No New Photos

You may have noticed that I haven't posted any new photos for a few days.  There's a reason for that.  I was going to say there's a good reason but then I reconsidered when I realized it really isn't a GOOD reason.  It's definitely a bad reason.
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Last week, I looked out my kitchen window and saw the boys and David playing with trucks in the backyard.  It seemed like a great photo opportunity so I ran to grab my new camera.

I can't remember if I blogged about my old camera issues.  I'd had my old camera for years but earlier this year, I dropped it in a parking lot.  Since then, the LCD screen has been black.  I had no way to see what I was taking pictures of.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a new camera but I didn't want to miss any pictures of the kids and their activities.  Jen suggested that I try pawn shops in Sioux Falls.  The short version is that we did and I found a simple digital camera with the accessories that I needed for under $50.  I was happy.
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Fast forward to last week.  I ran to grab my new camera for the backyard pictures.  Brittney was a few steps ahead of me.  As I came out of the patio doors onto our deck, she suddenly decided to do one of her gymnastics flippy things, not realizing I was behind her.  She put her hands on the ground and kicked her feet out behind her to complete her flip.  As she did, her feet made contact with the camera in my hands and it flew across the yard and landed with a thump.  May my new camera rest in peace.

And that's the story of why I won't be posting any new pictures for a while.   :)

Operation Child Move is officially complete!!!

We just finished moving Riley, his furniture and all his stuff into his new room and then tucking everyone into their new rooms for the night.  Now I'm going to enjoy some chips and salsa with my husband as soon as he finishes giving backrubs to the kids.

Busy Day But Not Much Done

Not much accomplished today but we had a lot of fun not accomplishing it!  Brittney is entirely moved into her room except for her bed.  We're building her a loft for her bed and putting our old couch underneath it for a lounge area.  That project will take more than just this weekend.  But she's all moved out of her old room downstairs so hopefully tomorrow afternoon we can clean it and we can move Riley.  Not too bad for just starting on Thursday!
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Today was extra fun because:
*Grandma Sandy came over
*Grandma Connie took us all out for lunch at Zesto's (Like a Dairy Queen but even better)
*Cousins Haley and Natali came and played for the afternoon.
*Grandma Sandy got all the stuff to grill awesome burgers for supper and Shane came over.
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Now I'd better get a bit of sleep before church tomorrow.  Our pastor usually has some wise insights and I don't want to be so sleepy that I miss their application to my life :)

More Room Rearranging and Stuff

Today:

1) Riley and his stuff are still in the dining room.

2) Taylor is all moved into her room on the main floor

3) We cleaned out Tay's old room downstairs, including vaccuuming, carpet cleaning and cleaning the windows.

4) I painted all the shelves in the huge closet in Tay's old room.  She had written in marker some very interesting comments on the shelves and walls, such as, "I love God and Jesus" and "Taylor Anne Wilkins" and "I like Gavin", among other things.  Since Brittney is moving into that room, she prefered not to have the interesting notations on the walls and shelves.  She also conned Grandma Connie into taking her to Lowes for some green paint.  She and one of her friends painted the top half of her wall green.  The bottom half was already pink.  It's not something I would have chosen, but it's really kind of cute.  She wants to put a brown border around the middle of the room.    I think all the paint should be dry tonight and we can move her furniture in tomorrow.  After that, Riley can move into Brittney's old room downstairs. 

5) Riley helped me make supper tonight and did a really good job.  We had spagetti with the homemade sauce that we made last fall.  Riley browned the hamburger and put the extra ingredients into the sauce.  Then I cut up a big loaf of bread and we buttered it and put garlic salt and mozzarella cheese on top.  Riley even wanted to put it in the oven.   I have a budding chef on my hands!

6) We took all the kids except Brittney to the church with us.  They played on the playground while we mowed.  If Steve and I are both mowing, we can usually get it done in 2-3 hours.  Tonight, Steve took everyone home after a couple hours and got them bathed and ready for bed while I finished up at the church.

7) Brittney's off to a church youth event called Prison Break.  They have a giant scaffold with spotlights set up in the field by the church.  They have random things set up throughout the field, like large tree branches, tents, tarps, a church van, a tunnel, etc.  Now that it's dark, the object is to run from the starting point at one end of the field and make it to the other end without being "spotted" with the searchlight.  Looked like lots of fun but it's a bit late for me :)

Major Room Rearrangment

We started a major room rearrangement yesterday.  

1)  Riley and I moved all his things to the dining room, including his mattress, from the room on the main floor that he shared with Zeke.  Then he vaccuumed and I dusted while the sheets and blankets were in the washing machine.

2)Anthony and I moved all Anthony's things into the space previously occupied by Riley.  So now Zeke and Anthony share a room.  Riley and Taylor vaccuumed that room.  For some reason, my kids love to vaccuum.  I'm not going to question it too closely!

