Blast from the past

Memaw and I have been showing Maggie old commercials from when we were little. Here is one of my faves!

Last day for the drawing

Be sure to enter the Build a bear workship gift card giveaway. The drawing will be tonight!

Buddy the elf

This is one of Maggie's favorite movies. So in honor of "international answer the phone like buddy the elf day"...here's a montage.

I love getting the mail!

Tomorrow is going to be a really rough day. I was on the phone with a student who wanted me to give him every answer to the final and the doorbell rang. It was a package. YAY! Maybe it was something that I sneakily ordered from Amazon?!

Nope. EVEN. BETTER!

I won a free Moose from Build a Bear Workshop!

A while back, I posted that I wanted to get a Moose for Christmas. I thought he was so cute. He has light up ears. And today, I won him! How cool is that?

So, I won this moose!http://www.buildabear.com/shop/productdetail.aspx?ProductSKU=14386&Category=Christmas&CallingPage=ProductSummary

And a free book! Maggie wanted to sleep with him tonight, so I shared my moose with her.

And, I have a 10 dollar gift card for Build a Bear Workshop to give away to my loyal readers. Just post a comment here and I'll have a drawing by Friday.

And if you want to get the 2 little guys, you can get them for 24 dollars total and the book comes free. Otherwise, they are 12 dollars a piece.

Woot.

Muppets

We are watching Muppets on tv. They are in NYC. I told Maggie that I would love to see NY at Christmas. She said, "no, I don't want to go at all.". I asked her why and she said, "I only wanna see my Memaw at Christmas". It was pretty cute.

Then, she found this video on youtube. She finds it hilarious.

I like how annoyed Mickey looks!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Blanco Terro

Tonight, Maggie and I went to look at Christmas lights. Her favorite house is the crazy house that Steven blogged about last Christmas.

We took Willie with us. We started talking about Willie getting his driver's license and how silly it would be for him to drive all of his puppy friends around town.

Maggie said that Willie was "blanco" since he was white. I said that he was "blanco perro", which means white dog. She said, "no, he's a blanco terro". He's a White Terrier. This cracked her up.

Upcoming weekend

We have a busy weekend planned. Tonight is a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for a girl from MOPS. Maggie went to CECheese last week with Tanya and hasn't stopped talking about it since then. So, she is so excited.

Tomorrow night is a Christmas party and Sunday is our small group party.

We are busy, busy. And we are waiting for Owen to come and join us. Tanya should go anyday now and I hope that we can help them out with their kids.

Next Monday, is an emergency placement hearing for our children. They should be placed with family by Thursday. I get really teary eyed thinking about them leaving. R and Maggie have a very special bond. He always smiles and laughs for her and they have special little looks and gestures and they both crack up at each other. It will be sad for them to go, but I'm glad it will be over soon in a way. I am ready to have our lives back. It's been such a roller coaster and I want off of the ride.

Then, Memaw will be here the following Saturday. We have a countdown til Memaw gets here and Maggie always sings "Hallelejuah" after we count down the days.

"cold" weather

Tonight, I am sitting in the silent house with Willie right beside me. I rented a movie and I'm working online. I just thought, I love this kind of cold weather. It gives you permission to bundle up on the sofa and eat sweet stuff and watch movies and no one gives you guilt...it's cold outside.

During the summer months, I feel like I should be outside or enjoying the weather (if it's not 100 degrees), but during "cold" weather,you can just be lazy without guilt.

But, who am I kidding? "Cold" weather is approximately 40 degrees. I hate putting on a coat. I hate putting coats on 3 preschool aged children. I hate hearing how hot they are when we put on the coats and finding the one random glove that doesn't have a match. I have never really driven in the snow or shovelled my driveway.

So, it's a nice thought. I'll just drink hot chocolate with junior mints melted in them tonight and enjoy my time by myself.

hmmmm

I'm not sure what to say. I don't want to leave that downer post on my blog. We had a horrible experience in court. I don't want to post what is going to happen on a public forum, but if you don't know, just email me.

Things are slowly getting back to "normal". We are in the full swing of Christmasing in our house. The tree is up and R loves it. He is in awe of it. He also learned two new words this weekend. He learned please and cookie. He says it A LOT!

We went to the Christmas parade last night. It was very fun and I love those kind of things. Thankfully, Steven goes along with me. It's definitely not his thing at all.

We had a Christmas cookie swap tonight at church. So many yummy cookies. I ate so much sugar tonight that I was sick afterwards and I was craving meat! That never happens, I guess my body needed to counteract all of the sugar in me.

Tomorrow we have a visit with a family friend that wants the children. I am not really looking forward to it, but I think that Steven will stay at home with Maggie so I will have an hour to myself. How sad is my life that I'm looking forward to an hour sitting in a yucky, hard chair in a government building just cause I'll be by myself?

In good news, my mom will be here in 13 days. I can't wait. Maggie and I have been counting down the days. I wonder if Steven is counting them down,too? lol

when it rains, it pours

Last night, we heard a loud bump. I thought the kids were hurt, so we walked around to see what was going on, but saw nothing. Steven looked out the window, but didn't see anything.

This morning, he was taking my car to get some part of his truck to a mechanic,because his truck has been broken for about a week. He has been working and working on it and got to a point where we couldn't fix it anymore. When he walked outside, my window was smashed in and my purse was gone.

We called and cancelled all of my cards. R and J's medical cards and some identifying information was in my purse.

The police came and took a report. When she left, Steven went outside to look around for my purse. There's a walking trail near our house so maybe they ran and threw the purse down.

As he walked outside, the garbage man drove by. He had found my purse and was returning it to me. Everything was in it, except my debit card.

What a day.

wednesday

Will you please pray for our family? On Wednesday, our foster kids' case is going to court. The judge will decide between the kids' grandmother and the mom's friend. This is so hard on all of us.

Another video from Maggie

Thankful

What are you thankful for?

I love that he made popcorn for Thanksgiving dinner

Matthew Chapter 25

On Sunday during church, I had a moment that changed my whole perspective on fostering. Steven ended his sermon with Matthew 25.

Here are the verses:

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

The part that stuck out to me was: in prison.

Both of J's parents are now in prison. Maybe our job is not to fight for them to stay with us. Our job is to love and care for them while we have them. Our job is to make sure that we help the next home as much as possible. Maybe we are supposed to show them Christ's love. I had such a sense of peace about it all. I can't change anything about where they go next, but I can help their transition go really well. I can help their grandmother with clothes and diapers and birthday gifts. Maybe she will allow us to stay in their lives and we can still impact them in some way.

