avail.
Our 2 year old wanted nothing more than to cuddle today. All day. We couldn't get him to eat and only to drink sparsely. But he'll be OK too of that I'm certain. This nasty para influenza and Influenza B have got a hold on this little family and it is resisting letting go with all it's might. But I think we're winning. I think today's love fest may have helped us all turn a corner.
So while I don't necessarily go in for all the commercialism of Valentine's day, I'll certainly take a day that lands on my favorite day of the week and is supposed to be all about love and cherish it for what it is. But remember, love isn't reserved for one day a year, why not make every day Valentine's day. There's so many children in this world who've never had a Valentine's day, why not make tomorrow Valentine's for a new love in your life?
Happy Valentine's Day!
We had a beautiful, quiet day to celebrate and revel in our love. Sort of.
We're all still very, very ,very sick. Not one of us spent the day being happy and playful, but quiet and cuddly. Isn't it awful that I wish I could find a way to make my children cuddly like they are when they are ill? Of course I don't want them to be ill, I want them to be cuddly!
My 7 year old cuddles with one person and one person only, his Nana. No idea why only Nana but only Nana. It bothered him to no end today that Nana left after I got home from my doctor's appointment to go and cook a lovely dinner for her new beau! How dare she have a life! My 7 year old certainly felt that way. Although both my husband and I are home, sick, but home and ready, willing and able to cuddle him, he chose to sit on a love seat by himself cuddled under my comforter and with my pillow. We tried to coax him but to no avail.
Our 2 year old wanted nothing more than to cuddle today. All day. We couldn't get him to eat and only to drink sparsely. But he'll be OK too of that I'm certain. This nasty para influenza and Influenza B have got a hold on this little family and it is resisting letting go with all it's might. But I think we're winning. I think today's love fest may have helped us all turn a corner.
So while I don't necessarily go in for all the commercialism of Valentine's day, I'll certainly take a day that lands on my favorite day of the week and is supposed to be all about love and cherish it for what it is. But remember, love isn't reserved for one day a year, why not make every day Valentine's day. There's so many children in this world who've never had a Valentine's day, why not make tomorrow Valentine's for a new love in your life?
Happy Valentine's Day!
Monday, February 7, 2011
FASD and Secondary Disabilities workshop.
This past Saturday my husband and I attended a wonderful workshop on FASD and it's secondary disabilities. The speaker was Dr. Diane Russell. What a wonderful lady and wealth of knowledge she is!
Dr. Russell is a neuropsychologist who specializes in working with people with FASD. I find it amazing every time I attend a workshop on FASD how much I still don't know even though I live with 2 children afflicted with this type of brain damage. This lady talked about the secondary disabilities that seem to come with the FASD diagnosis. What it all boiled down to is that there really are no secondary disabilities with FASD only concurrent ones.
FASD quite often comes with ADHD, OCD, ODD as well as a bunch of others. These are all brain issues. They can all be caused by alcohol consumed during pregnancy. They're all a form of brain damage.
Unfortunately a lot of FASD (and it's concurrent diagnoses) characteristics manifest as behavioural issues. We all like to think if we can curb the behaviours we've got a lock on the disorder. It's not true. It's brain damage. It's not a case of a child/adult with FASD not wanting to change behaviours, but a case of CAN'T change the behaviours. Those parts of the brain are missing or dead.
Knowing how these disorders work is how we learn to parent children with these diagnoses. Understanding that what quite often looks like willfulness is nothing more than the person just not having the ability to modify the behaviours. Parenting children with FASD is a life in repetition. It's like the movie Groundhog Day. Everyday you wake up with your child and know you're going to have to repeat all the same lessons from the day before. Hoping that one day there will be a CLICK and the child will suddenly get it! Then you can move on to the next day. Sorry folks it's just not likely to happen. Children with FASD are not hopeless though. Depending on the severity of the impact on the brain, most of these children are very intelligent, good problem solvers (even when the solution makes absolutely no sense to an onlooker), and very creative. They also have high anxiety. In my 2 sons my oldest is academically very intelligent, but lacks social skills and street smarts. At 7 years old we still have to grab him in parking lots because he'll dart right out into traffic. But ask him to tell you about tornadoes and how they're formed and you'll get a 10 minute lesson in all things tornado's.
