My future Oh-lym-pic hopefuls

These kids crack us up! They have been taking in the winter games and every time there is a fly over of the city they do a big shout out to their Aunt Sherry and Uncle Murray. While they enjoy the obvious thrillers like the half pipe and the super G and aerials the one part of the games they beg to stay up late for is: curling! One night their father let it leak out that a big match was being shown at 3 am and they all begged to be able to get up and watch it.

No way, says the mother who has to school them the next day and does not like to referee grouchy teammates. The father, in a moment of insanity, pondered that perhaps they could watch if they were to wake themselves up without aid of alarm clocks or other devices and the big caveat would be that no parent should be awoken in the process. But after surveying the horrified look on his wife's face he dashed their hopes by summarily pronouncing judgement that all curling shall be watched in waking hours only! Whew, that was a close one.

They are scheming out plots for being an all sister curling team when they "grow-up". I think they have no realization that they do not live in the frozen tundra and therefore their chances of obtaining any fair amount of training in these parts is pretty minuscule.....but why dash such tender dreams? Let them dream of hurling 50 pound rocks down frozen lanes...it sounds no more sane than bowling and we are genetically linked to that craze, right Sugarpops?

Loving and Letting Go

Last week we said goodbye to three of our senior friends. It was a tough week to lose so many in a short time. The girls were spent with grief over the loss of their dear sweetiepie, a friend of more than 5 years. He was in his nineties and wasted away with cancer but always an encouragement to them and eager with a smile and a hug.

Another elder friend Jo we hadn't seen for a while due to being hospitalized with cancer. It was sad to not be able to see her one last time for a sweet memory. Lastly there was our dear recluse of a lady who always welcomed the girls in but never went out much herself. The last memory we have of her is right before Christmas she tried to dance with the little girls as she steadied herself with the cane, that day she looked mighty spry. We went to the funerals and paid our last respects and comforted one another in our grief of having known and loved these great characters.

The older girls are pondering whether it is worth it to keep visiting the elderly when they die seemingly so quickly (in their perspective). They question if it is worth the investment of their hearts to love someone they will lose so painfully and have to wobble under the burden of grief. They have yet to make a conclusion, but we continue to make our visits and spread our sunshine and love where there is opportunity.

There has been more than a shower of tears this week and lots to pray about and people to pray for. I wonder if it is not for the expansion of our hearts, a garden for God's compassion to grow for the least, the lost and the forgotten. That is where my faith holds me. I hope that my dear daughters will also see that loving is a worthy investment that yields great rewards. I hope they see that walked out in my life.

The Green Team

Isn't this a team you can rally behind? What's with the green?

Well, their Irish Grandmother sent them the sweaters as a Christmas gift,

so they are celebrating being

Chinese-Irish-Italian-Americans.

Can we add some more hyphens?

Sweetpeas Strange and Various Recipes - Totally Original

Ketchup with Ice Cream

Peanut Butter with Tuna and ketchup and crackers

Tunafish with chocolate bars

Ketchup Soup - borrowed from a much older friend

2 packets ketchup, hot water, stir and drink....delicious?!

Honey Mustard with Pickle on lemon slices

Makeover gone wild

These wild and crazy girls cannot stop themselves from being silly. They delighted themselves in getting a makeover and I wanted to share the results. Can you tell who is who? I was stunned at the results, thankfully it isn't permanent.

The Adoption is COMPLETE!

We are ebullient and full of thanksgiving as we announce that today we went to court and finished the adoption proceedings making our family complete in the eyes of the judicial system.
I am so overwhelmed with gratitude and relief.

Here are some photos of the day, to share our joy with you.

Happy New Ears

Sweetpea has waited a very long time in Sweetpea days to have the longed for ears pierced. On New Years day we went and did the deed.

She was excited to be doing it as she would then "match" her sisters. Yet, the anticipation of the pain was getting to her so I threw on some numbing cream for the placebo effect.