Today, we had a great visit with their grandmother. It was so interesting to get her perspective on everything and I mentioned being a part of their lives. At first, I didn't get much of a response, but then she said that she would invite us to J's birthday party.

She also talked to J about coming for a visit to her house. J said, "will you take me to church?". That is J's favorite thing to do. She loves church. Maybe her grandmother will keep taking her because J asks her about going to church.

Control

We have been working with J a lot on control issues. She has had to survive for so long and is very independent. In a way, this is a good thing. What other two year old can get themselves dressed completely, including shoes? It is so different from Maggie who would prefer that EVERYTHING was done for her. :)

However, this independence rears its ugly head in ways that are so hard. She wants to do everything for herself and be in charge of everyone and everything in the house. She is very bossy to Maggie and R. The other day she was in the front of the house in her tshirt and diaper and had her finger pointing in the air telling R and Maggie what was about to happen. I told her that children wearing diapers were not in charge of everyone in the house. It was so ironic.

She has had to be self sufficient and we have to teach her to be dependent on us. Many times during the day, we say, "J, you are not in charge. You don't have to be in control. Mommy and Daddy will take care of things. Don't worry about it." It's almost like you could pull a string on the back of my neck and I would quote this verbatium.

The other night, I couldn't sleep. I can't seem to fall asleep because I worry about what is going to happen to them next. What if R can't sleep and is crying for us? What if they are scared? What if plagues me til I am exhausted and finally fall asleep.

I started praying and thought about J and her issues with control. I heard the word "control". It came together for me. Just like we have to teach her how to give control to us, we have to give the control to God in this situation. He has in under control already. We can't be in charge. He is our Daddy and will take care of the kids when we aren't there.

What is Christmas all about?

For: MOM

Nursing a baby

I was rocking R (trying to get that boy to take a nap) and had a blanket over him.Maggie said, "Mommy, when are you going to nurse him?". I told her that I couldn't do that. I tried to explain why this wouldn't happen. It was kind of confusing to her. But, then she said, "I have a great idea. Why don't you just drink a whole lot of milk and then you can nurse him?"

Duh, why didn't I think of that?!

Thanksgiving fun at school

 

 

 

 

I like pizza, Steve.

November 17, 2008
TiVo, Dominos: Broadband Never Tasted So Good
When the moon hits your eye with a big pizza pie, thank TiVo and Dominos. Beginning today, TiVo subscribers can order pies for delivery or pick-up from the pizza maker.

Hungry viewers can order pizza when they see a Dominos ad on TiVo and click "I want that" through their remote. TiVo subscribers will be able to set-up a user name and password on Dominos.com and each time they use their TiVo remote to place an order, they can log-in via their account number.

Through the TiVo/Dominos interactive system, subscribers can also create a custom pizza from television and select types of crusts, toppings and sauces. Users can also track pizza delivery timing. The companies promise that pies will be delivered in 30 minutes. The new service is free and payable in cash upon pizza delivery.

The new service gives new meaning to the term couch potato, and in fact, the companies' marketing executives refer to the service as "couch commerce."

"Joining forces with Domino's Pizza creates an effective marketing and commerce tool for Domino's while enhancing and further distinguishing TiVo as the ultimate way to watch TV with a closed-loop advertising experience," said Karen Bressner, Tivo's senior vice president of advertising sales, said in a statement.

Or, as Bressner put it, the deal is an "advertising solution as commercial avoidance continues to increase."

So, get the door, get the scale, its Dominos.

Maggie's been helping me find Christmas videos

yes, i am bored

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Only 40 days til christmas!

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build a bear

I'm "working" at the coffee shop aka surfing the net and enjoying some time by myself.

I think I might buy this for myself for Christmas. http://www.buildabear.com/shop/productdetail.aspx?ProductSKU=13868&Category=moose&CallingPage=ProductSummary

Isn't it cute? His antlers light up.

(back to "work")

Telling them about Jesus

I was putting Maggie to sleep and we were talking about England. Here is the conversation that followed:

Maggie: What language do they speak in England?
Me: English like we speak here.
Maggie: Do they know about Jesus in England?
Me: Not everyone.
Maggie: We need to go to England and tell them about Jesus.
Me: Uh, okay. Let's go.
Maggie: What about those Indian guys from our planet?
Me: What?
Maggie: You know, those guys that walk by our house everyday. You said they were Indian.
Me: Yes, I do know.
Maggie: Do they know Jesus?
Me. I don't know.
Maggie: We gotta tell them about Jesus, Mommy.
Me: Okay. We got a lot of people to tell about Jesus.

Mixed blessing

Yesterday was a court hearing for a NRFM (non related family member..whatever that means). She is fighting for custody of the children. She was denied previously, but is fighting the court.

The case was continued because now J's paternal grandmother wants both of the kids. I have such mixed feelings about this. I think it's important that the kids stay together. They are really the only stability that they have in each other. However, this grandmother is not related to R. And she has only met them once, which was 2 weeks ago. I guess we're not related to R either, but whatever.

I called the lawyer to ask if we can fight for R. I was told that the grandmother is shaping up and should probably receive placement within 30 days. When I told the lawyer, he was shocked. (Don't lawyers and SW talk to each other?!) He didn't know that things were progressing with the grandmother. He said that he would fight for them to stay together, but he was still fighting for them to stay with us.

So, basically who knows what is going to happen?The next court case is the beginning of next month. At that point, they will (hopefully) make a decision between NRFM/grandmother/us.

Keep on praying for us. We hope that if it means that they have to leave that they will leave before the first of the year. We can't take them with us to my stepsister's wedding out of state. I don't want to have to find respite for the week and then have them go a couple of weeks later.

today

Today, I took Maggie to see High School Musical 3. My friend. Laura, sent us free tickets to see it.

I have never seen someone so excited. She was sick from yesterday, but she was so excited. She was dancing and singing during the first half of the show. I didn't watch most of it because I was watching her watch it. She just danced and hit me on the arm because she was so happy.

There was a weird commercial for Jon and kate plus 8 before the movie started. Kind of weird. It's funny how Maggie noticed the product placement in the show. She was pointing all kinds of stuff in their show. Of course, she is a tv fan. Tonight, she told me that she had to watch the new Dora show because it was a prime time premiere episode on tonight.

R got a first haircut today. Let me tell you. He hated it with all of his heart. At the end of it, he threw himself on the floor in a gigantic fit. Lovely. All of his curls are gone and he looks like a little boy instead of a baby girl. It's a good look for him! He has gotten a little more 18 month lately. I told the SW today that it was pretty funny, because he was going to have to throw bigger fits than that to get us to notice. It's like little baby fits. Awww.....