My 2 year old is a physical dynamo. He has good problem solving skills, but is verbally delayed at this point. Comprehension is high but responding is less than average. We've had to empty our living room and dining room of all things breakable because he is very adept at moving furniture and climbing to reach what we thought was put out of sight and out of mind. We were wrong. So we adapt to him. Consequences mean nothing to him either.
If you're considering adoption please make sure when you check that box on the application that says you're willing to accept FASD that you go and spend time with a family raising FASD children. You can't fully appreciate what this disorder entails until you've lived it. The books are wonderful but they don't run circles around you....physically or verbally.
Parenting these children is frustrating and rewarding. Extreme sense of humour is a must! But you must be prepared. If you get a chance to attend a workshop with Dr. Russell, or Brenda McCreight, or Kim Barthel, do it! You'll find yourself enjoying the learning experience and you'll probably find yourself thinking that you just might be up to the task.
Dr. Russell is a neuropsychologist who specializes in working with people with FASD. I find it amazing every time I attend a workshop on FASD how much I still don't know even though I live with 2 children afflicted with this type of brain damage. This lady talked about the secondary disabilities that seem to come with the FASD diagnosis. What it all boiled down to is that there really are no secondary disabilities with FASD only concurrent ones.
FASD quite often comes with ADHD, OCD, ODD as well as a bunch of others. These are all brain issues. They can all be caused by alcohol consumed during pregnancy. They're all a form of brain damage.
Unfortunately a lot of FASD (and it's concurrent diagnoses) characteristics manifest as behavioural issues. We all like to think if we can curb the behaviours we've got a lock on the disorder. It's not true. It's brain damage. It's not a case of a child/adult with FASD not wanting to change behaviours, but a case of CAN'T change the behaviours. Those parts of the brain are missing or dead.
Knowing how these disorders work is how we learn to parent children with these diagnoses. Understanding that what quite often looks like willfulness is nothing more than the person just not having the ability to modify the behaviours. Parenting children with FASD is a life in repetition. It's like the movie Groundhog Day. Everyday you wake up with your child and know you're going to have to repeat all the same lessons from the day before. Hoping that one day there will be a CLICK and the child will suddenly get it! Then you can move on to the next day. Sorry folks it's just not likely to happen. Children with FASD are not hopeless though. Depending on the severity of the impact on the brain, most of these children are very intelligent, good problem solvers (even when the solution makes absolutely no sense to an onlooker), and very creative. They also have high anxiety. In my 2 sons my oldest is academically very intelligent, but lacks social skills and street smarts. At 7 years old we still have to grab him in parking lots because he'll dart right out into traffic. But ask him to tell you about tornadoes and how they're formed and you'll get a 10 minute lesson in all things tornado's.
My 2 year old is a physical dynamo. He has good problem solving skills, but is verbally delayed at this point. Comprehension is high but responding is less than average. We've had to empty our living room and dining room of all things breakable because he is very adept at moving furniture and climbing to reach what we thought was put out of sight and out of mind. We were wrong. So we adapt to him. Consequences mean nothing to him either.
If you're considering adoption please make sure when you check that box on the application that says you're willing to accept FASD that you go and spend time with a family raising FASD children. You can't fully appreciate what this disorder entails until you've lived it. The books are wonderful but they don't run circles around you....physically or verbally.
Parenting these children is frustrating and rewarding. Extreme sense of humour is a must! But you must be prepared. If you get a chance to attend a workshop with Dr. Russell, or Brenda McCreight, or Kim Barthel, do it! You'll find yourself enjoying the learning experience and you'll probably find yourself thinking that you just might be up to the task.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Still Alive....Sort of....