She sat right there and let them double pierce her ears without a squirm or tear. Afterward she was not pleased that this form of torture had been visited upon her, and even the purchase of a desired pair of kitty kat earrings did not change the souring of the heart.

Only days later is she getting the desired reward for her pain and efforts. People are noticing the beautiful flowers in her ears and commenting. She loves the attention. She's good about getting them cleaned and so far so good.

She is emotionally complex about her ears I think. Having lived most of her life at having her one ear in near constant pain and then the consciousness of not being able to hear well I think she likes having something positive to gild her ears.

Let's see what the ENT says when we see him next to talk about the surgery. He might not be very pleased we have done the piercing at this time. Ah, well a girl can only wait so long for modern medicine.

The Big Dig

It has started to snow in earnest here and it looks like it is going to be a wonderful dumping. The girls and I were out a couple of times shovelling in hopes of staying ahead of being snowed in. It is a big task but with all four kids pitching in it gets done. I kidded them that they were going to get snow shovels for Christmas presents. The silly kids they are, cheered at the prospect!

Sweetpea is still really enamoured by snow but fails to take into account it's freezing capacity. She will submerge herself in the snow and then complain bitterly that she is cold, really cold. She still can't handle the cold very well. I wonder how long it will take her body to adjust from the tropics to this more chilly northern climate. I know for me it took almost a year to make the transition.

Looks like it's gonna be a white Christmas after all. May you all have a wonderful Christmas celebration.

My Guy in Brown

For just over 3 weeks now I have been married to a guy in brown. Now for those of you who know us well don't get too excited, this is not a career change, just a seasonal job. My Beloved is moonlighting at the Brown center and "building better bodies by brown".

It is a tight schedule he keeps. He works his regular day job and gets home around 6:30 or 7 pm and then has dinner together with us all. It is the only time we get to see him together and it has become the golden time of the day. Then before I can even get the kids into bed he is down for a nap. It does get tricky trying to keep four rascals from making any noise so that he can get some shut eye during a time when his body is still wakeful. Then he is up at 9 pm and into work for the night shift. He works loading and unloading until 3 am. Thankfully he is enjoying it as he says it is a lot like playing tetris all night and keeps him mentally awake.

The hardest part of the "day" for him is the drive home when the body starts shutting down in those pre-dawn hours and the chill gets to him. We have taken to keeping him awake by talking on the phone (hands free for him, thank you). It is the only time of the day I get to talk to him. Unfortunately I am at a distinct disadvantage for acute conversation at that hour of the morning. He sees it as finally being on a level playing field verbally. Sometimes I literally don't know if something he said was real or in a dream, I have to check back with him at dinner.

Once he gets home he has to shower off from the diesel and fall into bed for 4 hours before starting a new day all over again. The kids, who are used to him being up before them and having breakfast with them have a hard time letting him sleep or remembering to keep quiet while they start their day.

We are struggling to gain a footing in this new normal. I am glad it is only until the new year. Yet, we need to be radical about the situation we are in and do whatever it takes to meet our financial obligations. Between the adoption expenses and the extensive medical treatment that Sweetpea needs that have snowballed, compounded by the effects of lack of employment earlier this year and now underemployment we need to go above and beyond normal.

Pray for us through this, please.

Boy Bacon

After a couple of days of difficult situations for Sweetpea she is worn thin. She still struggles socially putting it all together and responding appropriately, especially where others are not. Recently she found herself on the wrong end of the stick and in need of help and rather than resort to her own wisdom or physical retaliation, several times she came to me for help. This is a big milestone for her and I am so pleased that she did come to ME, and not only asked for help but took my words and tried her hardest to put them into practice.

This morning out of the blue as we had a quiet moment before church I took her aside and told her how proud I was that she had done this. Yet, words are cheap to my little sweetheart and they hold little water. Knowing this I saved the best for last and presented her with a reward for her new found skill of "coming to Mama to get help". It was a small l*ego kit of a race car. It was her first such kit and her eyes were round with expectation. I told her she could put it in her backpack and keep it through church and after church while we have lunch with some other families and the adults chat she could do it all by herself.