Also, we heard today that it's almost certain that they will go to a grandmother. I am not happy at all about this. However, I have to be okay with it. It's just so sad that they will be leaving us and it's sad that they have to move again. Poor little guys. We are still just praying about the whole thing.

Silly little guy

Steven rearranged our entire kitchen today. Like everything out on the counters and back in and rearranged back into the cabinets. We set up a small snack area with snacks in small baggies that is reachable for the kids. Right under that shelf is the shelf with dog and cat food.

R has decided that he is hungry all the time. And he wants to feed himself. So, he was signing "more" and I told him no more snacks. He opened up the cabinet near the snack shelf and handed me a can of Friskies cat food. Then, he signed "more".

Then, I was drying my hair in the bathroom. Maggie was talking about something of great importance to her and I was not really paying attention to R. After I finished drying my hair, I turned around. R put an empty box of Cheez Nips in the toilet. He carried the box all day hoping that there were be some Cheez Nips in the box. I guess he was tired of there not being any snacks in the box and put the box in the potty.

A small crack?

Tonight after her bath, J ran to the living room and then came back to the bathroom and screamed, I have to potty. She went to the potty and actually went! YAY! Steven and I did the potty dance and she was so excited. She started laughing and shouting and then cried a little. But, a happy cry. I hugged her and then we went to get dressed. She said, I have to go potty again, so I followed her back to the potty where she went again. Again, a potty dance and excitement.

But, then, she let me in a little. She tickled me and we played a game where she was running from the snapping all-dagators and I would save her. Then, she let me rock her and we talked about her favorite color.

It was interesting. It was so different from our interactions all this last week. She has pushed and pushed me away. She loves Steven, though. But, in a way that pushed me away from her. All day, we fought and fought. So, tonight, we ended on a high. I kissed her goodnight and she said "i like you". sigh.

Pumpkin "cutie" pie

 
Maggie had a Harvest fest at school today. I couldn't go because little brothers and sisters weren't allowed to attend, so Steven went and took some pictures. She had such a good time. She was Ariel and they had games and candy outside of the school. Then, they went to the nursing home nearby and sang songs to the elderly residents. When she got home, she told me that she recognized one of the grandmas. She said that it was a grandma from our church. I think she saw Evelyn. Maggie said that they hugged and were happy to see each other. Very sweet.

Here's some more pictures.http://picasaweb.google.com/coleminer77/HarvestFestAtSchool#

warning: vent

I"ve heard that adoptive parents can go through the stages of grief with their new children. Well, today I am in the stage of anger. I am really mad at their bio mother. I can't believe that she did this to two children. I know that we all make mistakes and she has problems of her own, but she really should have thought about this before she decided to have children.

J is having real issues. And I am mad. Our family has to deal with it. I know that this is a bad attitude to have, but that's how I am feeling today. She has to be constantly monitored. She can't let anyone in and she can't truly trust us. Granted it has only been 3 weeks that she has been here, but her brother who was in a loving foster home his whole life is not having the issues that she has.

It's just hard to deal with her issues and know that they are not really her fault. It's because of the selfish actions of an adult.

Things in general are getting better. But, we find that as soon as she lets us get close or feels to vulnerable, the next day is awful.

Even today after I worked, I came home determined to show her love. I paid attention to her but as soon as I got distracted, it started all over again. Time in followed by time in followed by time out within 15 minutes. It's so frustrating. She has to follow me around the house because if I leave her alone, chaos ensues!

So, keep praying for us. I need to forgive her bio mom. She told J at the last visit that I wasn't her real mom and that she shouldn't call me mommy. I don't care that she calls me mommy,but she doesn't realize what that does to J. J is so confused already and now her bio mom is adding more to the issues. She hears the other kids calling me mommy so it's natural for her to call me that, too. I tried "mommy beth" but she quickly changed that. She doesn't care about what's easiest for her daughter, she is only worried about her feelings.

Oka

You say it's your birthday....it's my birthday too.

Today, I am 31.

Let's talk about 31 things that are blessings to me!

1. Laura sent me 2 ticket codes to HSM3. I guess it's a blessing. At least Maggie thinks it's a blessing.

2. Steven is a great husband. I love him even when he when he annoys the crap out of me.

3. Maggie Moo is a wonderful daughter. She is so sweet. We sat outside tonight and looked at the stars. Then, we pretended like we were on an airplane ride and she was the pilot. She is so fun and sweet.

4. J had a great day today. She is very sweet and is really trying to let us in and love her.

5. R is a total sweetheart. He is snuggly and sweet. He will wave and smile at anyone who looks at him while we are out.

6. Willie. I love that dog. He is so funny and gentle with the kids.

7. Maybe this was a bad idea. I'm bored with this list.

8. Oh wait, my mom. I like her, too. She is like awesome and stuff.

9. Scrapbooking is fun, too.

10. Okay, does anyone really want to read this? I'd better go.Steven needs to take me to breakfast in the morning...hint, hint.

1

In case you are wondering what I am counting down to it's...............

Delta Zeta Founder's Day tomorrow. That's right (thanks for the reminder, Laura), tomorrow is the birthday of Delta Zeta's founder. October 24th is a day of pink and green!


In other news, Maggie and Steven were playing with kitten in my pockets this morning. This was the conversation that I heard.

Maggie: Hi Kitty, what do you want to eat? Spaghetti?
Steven: No, kitties don't eat spaghetti. We like field mice.
Maggie: Oh, I got field mice spaghetti cat food.
Steven: Where did you find that?
Maggie: I got it online. That's where I bought it.

(Oh and imagine that this is all spoken in high "kitty" voices!)

2

nothing to say. Just wanted to keep up on the countdown.

3

I'm being a good Christian mama tonight and plopped all 3 of them on the floor of the living room in front of Daniel in the Lion's den (veggie tales version). This was after dinner and a baths.

R woke up this morning and Steven said it looked like an alien landed on his head. He had so much green stuff coming out of every place in his head. He had the worst case of pink eye that I have ever seen. It was horrible.

I started calling numbers and finally got in touch with the doctor's office and made an appt. I called and cancelled the babysitter for today.

Loaded up the kids and headed to the doctor's office. It was a different doctor. I love her. She listened to me and thanked me for fostering. She said that it was important for me to pray. It was awesome. Got some medicine for R.

Headed home and attended to sick, whiny kids all day.