Hello All! I know it's been a while since I've written and now I'll tell you why.
In case you were wondering, yes, I'm still alive! At least in the physical sense. I've been ill. Now being ill is horrible all by itself. But when you're a mum it's even worse. When you're a mum to 2 special needs children (and with each child after that it gets considerably worse I have to imagine) it's even worse than that! When you're single and sick you can wallow in the self pity and take care of yourself or whine enough to have someone else come take care of you, but when you're a mum you're just not allowed to be sick!
I'm a very lucky mum though. I have a wonderful mother who still thinks of me as her little girl and comes to care for my kids while I sleep or rest. I have a fantastic husband who looks after the kids so I can rest and get better. Together this team makes it easy for me to do what I need to do to get back to the business of mothering. With them here I can rest and push the fluids (peppermint tea is my fluid of choice) and cough and hack until the cows come home. I can hide in my bedroom, if I want to, and know that my kids are safe and well cared for.
But what do I do when my whole family goes down within 24 hours of me going down? Well...we muddle through. We've had offers of friends to come help, to bring groceries, to bring medicine but we've gratefully declined. We couldn't let anyone else catch what we've got.
Friday night I had my sick hubby take me to the emergency room with what I thought was a really bad flu (I even had the flu shot) and the beginning of an ear infection. Turns out it was a bad chest infection and an ear infection. Antibiotics for me.
So today is day 2 on the meds and I'm feeling...about the same. A little more clear headed as I stay away from the Tylenol 3's for the pain and just suck it up. But my hubby and my kids are down big time with fevers and chills, coughs and nausea. Time to step up the Mummy role.
No time to be sick when the family needs you. Thank heaven it seems my Mum is going to get away unscathed! I even kept her away today.
So as my time as a Mum marches on I'm learning more and more each day that this is the life I chose when I was 5 years old. I know for certain that I chose wisely. I remember my Nanny (grandmother) asking me when I was 5 what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her I wanted to be a Mummy and a nurse. I wasn't wrong. When you're a Mummy you also have to be a nurse, and a doctor, and a chef, and a maid etc. etc.
Yes, I chose well. I love my life, I could live without the illnesses or at the very least without my family getting ill, I'll take it all just to keep those beautiful faces I love so much, just smiling.
In case you were wondering, yes, I'm still alive! At least in the physical sense. I've been ill. Now being ill is horrible all by itself. But when you're a mum it's even worse. When you're a mum to 2 special needs children (and with each child after that it gets considerably worse I have to imagine) it's even worse than that! When you're single and sick you can wallow in the self pity and take care of yourself or whine enough to have someone else come take care of you, but when you're a mum you're just not allowed to be sick!
I'm a very lucky mum though. I have a wonderful mother who still thinks of me as her little girl and comes to care for my kids while I sleep or rest. I have a fantastic husband who looks after the kids so I can rest and get better. Together this team makes it easy for me to do what I need to do to get back to the business of mothering. With them here I can rest and push the fluids (peppermint tea is my fluid of choice) and cough and hack until the cows come home. I can hide in my bedroom, if I want to, and know that my kids are safe and well cared for.
But what do I do when my whole family goes down within 24 hours of me going down? Well...we muddle through. We've had offers of friends to come help, to bring groceries, to bring medicine but we've gratefully declined. We couldn't let anyone else catch what we've got.
Friday night I had my sick hubby take me to the emergency room with what I thought was a really bad flu (I even had the flu shot) and the beginning of an ear infection. Turns out it was a bad chest infection and an ear infection. Antibiotics for me.
So today is day 2 on the meds and I'm feeling...about the same. A little more clear headed as I stay away from the Tylenol 3's for the pain and just suck it up. But my hubby and my kids are down big time with fevers and chills, coughs and nausea. Time to step up the Mummy role.