She was hearing my message that she had done well loud and clear.

It must have burned in her mind all through church because she could barely contain her excitement to break open the box and start once lunch had begun. Practicing patience she waited until after everyone was done and the kids had run off to play and the adults were deep in conversation, she carefully opened the box and read the instructions. She soon realized she needed room to layout the materials and understand the plans so she moved herself to an unprotected coffee table away from me.

What was to come next neither she nor I were expecting...... the boys came as if they could smell bacon a mile away. Some grabbed, some pressed, some leaned, some offered, some stood and their fingers visibly itched to take hold of the project. I had to come to her rescue as I saw the sharks circling. They just couldn't fathom why a girl would have such a juicy morsel all to her self.

She got more than a little practice politely declining help and finally the boys retreated back to the football game and the tackle session that had been taking place. She struggled to understand the diagrams at first but when it was complete she proudly showed it to all and sundry.

Since then that mechanical gifting that I was counting on has conquered this kit and she can do it without diagram and probably blindfolded, mercy me if we ever lose a piece!

It has become a symbol between us of my pride in her and a visual way of reminding her that I am the helper in her life, she who comes to me is well rewarded.

Illness: a Bonding Activity

For the past 2 weeks our Sweetpea has had a cough. Last weekend she had a low grade fever and that cinched it for me - we were going to visit the doctor. On Monday she was seen by a pediatrician and diagnosed with bronchitis and given an antibiotic. It seemed to be helping as no more fevers occurred and she seemed to be responding, except for what I thought was GI aggravation from the medicine. Thursday she has some added difficulties and Friday we went to see a respiratory doctor who diagnosed her as having asthma as well as bronchitis. She now has to do breathing therapies 3+ times a day, something she doesn't like sitting still for.

All this sitting for the therapy, which takes over half a hour each time, has made her less than agreeable to doing them. I have taken this time to play card games with her as she sits. Her favorite game now is U*N*O. She thrills to beat the socks off me and mocks despair when I win handily.

I would never have thought that just having to sit and play hand after hand of cards with her would grant me another notch in her bonding belt, but it seems to be doing just that. I am now the reluctant one to see the clock tick over to the therapy time, and stop my day to play cards. I am having to see the long term gains in her heart that can be made by my consistent sacrifice in my schedule.

I recall when I was also incapacitated for daily intervals when I was in jr. high, my mom had to sit with me. She chose to read to me. I am sure now that she could have been doing many other things rather than reading aloud to her pre-teenager but those memories are some of the sweetest and most dear.

I wonder if this will turn into one of those types of memories for my Sweetpea. I hope it will.

A Care Package

We got a surprise care package from our dear aunt and it was full of junk food. Can you tell they were a little excited by all the treats? What silliness burst out this evening. They are making great plans for parties and feasts with all their new found loot.

The Little Buttons get Bunkbeds

The littlest buttons are thrilled to be finally getting their bunkbeds. We went on a special shopping trip, sponsored by their grandmother and aunt, to buy special bedding for their beds. They chose very complimentary covers that both reverse to a shade of purple, the color of the year at present. They are delighted.

Birthday Pictures

We are offcially 7. She is loving all the attention.

Sweetpea's First Big Birthday Bash!

Our dear Sweetpea turned 7 today. It is the first birthday we have shared with her. What an amazing blessing to be her mama and to watch her grow.

She woke up in the middle of the night last night and instead of tucking her back into bed I took the opportunity to have a snuggle fest with her in the quiet darkness of our home. We snuggled and giggled and talked about what it feels like to be 7, just hours into it at that point. She of course ate up all the attention and gave me some great loving back.

I reflect back to a year ago when we celebrated her birthday here without her present and how our hearts longed for her to be with us. Now that longing is a reality and so much sweeter than could be imagined.