Steven's at a meeting and I bathed and fed the kids. I turned in Veggie Tales for them. They are relaxing and singing with Bob and Larry.

It was a good day, but I am really tired. I think I am getting sick. But, if I got sick, it would be all of us for Steven to take care of. And I don't wanna be sick on my birthday.

4

I love October. Steven teases me that I look at the whole month of October like it's my birthmonth not just Oct. the 24th being my birthday. But, I just love looking forward to and anticipating the 24th!

It's only 4 more days til my birthday and my life has been so crazy that I haven't even really counted down that much. I usually have countdowns and I'm dreaming up something fun to do on the big day. This year, life has been a bit wild.

In other exciting news, R has learned 5 new words since he got here. He says:

Mickey (the cat)
Gaggie (Maggie)
Uh-oh
Whee
Baby
and drum roll.............MeMe (Mommy)

He has started eating with a spoon and eats real food now. He was only eating applesauce and rice cereal when he came here. Amazing what 2 weeks will do!

We think he said "hot dog" and "daddy" tonight, too. He loves the hot dog song from Mickey Mouse clubhouse. Maggie turns it on and he starts dancing and stomping her foot in time to the music. It turns in to a big dance party! So, after every meal, he runs to the computer and screams something that sounds like "hot dog" at the computer.

With J, we have started doing "time in" instead of "time outs". Since she has bonding issues, we have been trying to hold her when she needs to be disciplined instead of sending her to her room. It seems to really work. My hip is getting pretty strong from holding her so much. She wants to be around us more and is doing much better. Every day is a little better.

In other family news, I am kind of sad to report that Maggie's imaginary friends are on a vacation. I haven't heard from Johnny, Logan and Sleeping Beauter in a couple of weeks. I asked about them and Maggie reported that they are in Ok-a-homa visiting Johnny's parents. I am actually a little sad about this. I miss them and their adventures.

This is so funny!

update

Maggie has 2 ear infections. It just keeps getting better!

Our crazy house

* R is teething. He didn't sleep last night unless I was holding him.

* Maggie's ear is hurting now. What is going on?!

* Steven came home tonight. I am so happy.

* My birthday is in 6 days. Guess what I get to do on my birthday? That's right, go to WIC. How exciting.

* It rained today for about a minute. It made me happy.

* J and Maggie played happily in her room for about 30 minutes without getting mad at each other. They played restaurant and hairdresser. I was the audience for the fashion show.

It's almost funny!

Maggie came home from school with pink eye. yipp-freaking-ee!

what a day

7 a.m. I took J on a breakfast date. I have a hard time connecting to her so I thought it would be fun to do something by ourselves. It was so nice. We colored and read books and ate waffles together. I think she hugged me 10 times at least. It was so nice.

8a.m. We came home before Maggie left for preschool. Within 2.5 (gotcha, Laura) seconds, she picked a fight with Maggie. And was teasing Maggie about how she got to go to breakfast by herself with me. Thankfully, Maggie was about to go to school. shew.

9a.m. The kids played nicely together while I folded 7 (really) loads of laundry that I have been putting off. While I bemoaned the fact that I have to sort thru 5 different people's socks, I told Steven that I think a lot of her issues are from competing with Maggie over stuff. About 2.5 seconds later (again, Laura), she picked a fight with R over a toy.

10 a.m. Went to Wal*Mart to get a few things that I wrote on my hand so I wouldn't forget them. Guess what? I got everything but those things. D'OH! I did find 3 matching pairs of Halloween crocs for the kids. So stinking cute.

10:30 a.m. On the way home, I called my mom. J heard her voice on my bluetooth that is a speaker phone and shouted "memaw"! I melted a little. She loves to talk to Memaw on the phone. She told Memaw that she wants a pink birthday party and for Memaw to make the cake for her.

11 a.m. Realizing that something is wrong with R. On Monday, he got shots. On Tuesday, he had a fever and a snotty nose. Today, he was super clingy. Even for R. What was going on? Almost had him to sleep and realized that I had to schlep across the street to pick up Maggie. Steven called at that moment and offered to go get Maggie before I asked. Yay, steven!

11:30 a.m. Realized that R is cutting molars.yay. The only way he will stop crying is if I am holding him. Not Steven. Only me. Yay.

12 p.m. Feed the kids and Maggie goes to play in her room for a little while. Steven offers to work from home during nap time so I can go back to the store. Get the kids to sleep very easily.

1 p.m. Maggie and I head to Target. To mix it up a little. She begs for some more pink reading glasses and a bible verse book. She quoted "to everything there is a season under heaven" and sings this little song about what God made during creation. How could I resist?

2 p.m. (are you still with me?) Nothing much until around 5 p.m. Steven leaves for Jesse's bachelor party.

Oh wait, my mom called. Not bad news, but not great news on my stepdad.http://bugslife-memaw.blogspot.com/

5 p.m. Check my email. Kids have a different social worker than our SW. Kids' SW writes me an email that I have to take the kids to another visitation next week in addition to the one that I am already going on with another family member. So, 2 visitations next week. Yipp-freaking-ee. This also makes me realize that the chances that the kids will be without forever is slim. I mean, we knew it, but now it looks more and more likely that they will go somewhere else. Ugh. I lost it. They drive me insance, but I don't want them to leave our family.

7p.m. Kids all go to sleep. 30 minutes later, R cries. He doesn't cry usually if he is asleep. As I am walking to his room, the smell of poop hits me. He is about to explode. I change his diaper and get him back to sleep on me. Then, he goes back to sleep. Maybe it's the fever or the teeth or something.

Every 15 minutes, J starts whimpering again. She is just crying in her sleep. I can't figure out what is going on unless it's because Steven didn't put her to sleep. She doesn't sleep well if I put her to bed.

Lovely. Now, I am mindlessly surfing the web and snuggling with Maggie.

Just like "real" sisters

2 nights ago, I was putting Maggie to sleep. We were talking and I asked her what she liked about J. She said, "ummmm.........(long pause). I like it when she goes to bed at night."

What's that?

What's that you say? You are desperately searching for something for my birthday? And it's only 10 days away. Well, hope is on the way!

J

I admit that this was a harder blog to write. I had to think about this one for a while.

J is tough girl. She has a hard time letting people in. We started researching attachment issues. She doesn't have all of them. Some of these are found in lots of 2 year olds, but we see them in her.

The hardest part of the last few days has been the CONSTANT fighting with her and Maggie. It was horrible. They couldn't look at each other without fighting. Some of this is my issue. I didn't fight with my brother like other siblings. We were 5 years apart. We didn't fight over things. So, this bickering drives me crazy.