No time to be sick when the family needs you. Thank heaven it seems my Mum is going to get away unscathed! I even kept her away today.
So as my time as a Mum marches on I'm learning more and more each day that this is the life I chose when I was 5 years old. I know for certain that I chose wisely. I remember my Nanny (grandmother) asking me when I was 5 what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told her I wanted to be a Mummy and a nurse. I wasn't wrong. When you're a Mummy you also have to be a nurse, and a doctor, and a chef, and a maid etc. etc.
Yes, I chose well. I love my life, I could live without the illnesses or at the very least without my family getting ill, I'll take it all just to keep those beautiful faces I love so much, just smiling.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Frustrated...
Here I am again, kind of lost as to what to write about. Lots of things have been going on but, some are too personal, some are too boring, some are just whining. So what do I tell you about today? Frustrations I guess.
I'm frustrated these days. Frustrated about a lot of things. We're playing the waiting game in our adoption and I've hit the discouragement stage. We met with our SW last Monday and we asked about a sibling group. This particular group is one we enquired about before Christmas but were told they were on a temporary hold due to new information. OK. So we asked about them again. Now it's Thursday and it's 4 days since our worker was supposed to have contacted their worker. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Nil. I HATE waiting! How am I dealing with it? I'm not. I'm wallowing in the frustration and discouragement. Not a good thing at all. I'm even too down to pretend I'm not. You know, fake it 'til you make it? I will be over it next week. It's the way I operate. I wallow and trudge through it and then get over it. Takes about a week.
My little one keeps coming over to me and giving me hugs and kisses and asking, "Mama 'k?" 2 year old-ese for are you OK Mama? LOL
I smile and tell him that I am now. His hugs and kisses have a healing property. In the moment I'm good. My oldest just keeps reminding me it's about God's timing. I think the problem is that this time I'm doing something I've never done before. Even before I saw this group's picture I KNEW what they looked like. I KNEW who they were. I saw it all so clearly in my mind. These children live nowhere near me, yet I knew them. Just from a couple of paragraphs on a web page. Even our worker stated that they looked familiar. They really resemble our boys. This time I've been picturing what our family would look like with them in it. What we would all do together, how we would all get along. I think that if their worker says no to us that I'm going to have to go through the grieving process. I'm not looking forward to that. But I am praying daily that God would grant my heart this desire.
I've never felt so strongly about children before. Our 2 boys didn't have profiles for us to look at yet the call came about them (one at a time of course) and I didn't need any information at all about them I just knew they were ours. It's like that with these kids. They already feel like ours. I'm hoping my hubby finds a way to pull me back down to earth so I don't fall too hard if the call comes that we can't adopt them.
So that's my biggest frustration these days. It's one that all adoptive parents know and understand. The waiting game is horrible. When you're in the application, AEP, home study processes, you have something to blame. You have more steps to complete before you're eligible to adopt. But once you've completed all your steps there's nothing left to blame. You're just waiting. You have to find ways to occupy your mind so that your focus is on something other than your phone not ringing! So I know that come next week, Monday to be precise, I will start a new week and have something else to focus on. Two sets of friends and their adoptions.
We have two sets of friends who are at different stages in the proposal process. One set meets their new children for the first time in the next 10 days or so, and the other set are making a final decision as to whether or not to move forward with their proposal for another child.
The first set is anxious and excited because they've been waiting since October to move forward and meet their new kids. These are first time adoptive parents and the whole process has been overwhelming and now it's finally happening for them. We're very excited for them! It's a good thing for me to focus on.
So, if you meet me on the street and I don't seem quite myself, now you know why.
Have a wonderful day and I'll keep you posted!
