A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child. --Forest E. Witcraft

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Happy Dance

Today I am doing the happy dance!  After my law school class this morning, I stopped in to check exactly how many more credits I needed to graduate.  The answer:

12!

This means that after this semester, I only have two more semesters at half-time before I am done!  This is a whole semester earlier than I anticipated when I originally switched to half-time.  Those summer classes made all the difference!

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!  Only two more semesters (or one plus summer if I really want to kill myself stress out, NOT).  This will be a huge help, since tuition has skyrocketed in the last couple of years.  I have to say it is getting exhausting working 30+ hours a week, taking 6+ credit hours per semester, and raising four kids, one long distance.  I am so ready to have law school behind me!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

So Not a Geek

Well, I now have the MP3 player and my computer can see it.  It even says that it synced with Windows Media Player, which can finally play Mae's books on my computer.  BUT the MP3 player doesn't seem to have the books.  It has some playlists, but doesn't recognize the format.  Guess I'll have to spend more time on the phone with technical support.  I HATE this stuff!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Toast

After much troubleshooting and telephone wait time for technical support, Mae's special CD player for her audio books is officially toast. She needs this for her school textbooks due to her dyslexia. This is the second device that has broken right at the one year mark. It's amazing how each managed to become unusable during the first month of school!

I've decided to go a different route this time. These special audio books only play on certain devices, but now a commercial MP3 player is available at less than 1/5 the cost of the special CD player. I sure hope it works. Perhaps it will be more durable as well. Off to the store!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sheer Panic

I fixed scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning.  There were just a few eggs left, so I decided to hard boil them for lunches this week. 

As we were driving away from church, I remembered:
THE STOVE WAS STILL ON BOILING THE EGGS!

Total panic set in as I interrupted my daughter and told her we had to get home immediately.  We had left home over an hour and a half earlier. 

I still had to drive about three more miles.  Some of those red lights stayed red forever!  Yes, I well exceeded the posted speed limit on more than one street.

Praise the Lord!  All that was ruined was the eggs.  The water was gone; one of the eggs had broken open, and the smell was not appetizing.  But ALL WAS WELL.  Even the pan looks like it will clean up.

After the crisis was averted, I started shaking.  May stepped up, bless her heart.  She asked me if I wanted to lie down and offered to take care of the other kiddos.  I calmed down and said a healthy dose of prayers, thanking God for his blessings.

I'm giving myself permission to eat out the rest of the day without guilt!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Respite

We had a two year old boy for respite today.  I was curious how BB would do.  Both boys played great together!  Although they both wanted the same toy sometimes, they negotiated the situation well.  Our guest did not fuss all day.  BB whined a little, but not much, considering the bigger kids were paying much more attention to the new kid on the block!


At the end of the day, the boys had a blast in the bathtub. 


Buddy got in with them.


They started cracking up as he poured water over their heads and his.


They all got in on the fun!


It was a great way to end the day!

And yes, they all went to bed nicely too!!!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

All Done

Tonight at dinner, BB signed and said "All done!" 

This is HUGE!!!

You see, BB doesn't talk at all yet.
He babbles and takes turns with you,
but he doesn't say real words.

He has been in speech therapy for over two months.

He will say "Hi" when playing with a phone,
but he won't say it to a person.

He will wave bye-bye.
BB may have said "bye" once out of the blue.

He only "talks" on his terms, never when prompted.
It is almost as if he refuses if he knows we expect it.

BUT, today he said "All done" more than once,
in context, when asked!

YEAH!!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Finalization is Coming!

I received an email with a date near the end of October
when BB's adoption will be finalized!

The plan is to have him baptized the following Sunday.

It seems to have taken forever,
and yet,
it seems to have gone by so quickly.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Day at Home

We spent almost the entire day at home (all but dinner).  That is pretty unusual for us, because we typically have errands to run or places to be on the weekend.  Instead, today was a day focused on cleaning up and organizing.  Unfortunately, although I know I did a lot, it doesn't look like much!

I did finish four loads of laundry, changed three beds, hung a shelf in May's room that used to belong to her great grandmother, attempted to clean some spots on the carpet, and sorted clothes.  Yes, many, many clothes of many, many sizes. 

You see, I have three closets and many drawers, plus boxes that don't have homes, full of kids clothes.  I do pass clothes on to others, and I have given some away to charity.  But I have this complex that I want to have what I need readily available in case a new child is dropped on my doorstep.

Thing is, I'm not planning on taking any new children any time soon.  I'm not sure if/when I will open for another placement.  With four to care for on a regular basis, I don't know if I can do justice to caring for another one.  But, for now, I just keep sorting and packing up the clothes.  I did pack a bag and a box to give a way!

The good news is, I found some pajamas for BB that fit him right now.  I also found the box of 24mo/2T boy's clothes that we will need for winter.  I packed away everything smaller than what he is wearing right now. 

I still need to sort through the closets and dressers of the three older kids to pull anything that no longer fits.  Oh well, there are still two more days this weekend, right?