I have been praying a lot and especially in the morning before we start the day.

This morning, things were so good. The girls played together so nicely. They had a pillow fight and had a great time together. Then, we went to the doctor's office and they held hands. Maggie told J that she wants to buy her a present to welcome her to our family. J told Maggie that she was her best friend. It was so nice to hear.

I know that things won't stay this way, but at least there is some "like" there. Even if they fight again, there is some relationship forming there.

Then we went to the doctor. On the way there, she asked me if she was getting shots. I didn't think that she was, so I told her no. Guess what? She had a flu shot today. i felt so guilty.

She cried and cried. She begged Maggie to hug her for a while. Then, we came home and she tried to take a nap but just kept crying. I held her and rocked her for a while. This is a big deal. She doesn't let me rock or hold her close. She was not in a great mood after this though. I think she was hurting and very defiant.

So, tonight, Steven put her to bed. An hour after she went to bed, she was whimpering/crying in her sleep. I went in there to check on her. She was still kind of asleep. I held her hand and gave her some water. Then, I started crying. She drives me crazy sometimes. She is so difficult. Then, I remember that she is a toddler. She is a toddler who has been in 4 different homes so far. I started wondering if she had ever been comforted in her sleep before. She is used to crying to herself and no one coming. It made me so sad to think of her crying and knowing that no one was coming for her. I have to keep trying with her. I have to break through with her.

Our little boy

Our little guy is such a sweetie. And such a ladies man. He has dark eyes and dark eyelashes and at church today, he was blinking his eyes and staring at Carla and Tiffany.

When Maggie was a baby, I longed for a snuggle bug. You know one of those babies that would sit in your lap ad like to be snuggled? She was so wiggly. Well, I got my wish in this little guy. He loves to snuggle. This morning at coffee time, he snuggled up against me and was about to go to sleep. I was afraid for him to go to sleep because I was in the nursery this morning and if he falls asleep on someone and is put down in a crib, he will wake up and not be a happy guy which would be hard in the nursery. So, I asked Carla to hold him. She held him all during the service and he just slept and snuggled against her. Thanks, Carla!

He was wearing a cute little blue button down shirt and little brown boots today. He is so stinking cute. He has these cute curls in the back of his hair, too. I think I am in love.

He's very popular in our house, too. Steven loves his little man and they watched football together yesterday. Steven likes that he is so tough. He bangs into stuff and doesn't ever cry.

Maggie loves him and gets to baby him a little, which makes her happy. He is very even tempered. His only response to questions is "yeah", so Maggie asks him if he likes Hannah Montana. Then, he will say "yeah". Maggie thinks this is hilarious.

J is warming up to him too. I didn't notice much interaction between them before. Now, they plays and run and chase after each other. He lights up when she comes in the room. It's very sweet.

So, here's to our little boy. Don't worry, there will be more on J to follow.

A picture of my husband

 

3 is more than 1

Whoa. Who knew my life would be so busy? We have recently taken in 2 foster children. They are both under 3 years old. I won't be posting their pictures on my blog for safety reasons, but believe me....they are cute. If you know me, send me an email and I can forward you some pics.

MOPS has come to the rescue again and is bringing meals to us this week. It's such a relief to not have to worry about what to have for dinner.

We went to the pumpkin patch today and had a blast. I was a little scattered though following 3 kids around in 3 different directions.

I'd better go. They are out of eyesight...makes me nervous.

The spa?

My feet are so dry and cracked. I think it's because it is so dry here and I don't drink enough water. Maggie's feet are dry and starting to hurt her. I told her that I would help her out.

I pretended to be a pedicure lady and scrubbed her feet with a loofa and soap. Then, I dried them and put lots of lotion and a pair of my socks on her feet. She was asking me about why I put socks on her.

I told her that it was like she was the spa. She asked me what a spa was, so I told her that it was a place where they rub your back and your face and paint your nails and feed you chocolate.

"WHAT?!". She was shocked.

"Mama, can I start saving my pennies to go there right now?!".

Who knew?

A week ago, I took Steven to the airport at 4 a.m. Then, Maggie went to preschool and we came home and took a long nap. We had a meeting at church that night, so I took her to Applebee's. While we were eating, my Social Worker called with 2 potential children. To keep them safe, I'll call them J and R. J is a 2.5 little girl. R is a 18 month old little boy. They needed a home and hopefully we will be able to adopt them. For right now, we are still fostering them.

In a week, my life has changed. I have seen them everyday since Thursday. They have a visit with bio mom tomorrow and it will be the first day that I haven't seen them. It will be weird, but I have so much to do to get ready. It will be nice to have some time to work!

They are wonderful. I wish I could share pictures with you, but I am trying to be safe. If I know you and you send me an email, I will be glad to share pics with you.

They are moving in next Saturday. There have been so many great little stories so far.

Today's story is a little rough. I had them most of the day. R was so tired and needed a nap, but has never been laid down for a nap before. I would rock him to sleep and try to put him down and he would scream. Over and over. i was getting frustrated that he had never been in a crib before. Anyway, I finally got him to sleep and went to check on maggie in her room. She asked me for some stickers earlier and I snapped at her to get them herself. J was laying on the sofa resting.

I went in to see Maggie and I was holding R so he would keep sleeping.

Guess what Maggie was doing? She was making me a scrapbook. She found a Cinderella scrapbook. Put pieces of paper in it and found pictures of me when I was little and of her when she was little. Then decorated each page with stickers.

I started crying. It was so thoughtful of her. Steven returned from lunch to check on us. Finding me hugging and bawling with Maggie while holding R. He said, "got this mommy of 3 thing under control?".

She took the scrapbook in the car to work on it some more and was showing pictures to J in the backseat. I could hear her saying, "here's a picture of Daddy 'apetizing'(aka baptizing) Mommy". Guess who started crying again?

The Zoo

We went to the zoo last weekend with Tanya, Aiden, Evan and Emma. The dads were at a men's retreat doing manly things. We went to Chick Fil A and to the zoo. It was a lot of fun even though Maggie threw up in Tanya's car. She had just taken some pepto bismol and so it was a beautiful, pink throw up!

Here's some pictures of the day!

Ummmm...ewwww

PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk
Group Says Move Would Help Humans, Cows


WATERBURY, Vt. -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.

"PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves," the statement says.



PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health.



"The fact that human adults consume huge quantities of dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn't make sense," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Everyone knows that 'the breast is best,' so Ben & Jerry's could do consumers and cows a big favor by making the switch to breast milk."