I'm frustrated these days. Frustrated about a lot of things. We're playing the waiting game in our adoption and I've hit the discouragement stage. We met with our SW last Monday and we asked about a sibling group. This particular group is one we enquired about before Christmas but were told they were on a temporary hold due to new information. OK. So we asked about them again. Now it's Thursday and it's 4 days since our worker was supposed to have contacted their worker. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Nil. I HATE waiting! How am I dealing with it? I'm not. I'm wallowing in the frustration and discouragement. Not a good thing at all. I'm even too down to pretend I'm not. You know, fake it 'til you make it? I will be over it next week. It's the way I operate. I wallow and trudge through it and then get over it. Takes about a week.
My little one keeps coming over to me and giving me hugs and kisses and asking, "Mama 'k?" 2 year old-ese for are you OK Mama? LOL
I smile and tell him that I am now. His hugs and kisses have a healing property. In the moment I'm good. My oldest just keeps reminding me it's about God's timing. I think the problem is that this time I'm doing something I've never done before. Even before I saw this group's picture I KNEW what they looked like. I KNEW who they were. I saw it all so clearly in my mind. These children live nowhere near me, yet I knew them. Just from a couple of paragraphs on a web page. Even our worker stated that they looked familiar. They really resemble our boys. This time I've been picturing what our family would look like with them in it. What we would all do together, how we would all get along. I think that if their worker says no to us that I'm going to have to go through the grieving process. I'm not looking forward to that. But I am praying daily that God would grant my heart this desire.
I've never felt so strongly about children before. Our 2 boys didn't have profiles for us to look at yet the call came about them (one at a time of course) and I didn't need any information at all about them I just knew they were ours. It's like that with these kids. They already feel like ours. I'm hoping my hubby finds a way to pull me back down to earth so I don't fall too hard if the call comes that we can't adopt them.
So that's my biggest frustration these days. It's one that all adoptive parents know and understand. The waiting game is horrible. When you're in the application, AEP, home study processes, you have something to blame. You have more steps to complete before you're eligible to adopt. But once you've completed all your steps there's nothing left to blame. You're just waiting. You have to find ways to occupy your mind so that your focus is on something other than your phone not ringing! So I know that come next week, Monday to be precise, I will start a new week and have something else to focus on. Two sets of friends and their adoptions.
We have two sets of friends who are at different stages in the proposal process. One set meets their new children for the first time in the next 10 days or so, and the other set are making a final decision as to whether or not to move forward with their proposal for another child.
The first set is anxious and excited because they've been waiting since October to move forward and meet their new kids. These are first time adoptive parents and the whole process has been overwhelming and now it's finally happening for them. We're very excited for them! It's a good thing for me to focus on.
So, if you meet me on the street and I don't seem quite myself, now you know why.
Have a wonderful day and I'll keep you posted!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Insomnia...
Hi. Here I sit at 1:00 am wondering why I'm sitting here at this hour. I have insomnia...again. This happens on occasion and I hope it's just tonight. Usually it's 2 or 3 nights, but I've been known to go on this way for a couple of weeks at a time. Normally it doesn't bother me too much, but tomorrow (or rather today) is going to be a very busy day.
Today we are meeting with our SW first thing in the morning to go through the bulletin. We're so anxious to find our next sibling group. I'm sure this is a big part of why I'm not sleeping. I have my eye on a group of children whose profile sounds wonderful and their issues don't sound all that frightening. That could be because they don't appear to have much of a chance of having FASD and that would be somewhat of a relief, or that their ages are perfect to meld in with our family. I don't know for sure but the very first time I read their profiles I was taken by them.
After our meeting we have a whole day of homeschooling to get through. Our oldest isn't feeling well and he's had 2 days off. Not a good combo for a kid who's already fighting getting back into the routine. But Daddy is teaching today so I'll at least get a break from that struggle. Then there's the little one. I'm happy to have the day to play with him, but being that I'm up now I'm hoping that my wonderful husband is going to go to Starbucks after our morning meeting and just get me an IV. I'm going to need it to keep my energy level up in a range that my 2 and half year old will find acceptable. He gets rather grumpy when Mama doesn't play exactly how he wants me! Yes my child is spoiled and I'm OK with that.