Yet, her ability to handle the extra excitement of the day overwhelms her easily and before it was even breakfast she had blown several fuses and aggravated her sisters beyond their limits. We will need to walk through the emotional hazards of the day very gingerly so that we will be able to arrive at the other side of the day able to handle the blessing of a birthday dinner and cake. It's going to be a day that will need a lot of prayer.

Above Average Week

I am sitting at my desk trying to plan out the next week's schedule. As I look at the calendar I am a little concerned how we are going to accomplish school and household tasks at all. This week is stuffed and I did not even realize it until this moment. We have no less than 7 medical appointments to go to in one week!

My calendar looks like a giant slalom coarse for down hill skiers.

We normally average about 2 medical appointments per week. I don't know how I was not looking ahead on the calendar to see that is was becoming impacted. It will be a challenge to get school work done and the bases covered, much less make sure that laundry, meals and dishes are squeezed in the cracks that remain.

You would also think that we would have a break for the next several weeks, and that we have seemingly compacted several weeks worth of appointments into one, but as I look into the future I see we are on par for our normal schedule.

You know what they say, a doctor a day keeps the apples at bay! Did I get that backwards??

I'm in Love with these Mugs!

I can't believe they are growing so quickly!

I am one blessed Mama!

A New Kind of Crazy

We have taken the last 2 months and sorted through our possessions and cleaned out our closets in preparation for a yardsale to raise money to meet the rising costs of this adoption. We have come to realize that with any adoption the numbers you plan on and the numbers that you end up with when you are done are two distinct tallies. I am not a fan of this game. I would not do well in the construction business I fear. I want to come in on time and under budget. Doesn't happen in building a house and it sure has never happened in an adoption. This time is no exception as fees are accumulating and expenses adding that we were not informed of beforehand.

Yet, unlike construction you cannot choose to go with a lower grade of flooring or switch out the fixtures. The kid you love is the kid you love and nothing will keep you from going forward.... nothing that is except cold hard cash to pay for the procedural legalities. I think it is the one sad fact that keeps great kids out of great, loving families .... that mammoth gap of fiscal ability to pay for the legality.

We have pleaded and applied for a reduction of fees regarding this adopting given the circumstances and given the fact that we were taken unawares by the multitude of medical needs that would require so much money. We have met a brick wall in every turn, even those working within the system are a little surprised to find no give in their organizations.

So we are working all the angles we know, and one of the least favored by my dearest is the dreaded YARDSALE. Yet, it is our greatest opportunity barring more unpleasant sacrifices that could be made i.e. kidney donation (that's a joke, really). Our friends rallied around us when they heard we were having the fundraiser and donated lots of their good stuff to us. So much so, that our garage was full to the rafters with saleable items.

We were blessed and all ready to hold the sale last weekend when weather impeded our progress so we rescheduled for today. We prayed all week for great weather and we advertised all over the place. Today was beautiful and we had a crew of 3 families come and help us haul it all out early this morning and set it up for sale. Friends lent us tables and even one friend gave us the seed money for the cash box! What great friends!!!

We had a fair amount of traffic but the one thing we hadn't factored in was that we were near to a flea market and everyone stopped there first and spent all their easy cash before coming over to our place. You should have seen our place -- corner to corner display of great, good merchandise all for the taking at rock bottom, out the door prices. There were antiques at real show stopping prices and some great buys along with a flood of run of the mill yardsale items. I was surprised at what sold and what did not and to whom. Then there was the guy who haggled down a $10 item to $3, and before he got it to the car changed his mind and brought it back for a refund. No problem, we sold the thing full price within the hour, but it was funny!

There was also a great chance to sew goodwill within our neighborhood as lots of folks had come looking if not buying. We gave toys to the kids and of course the buttons had handfuls of lollipops to give away as their job during the day. You would think that I would have at least one photo from the day but NOOOOOOO I was too busy to even think about it.