"We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child," said a spokesperson for Ben and Jerry's.

I guess I won't be buying items from Lifeway Bookstores anymore

http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2008/09/18/gospel_magazine_pulled.html


Gospel Today magazine pulled from Christian bookstores’ shelves
Fayetteville-based publication features women pastors on cover
By CHRISTOPHER QUINN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Smiling women on the cover of a slick magazine. Sold from under the counter. Must request it from store clerk.


That’s not something a buyer would typically find in a Christian bookstore. Not unless it’s one of the more than 100 Lifeway Christian Bookstores across the United States, including about six in metro Atlanta.

Gospel Today, the Fayetteville-published magazine, was pulled off the racks by the bookstores’ owner, the Southern Baptist Convention. The problem? The five smiling women on the cover are women of the cloth — church pastors.

Southern Baptist polity says that’s a role reserved for men.

Teresa Hairston, owner of Gospel Today, whose glossy pages feature upbeat articles about health, living, music and ministry, said she discovered by e-mail that the September/October issue of the magazine had been demoted to the realm of the risque.

“It’s really kind of sad when you have people like [Gov.] Sarah Palin and [Sen.] Hillary Clinton providing encouragement and being role models for women around the world that we have such a divergent opinion about women who are able to be leaders in the church,” Hairston said. “I was pretty shocked.”

Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, which runs the stores for the Southern Baptist Convention, said, “It is contrary to what we believe.”

It bases those beliefs on their interpretation of New Testament Scriptures.

Southern Baptist representatives at national meetings have adopted statements saying women should not be pastors, but each church is independent. A few churches have selected women, such as Decatur First Baptist, where the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell preaches each Sunday from the pulpit.

Pastor Tamara Bennett of California is one of the featured pastors on the magazine cover and talks in the article about the challenges of breaking through the stained-glass ceiling.

“God’s assignment is that no souls are lost and all are saved,” Bennett said. “Gender is not how God sees it. We are about winning souls, period.”

Southern Baptists are not the only ones to frown on women preachers. Catholics, the largest Christian denomination in the nation, do not allow women priests. And some conservative evangelical groups, such as the Presbyterian Church in America, do not ordain women.

“We weren’t trying to pick a fight,” Hairston said. “We just did a story on an emerging trend in a lot of churches.”

HSM

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HSM3

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Family pictures

Lori Kelly took our family pictures yesterday. Here's a few!

weird

Last night, I had a dream that Steven and I were in the audience listening to Barack Obama. After the speech, Michelle Obama came up to Steven and asked him to go on his speaking tour. She said that Steven was such an enthusiastic audience member that he would be great for Obama's speeches. It would be good for the video clips to see him in the background.

That was an odd dream.

She's totally cool

You should go check out my mom's blog and show her some comment love!

EDIT: Have I mentioned that I don't know how to link blogs? http://bugslife-memaw.blogspot.com

Maggie's nicknames

Margaret Elizabeth Cole has many nicknames:

1. Maggie
2. Maggie Moo
3. Moo Moo
4. Moomer
5. Squirrel
6. Poodle
7. Bucket Head
8. Boo Boo Chicken
9. Moomenator
10. Moolicious

I wonder if she will have identity issues when she grows up?

What's been going on in our house

On Friday, a CPS worker came to our house and did our 2nd to last home visit. She talked to us a little and showed us the pictures of kids who were available for adoption. We got to look at lots of pictures and background information. It was cool, but strange to try to pick a child for our family.

We both really liked one little girl who is 7 months old. We submitted our interest and our case worker told us that we would hear back on Tuesday.

After a very long day, we heard on Wednesday that we weren't matched together. She was placed with another family.

I was very upset, but I have to know that it's God's plan. My mom said that there were so many people praying that it had to be what God wanted for our family and for the little girl. I really will keep praying for her and for her protection. She is a cutie and deserves the best after a rough start to life.

Contest winners announced

Drum roll please....

Maggie picked 2 random numbers and the winners are:


Rochelle and Sarah!

I will send everyone who wanted one an online code.

Rochelle and Sarah, please send me your addresses. You can email it to me or message me.

Contest ends tomorrow

Be sure to enter the drawing for the 2 books and codes up for grabs. Leave your name/email address and I will draw tomorrow morning.

Breakfast in bed

This morning, I could not get my lazy butt out of bed. I was so tired. I was in and out of sleep for about 30 minutes til my wonderful husband brought me eggs and bacon and a coke zero in bed. How sweet was that? Maggie suggested that he make breakfast for me in bed and he followed through on her suggestion. How sweet.

Sweet dreams

This morning, Maggie woke up with a smile on her face. She said that she had the most wonderful dreams last night. She dreamed that she had a magical pink pony with pink polka dots. It took her on a trip to see it's mommy and daddy and it could fly. I wish she had those kind dreams every night. She was so happy when seh woke up!

Things heard at adoption orientation meetings

Last night, we went to an orientation meeting at another agency. We are considering switching agencies. We have another home visit with CPS tonight, so we shall see. It's a very tough decision, so in order to stop pondering the seriousness of this....

FUNNY THINGS HEARD AT ADOPTION ORIENTATION MEETINGS:
1. Last night, there was a couple who didn't speak very good english. They asked about 15 questions last night and they were so incredibly random. For example, "Let's just say that there is a baby born in the boon docks of Yosemite, but the mom is from San Diego. What do you do about international adoption?"

I am so serious. That was verbatium. I wrote it down.

I started giggling everytime he would raise his hand.

2. "do you ever adopt children Belgium?

I would guess that there is not a large population of children needing to be adopted from Belgium. That one's not as funny written down, but maybe it was just the moment!

3. Our orientation guy was telling this story about how he has adopted 7 children. He had 7 children to begin with and2 of his girls have major issues. He was telling us about how those 2 girls don't have any contact with them now because of attachment issues. Not really a funny topic. But, from the other side of the room, the belgium guy BUSTS out laughing. I don't know why. It was so awkward.

4. From our first adoption orientation meeting a year ago, my favorite all time question:

"If my children were taken away from me by CPS, can I become a foster parent now?"

WHAT?!

For a good time, go to an adoption orientation meeting!

Book giveaway

I joined MomSelect. Occasionally, they will send me emails to see if I am interested in reviewing a product and giving away the product. Right up my alley!

I have 2 books to give away and 5 web access code cards.They are scratch-off cards for a FREE premium "Rainbow Membership" trial on PreciousGirlsClub.com.