Then this evening we have our first support group meeting of the year! I'm extremely excited about this too! There are developments I can't wait to hear about and hopefully we'll have one of our own to share. Again at this point in the day I KNOW my wonderful husband will be heading for Starbucks in order to get me that IV.
There is so much to look forward to today that it's obviously just keeping me awake.
See? This is why I love Mondays. There's always something exciting happening on the first day of the week. It's that guaranteed fresh start.
I don't mind the insomnia when there's a good reason for it!
Today we are meeting with our SW first thing in the morning to go through the bulletin. We're so anxious to find our next sibling group. I'm sure this is a big part of why I'm not sleeping. I have my eye on a group of children whose profile sounds wonderful and their issues don't sound all that frightening. That could be because they don't appear to have much of a chance of having FASD and that would be somewhat of a relief, or that their ages are perfect to meld in with our family. I don't know for sure but the very first time I read their profiles I was taken by them.
After our meeting we have a whole day of homeschooling to get through. Our oldest isn't feeling well and he's had 2 days off. Not a good combo for a kid who's already fighting getting back into the routine. But Daddy is teaching today so I'll at least get a break from that struggle. Then there's the little one. I'm happy to have the day to play with him, but being that I'm up now I'm hoping that my wonderful husband is going to go to Starbucks after our morning meeting and just get me an IV. I'm going to need it to keep my energy level up in a range that my 2 and half year old will find acceptable. He gets rather grumpy when Mama doesn't play exactly how he wants me! Yes my child is spoiled and I'm OK with that.
Then this evening we have our first support group meeting of the year! I'm extremely excited about this too! There are developments I can't wait to hear about and hopefully we'll have one of our own to share. Again at this point in the day I KNOW my wonderful husband will be heading for Starbucks in order to get me that IV.
There is so much to look forward to today that it's obviously just keeping me awake.
See? This is why I love Mondays. There's always something exciting happening on the first day of the week. It's that guaranteed fresh start.
I don't mind the insomnia when there's a good reason for it!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Happy New Year!...
To all our friends and family! We sincerely hope that 2011 is the year that sees all of your trials and tribulations end. We hope that whatever your wish for the year is granted. We hope that everyone who is waiting for their new children meet them soon and bring them home! After all that's all a child really wants. A family to call their own and to know that there are people in this world who will be there for them forever!
So far the new year is starting out good and not so good. The good part is that we are all happy and healthy. The not so good part is our very expensive boiler system (furnace) went kaput and there isn't anybody around here who knows how to fix it! The other not so good part is that our oldest is having a very hard time getting back into the routine of homeschooling. Which is also trying my patience terribly. ( A wise woman once told me that I should never pray for patience because God will just give me more ways to practice it. LOL She was right!) I've also had to cancel a very important appointment with a specialist 3 times now because I got sick and the uncertainty of the weather.
So, with that stuff out of the way (for blogging) I'll move on to good stuff.
In less than a week we are meeting with our SW to go through the bulletin and hopefully find some children that we may be able to adopt. We're so ready. Our oldest asks almost daily when we're going to bring home another brother and a couple of sisters for him and his little brother. It's so hard to keep telling him that we don't know and that we just have to trust that God will bring them to us when it's the right time. Our son is awesome! He just tells me, 'that's right Mum. When God decides it's time, then it's time and we'll just go get them!'
I'm really happy too that in less than a week we start our regular adoption support group meetings again for the year. I miss our group through winter break. Even though I saw most of them at our Christmas party. That was a fun time. Watching all of our kids playing together and the grown ups playing like children. What a sight to behold!
Even with the financial strain we're feeling right now (yes that comes under the not so good category) I wish there was time for hubby and I to go out for our date night. We have the sweetest little babysitter that comes in when we're just doing a date night. She's 13 and so very awesome with our boys. She just adores them. It's also wonderful that when she's here both boys are so tuckered out from playing with her that they sleep soundly through the night and sleep in the next day! Have I mentioned that I absolutely love our Jenny?! (Jenny if you're reading this tell your Mum and Dad that I think they're awesome parents for having raised such a wonderful daughter!)