In the end we sold about a third of the loot, took about 5 trailer loads to Good*will and put the remaining third of the best quality loot back into the garage to decide what it's fate shall be at another time, when we are not so exhausted. Nothing came back into the house, except for the kids.

After all this work the eager buttons gathered around the table as we counted the money. Amazingly, even with the spendthrifts, we still made a profit of $600! Woohoo, God is great! We are exhausted.

10 Months

Today marks the passage of our 10 month anniversary with Sweetpea. We are amazed that it has been 10 months while at the same time we scratch our heads and say, "it can't only be ten months, it feels much longer to us". She is elated that today is a special marker. In lieu of celebration amidst our hectic day we popped marshmallows into the cheeks of all four buttons and played a silly round of "Chubby Bunny" with strawberry flavored ones of coarse for we are girlie girls! (The strawberry ones are pink, I cannot vouch for their taste but they sure look cute!) She is delighted to be delighted in even with a small celebration. I hugged her more than usual today and told her that I was so glad that she is a part of our family.

Recently something happened that hasn't happened in a long time and it caught my attention. She caught a moment of an infomercial of a steaming floor cleaner, I'm sure you have seen this lately too, and she joined the chorus of young voices who longed to have such a product. (Okay, I will admit yet another time my children are strange, even to me. Longing for a floor cleaning product at such tender ages can mean a lot of things but it doesn't mean that they like to clean the floors, just that they are acquainted with such tasks once in a while. Why they wish to own such a device rather than a doll or toy is beyond me.) Sweetpea went on to say that she recognized that she had no money to buy such an expensive product right now but that she would have her husband buy it for her when she got married.

This line of thought happened hundreds of times a day when she first came to us. Anything she wanted and was seemingly denied she would intone about this future husband marrying her, getting a job with lots of money at which time she would beg him for the money to buy the desired item. For the longest time she had a story about this husband buying her a hotdog truck and driving it around so she could sell the hotdogs. Eventually she allowed me into the story by creating a job position for me as the mustard dispenser, but not the ketchup, it was too valuable!

So when she made mention of this mythical husband the other day it was said softly almost like a distant echo. I caught it and realized that she had not said that for a very long time, that she was growing out of her need to hold onto her story. Also her past constraints of how she understands the world are beginning to shift, for she lives in a family where the wife is well loved and never needs to beg the husband for money. The wife also does not wish to live in a hotdog truck! It just isn't my cup of tea.

These are really subtle changes in her that I could easily miss. I am so glad that God is using a highlighter to show them to me when they occur so that I will rejoice in what He is doing in her heart.

Yes, we are alive

I realize that it has been a while since the last post. I have been getting heckled. A lot. A lot of heckling from a certain corner and so I have caved to the pressure and amidst my crazy busy life I am squeezing in a moment to blog and say we are still all breathing. I promised. I promised that if my heckler would go far, far away.... like say to Japan I would consider posting. Today the heckler left for Japan and I am keeping my promise.

It's just zany things like this that make this quirky life so very tolerable.

Today.

Today felt like plunging off a bridge into freezing water. No matter how much you prepare for the moment of impact and know that the water is going to be breathtakingly cold, you cannot steal yourself enough against the onslaught. Preparation on par with the grit of MacArthur's troops is equal to this momentous task. And it is done yearly, amazing!

I am of course waxing poetic about matters educational. School. While although we officially started lessons over 3 weeks ago today was the moment of impact where we join the frenzy of weekly cooperative education, at which I teach 2 classes and wear many other hats while juggling the class schedules of the 4 children for whom I gleefully join this circus.

If I sound delusional, or if this does not make near enough sense, one must chalk it up to serious lack of sleep for the last 4 days and the physical exhaustion of a near marathon day today.

But I just want the credit for posting, sense or no sense. I survived this incredibly big day of the beginning of coop and I took a moment to record this sense of victory.

Perhaps tomorrow I shall emerge from the frigid water and inhale a sweet lungful of air - relief.