The book is really cute. It's about a little girl who has an guardian angel that only she can see. Maggie and I have been reading a chapter at a time. She begged to read some more of it tonight. I like the references to God and praying for guidance. Of course, an imaginary friend really resonates with Maggie.

The website isn't ready for us yet. We preregistered to be a part of the website. It looks cute. It's a virtual reality site, kind of like a webkinz site. You have a world and decorate your room and play games. Very girl friendly.

The book is called: A Little Bit of Faith. If you are interested, post a comment and I will randomly select the winner and send the winner an email. Be sure to include your email address in your comment. I have 2 books to give away.

I have 5 web access codes. The first 5 people who post that they are interested, I will send a code to them.

I go in waves

Why do I want to post like 3 posts in one day and then I can't think of anything to post for a while? I guess I get them all out and then I have nothing to say?

What did you do for Labor Day? Steven played golf and Maggie and I went to the mall and looked around. She got a new ariel dress for her build a bear. I got some new lip gloss.

I bought a tri tip for dinner and cooked in it in our persnickety oven. It was so yummy. I know that tri tip is not only available in California, but I had never had it before we moved here. It's so yummy.

We have been watching Gustav on the news today. I'm from Houma and Morgan City where it hit. My dad is in New Orleans and decided to stay. He's fine, just lost power. It's weird to see Houma and Morgan City on the news though.They are pretty small towns! I bet they wish that they weren't on tv for this though.

Now, I'm off to have some peppermint tea and watch our wedding video with Maggie

36 years ago today

(I wasn't born)

However, my cute husband was born. I have to say that unlike Michelle Obama, my husband is a different man than the one that I fell in love with. I just think that we are both so different. I guess it's true that if you are married to someone long enough you will start to look like them. Does that mean that I will have a goatee soon?

He is a wonderful, Godly man. I'm glad that I am married to him. We are very different, but have a lot in common. There's no one that I would rather discuss something with besides him. He makes me laugh like nobody else.

I love watching him with Maggie. Tonight, they were playing "football" which is basically Maggie trying to tackle Steven. She has a great example of what a husband is supposed to be because of him and I love him for that.

He is so compassionate and caring. It takes a lot to annoy him and he is willing to listen and take time with people.

I love him and I love how he challenges me. He is the person who made me want to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ. I hope he has a wonderful birthday!

First day of school

 
 
 
 

Remember last year? I would drop off Maggie at school every day and every day she would cry when I left her. She would be so sad.

Today, she woke up at 7 a.m. I was in the bathroom and Steven was walking out the door. Maggie yelled, "GOOD MORNING! IT'S PRESCHOOL TODAY!" She was up and dressed in about 2.5 seconds (quote for Laura Hallford) and begging to go to school. I walked her outside and showed her that her teacher's cars weren't in the parking lot yet. While we outside, I took pictures. I asked her to smile, but she couldn't. She had to make only silly faces.

I took her to school. No crying. Just walked right in and said "hi" to everyone. Then, all the other moms and dads were standing around and kissing screaming kids. Maggie said "give me a kiss and go, mommy". I told her that I could wait with her for a minute, she said "no, just give me a kiss and go". So, I followed her instructions and left. What a difference in one year.

So, umm...

1. Today was pretty bad. We were supposed to meet with our social worker. I spent all night on Saturday working on a scrapbook that was due at our meeting on Monday. Guess what? She was sick and not in the building. Guess when they told us? 45 minutes after we waited in the waiting room. We watched a little bitty bitty baby (like days old) being dropped off in the lobby by a guy. He had to go get someone else so he just left the baby with the scattered secretary. She didn't know what to do. I told her that I would watch the baby for her. So, Maggie and I awwed over the tiny baby. We watched a foster mom drop off a baby with her daddy. It was so awkward. The kid was hysterically upset about being left. It was an uncomfortable scene.

2. Tomorrow is Maggie's first day of school. She is so excited. I will post pictures of her new back to school outfit. While she is in school, our new MOPS group is meeting at our newly renovated church to discuss last minute details before our first meeting on Wednesday.

3. Then, I have to work! So, my MOPS friends will be at my house without me! They are going to price stuff for the garage sale that is at our house on Friday.

4. I'm waiting for Jon Stewart to come on. I can't wait to get his reaction to the DNC tonight.

5. One more thing. I have the hardest time with links, but this is a good one. Sarah posted it first! http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/08/donald_miller_t.html

My husband = awesome

Be sure to check out his blog. He's giving away a book.

www.stevencole.org


He also described our stinking, bad day. However, he saved the day. On the way home, I noticed that were passing a sign for Lodi. I thought that was weird. I thought that Lodi was on the way to Sacramento, which is the opposite way from our house. Then, I saw a sign for the Elk Grove Auto Mall. I was confused. Then, it hit me. He was taking me to CHICK FIL A. It made up for a very bad day.

Lands' End survey

If you know me, you know that I love to enter surveys, especially if there is an incentive. I got this in my email and thought that I would share the love!






Lands' End is one of those companies that really value moms' opinions. Here's a way to have your voice heard and really make a difference when it comes to preparing for the upcoming winter months.

Please take a few minutes to complete the 2008 Lands' End Outerwear Survey. The survey consists of 19 multiple-choice questions. Upon completing the survey, your name will be entered to win one of five $100 Lands' End Gift Cards. To be eligible to win, you must complete the survey by midnight (CST) on Thursday, August 28th.

Take the Survey Now!copy and paste this link into a new broswer.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DG9KwbHEjhrksqANVd2F3Q_3d_3d

Scrapbooking

If you know me,you know that I love to scrapbook. One of the things that we have to do before our meeting with the adoption caseworker is to put together a family scrapbook. This is to present our family to the caseworkers who decide where to place a child. I want it to be good! The supervisor is a scrapbooker, so I want to impress.

The only problem is that the pictures have to represent our family, but not be identifying in any way. This is to protect our family and keep our location confidential. It's going to be hard to do.

Any suggestions on pictures to take or include that don't let people know where we live?

Pregnancy Center

Last spring, I was asked to apply to be on the Pregnancy Center board. I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to commit to, but I decided to put in my resume. I was accepted and the first board meeting is next month. I'm a little nervous, I've never been on a formal board before, I'm usually a volunteer.

Today, I met with the director. It was such a great thing to see. They are all volunteers and working so hard to serve the women in our community. And trying to show them the love of Jesus at the same time. It was amazing.

I am so excited about serving with them. Our ladies' group is trying to find a way to serve with them, so I went and got some great ideas and ways to serve at the center.

It's just not an organization that I knew a lot about, but I'm proud that it's in Manteca. These ladies are an inspiration. They are using their time and energy and money to provide for women in bad situations.