Soon we'll have you over again and then everyone will be happy!
Monday is usually my favorite day of the week. I've mentioned that before in a previous post. But yesterday was NOT my favorite day. My oldest decided that he was not letting go of last week and carried it over to yesterday. Today has been better but tomorrow will be better still. On Sunday my youngest decided that instead of taking his nap he would redecorate his room! His choice of artistic material? You got it! Rather, he got it...EVERYWHERE! On the walls, on the heat register, all over his dresser, his door, carpeting covered, bed, bedding, stuffies, toys...you name it he painted it! What a joy that was! It took 3 adults to get his room back in order. But it's done now and we move forward. Nothing left to do but laugh it off! Oh he was a very proud artist!
So there you have my first week and a bit of the new year. Hope yours is going better!
Remember, when life hands you lemons, just say pass the salt and the tequila! (OK OK anyone who knows me knows I don't drink, so go ahead and set up a lemon-aid stand instead. ;))
So far the new year is starting out good and not so good. The good part is that we are all happy and healthy. The not so good part is our very expensive boiler system (furnace) went kaput and there isn't anybody around here who knows how to fix it! The other not so good part is that our oldest is having a very hard time getting back into the routine of homeschooling. Which is also trying my patience terribly. ( A wise woman once told me that I should never pray for patience because God will just give me more ways to practice it. LOL She was right!) I've also had to cancel a very important appointment with a specialist 3 times now because I got sick and the uncertainty of the weather.
So, with that stuff out of the way (for blogging) I'll move on to good stuff.
In less than a week we are meeting with our SW to go through the bulletin and hopefully find some children that we may be able to adopt. We're so ready. Our oldest asks almost daily when we're going to bring home another brother and a couple of sisters for him and his little brother. It's so hard to keep telling him that we don't know and that we just have to trust that God will bring them to us when it's the right time. Our son is awesome! He just tells me, 'that's right Mum. When God decides it's time, then it's time and we'll just go get them!'
I'm really happy too that in less than a week we start our regular adoption support group meetings again for the year. I miss our group through winter break. Even though I saw most of them at our Christmas party. That was a fun time. Watching all of our kids playing together and the grown ups playing like children. What a sight to behold!
Even with the financial strain we're feeling right now (yes that comes under the not so good category) I wish there was time for hubby and I to go out for our date night. We have the sweetest little babysitter that comes in when we're just doing a date night. She's 13 and so very awesome with our boys. She just adores them. It's also wonderful that when she's here both boys are so tuckered out from playing with her that they sleep soundly through the night and sleep in the next day! Have I mentioned that I absolutely love our Jenny?! (Jenny if you're reading this tell your Mum and Dad that I think they're awesome parents for having raised such a wonderful daughter!)
Soon we'll have you over again and then everyone will be happy!
Monday is usually my favorite day of the week. I've mentioned that before in a previous post. But yesterday was NOT my favorite day. My oldest decided that he was not letting go of last week and carried it over to yesterday. Today has been better but tomorrow will be better still. On Sunday my youngest decided that instead of taking his nap he would redecorate his room! His choice of artistic material? You got it! Rather, he got it...EVERYWHERE! On the walls, on the heat register, all over his dresser, his door, carpeting covered, bed, bedding, stuffies, toys...you name it he painted it! What a joy that was! It took 3 adults to get his room back in order. But it's done now and we move forward. Nothing left to do but laugh it off! Oh he was a very proud artist!
So there you have my first week and a bit of the new year. Hope yours is going better!
Remember, when life hands you lemons, just say pass the salt and the tequila! (OK OK anyone who knows me knows I don't drink, so go ahead and set up a lemon-aid stand instead. ;))
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