Ready for the OFFICE

Skinny dipping

Maggie has been playing in the blow up pool in the backyard. She went inside to potty and came out naked. She asked if she could swim naked in the pool. We have a high fence, why not? NO pictures to illustrate this post.

The Family Tree

I want to type this out. What if I forget about this extended family?

First, there was Johnny. He is Maggie's imaginary friend. He is from "oka-homa".
Then, Logan. This is Johnny's brother. He was born in Texas.
Then, Sleeping Beauter. This is Johnny's sister. She is not Logan's sister.

Maggie alternately marries Johnny or Logan. It just depends.

Then, Maggie had Shanna. This is Maggie's baby, but we are unsure of who the father is. Shanna does some crazy things. One night, she ran around the living room without her diaper on. This cracked Maggie up. She was screaming and screeching at her to put on her diaper.

Ariel is Maggie's imaginary dog.

Someday (hopefully) they will all disappear. In the meantime, they are a fun addition to our household.

Did you have an imaginary friend when you were growing up?

Mr. Jesse and Miss Tiffany

 
 
 
 
















The aforementioned subjects who will not be named "MAY" have been created as paperdolls by Maggie this week. I saw this great idea in Family Fun magazine that had ways to make paperdolls. I cut out paperdolls out of grocery sacks and then we picked out clothes from patterns that we saw in advertisements in magazines. She had so much fun coloring them and their faces and named them Mr. Jesse and Miss Tiffany. An entire bottle of glue was used in this production.

 
I thought that our days of youth ministry were over. However, I think we are still in youth ministry, but a slightly older youth ministry. Wait, the suspects who did this could have been our youth. They are the same age as Christi Daniel and Stephen Watts. Not that I have any idea who did this to our yard and Steven's truck. But, payback will happen!

mickey and maggie go to the olympics...be ware of mickey's booty. it's disturbing!

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Maggie doesn't feel good

She is such a healthy girl. She is rarely sick. Last night, I noticed that she was sniffing a lot and sneezing, too.

This morning, she slept in really late and asked me for her "booger medicine" aka mucinex. We didn't have any and she begged me to take her to walmart to buy some medicine. That was my sign that she really didn't feel good. I have to sit on top of her if I need to give her some medicine, so if she was asking for medicine, she must not feel good.

We came home and she happily took the medicine and got in bed. She is watching a movie we rented from Red Box.

Playing with pictures

 
I have been playing with Maggie's pictures tonight. I did this on Picasa pictures.

TiVo

Jesse introduced me to a true love. He gave us his TiVo when we moved into the parsonage. Thank you, Jesse.

Now, we can TiVo Maggie's favorite shows. She can "fast forward" through the commercials. She wants us to "pause" when she runs to the bathroom. Steven can record hours and hours of golf.

We also TiVo "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report". I TiVo "Jon and Kate plus Eight". Sometimes I get annoyed by Kate, but I kind of enjoy watching the train wreck and I'm grateful that I don't have 8 children!

What do you TiVo? If you don't TiVo (mom), what is the show that you look forward to each week/each day?

smells

What are some of your favorite smells?

Steven is baking whole wheat bread right now. The smell of it is amazing.

There's a powerful connection between smells and emotions. This smells like home and warmth to me.

What are some of your favorite smells and what emotions does it bring up in you?

Maggie's prayers

Last night, I put Maggie to sleep. We read a book and said our prayers. I've been trying something new with Maggie. I ask her to tell God who she is thankful for. Last night, she listed Memaw, NahNah, Scrappy(her cat, Nana and Papa, and Miss Judi.

Miss Judi just left for Japan (aka China) to be a missionary. She will be working in a school. I'm so proud of her for taking this leap of faith.

Then, I asked Maggie to tell God if she was sorry for anything. This is a touchy question for Maggie. She wants to tell God that she is sorry, but needs to explain why she did whatever she did and why it's not really her fault!

Cutie pie

 

I'm supposed to be working, but this pictures is so cute. I have to share! Maggie and I went to the mall today and took advantage of Picture People's free picture. Isn't this adorable?! Not that I'm biased.

Veggies

My friend, Stacie, just brought some vegetables from her garden. They are gorgeous and huge. We got some cilantro, rosemary, zucchini and tomatoes.

I'm excited.

Waiting

We are in the process of adopting a child through the foster care system in California. Our only stipulations are that the child is younger than Maggie.

We started the process here in October. We went to a meeting and submitted our application. We completed our homestudy in January and completed our foster care classes in February of this year. It took us a while to get our paperwork completed after that. We thought that we didn't have to complete the medical paperwork and CPR classes to get approval for adoption. We thought that it could come later, however, we found out in June that this wasn't true, so we got it all turned in last week.

So, now we wait. It's so strange, but I feel worse now that we have it all turned in. It's like I have absolutely no control over when the child could be placed with us. It's totally out of our hands now.

I know that God is in control. This is just one of those low moments where I wish I knew what was going to happen. I want some peace about this. I want to know that the child is coming soon.

3.99

It's a great price! I bought gas today for 3.99 and I was happy about it. Around 4th of July, gas was around 4.40. Thank goodness I don't drive very much.

Maggie's artwork

This is me
Maggie goes to Miss Brynn's house during the week so that I can get some work done. They do a lot of art projects. One day they made pictures on the computer and Brynn sent them to me. Here are a few of them.

Working out

Steven and I joined the gym this summer. At first, I mostly used it for the swimming pool. Maggie and I would go and cool off in the afternoon at the pool. I occassionally went to the water aerobics class, but we have been gone a lot this summer so I haven't used the gym a lot.

Last week, I realized how much better I feel when I walk for 30 minutes. There's a child care section that Maggie can go to while I work out. At first, she hated going, but now she enjoys it. She loves Wednesdays, too. They have a gym class for kids and she showed me her "yogo" moves this morning. It was pretty cute.

So, I think I set a new record for me. I worked out 5 times last week. I have been 3 times this week so far. I might only make it 4 times this week because of a work day on Saturday at church. Of course, I haven't lost any weight, but I feel better and I know it's good for my borderline high blood pressure.

Good news

 

My mom got a job! She will be teaching middle school English. YAY! She asked me to take some pictures of Maggie for a planner that she is ordering of Maggie being a teacher.

I have a question for y'all. Maggie wants a laptop to type on like mine. I have seen some Barbie laptops for little girls that are cute. But, I think you can only play the preloaded games on them. I would like to find a laptop for her that she could type on and play games on. Any ideas?!