3)Riley, Taylor, Kylie (a neighbor girl) and I moved Taylor's bed and dresser into the room uptairs that Anthony used to have.  The dresser is pretty big so I was pretty wiped out after we got that done.  Everyone helped move Taylor's clothes upstairs and then we quit for the day.

4)We headed out around 3 to Grandpa Larry and Grandma Connie's for a cookout.  They have new baby kitties that were just moved up by the house and the kids were all excited to see them.  We took a friend of Brittney's out with us and the kids rode bike, played outside, held kitties, climbed in the bean bin and just generally had fun.  The highlight of Zeke's day was riding with Grandpa on the tractor for an hour or so.  Anthony rode for a bit, too.  Steve drove out after work and then left at 8pm for softball.  At the end of the evening, Grandma brought out a project.  We attempted to make a plaster stone for Will's grave.  After a few initial tries and mistakes, and lots of kid help, I think we got it done.  After it dries, the kids can decorate it and place it on the grave. 

Paul Says

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance;
perserverance, character;
and character, hope. 

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."        Romans 5:3-5

High School Physical

Tonight I took Brittney for her first high school physical.  Even though she's only going into 7th grade in the fall, she's old enough to compete on the high school gymnastics team.  I was really impressed with the setup for the physicals for kids competing at the high school level.  

It started at 7:30pm at the clinic.  When we arrived, they had a table set up for paperwork and money ($25 fee).  Then they directed us down a path with chairs on both sides.  At the end of that room was a table with two nurses whose only job was to take blood pressure and write it on the paperwork.  Then they directed us to physical therapists who checked spines.  After that it was nurses who specialized in the eye examination, then down another hallway to weight and next to height.  We proceeded to a hallway with doctors in lots of examination rooms.  One of the doctors took us into her room and checked the rest of the normal checkup stuff and asked some questions.  The last stop was the copier manned by two nurses who copied all our paperwork and then let us go.  The whole process took only about 20 minutes!  I was impressed.

The only glitch in the whole night was when I tried to pay the fee when we checked in and realized I left my checkbook at home.  I had to call Steve and ask him to bring it to the clinic.  Luckily, we had a friend working at the check-in table (Thanks Jenny!) so she let us go through the process even though we hadn't paid yet.  By the time Steve came to pay, we were actually done and got to chat for a few minutes.

Now Brittney's ready for JV high school gymnastics!

Stromboli

Today involved lots of laundry, the kids playing school, neighborhood kids playing in the backyard, more laundry, lots of cleaning and some cooking.  Zeke wanted to help me in the kitchen so I jokingly asked him if he wanted to wipe off the stove.  You would have thought I was giving him a Christmas present!  He was so excited.  It took him a while but he did a great job.  Later, Taylor and Zeke helped me make stromboli for supper.  It's one of Steve's favorites.

In case you don't know what stromboli is, it's kind of like a rolled up pizza.  Instead of having sauce inside, you dip the stromboli in a marinara sauce after it's baked.  I make the dough, spread a flavorful mixture over it, add toppings, roll up and bake.  Then I made some homemade spanish rice to go with it.  This meal is one of our family's favorites.

I used to struggle with what to make for supper every day.  Then one day I had a brainstorm.  We have seven people in our family and seven suppers in a week.  So every week before I buy groceries, I take one meal request from each person and put it on my meal list for the coming week.  It's actually worked out pretty well so far.

Sorry

Sorry to all those people who thought our dog Tulla died.  (Especially Joan and Nan)  That's what I get for blogging just a bit of information and not the whole story right away!

Treats

I was calmly sitting here at the computer trying to play a mind-numbing game after a fun-filled yet hectic day with the kids.  Riley and Taylor came running in a few minutes ago, very upset.  They informed me that their big sister Brittney promised them a cookie if they did something for her.  They did and she gave them a treat.  They proceeded to eat it, after which she told them they had eaten a doggy treat.  Now all hell is breaking loose at our house.  Don't you wish you were here!

Pastor Steve Says

"Shouting to get obedience

is like honking your horn

to steer your car." 

 -Pastor Steve Norby

Will

We had to put our dog, Will, to sleep on Friday afternoon.  He's a miniature pincher with really sharp teeth! He loved me, Taylor and Brittney.  He tolerated Steve, the boys and kids who came over.  He wanted to attack any adult who invaded our territory.  He was already 2 years old when we got him and was a very loyal dog to those he loved.  His favorite place was to snuggle himself under blankets and curl up to sleep.  He could jump straight up 4 feet with out even getting a running start.  I felt totally secure with him around.
But we couldn't trust that he wouldn't attack people.  He was already on record for attacking a guy that rode his bike by our house this winter.  The kids were playing in the driveway and had left the garage door open.  The bike guy got off his bike and went toward the kids and will attacked his leg.  We had to let Animal Control know.  Will also attacked our baby sitter when she followed the kids into the house.  He's also nearly bitten my dad a couple of times. 
When I called the vet on Monday to check prices and times for putting him down, they told me I could get in that day.  That was a bit too soon for me and I also wanted to give the kids some time with Will before I took him in.  So we scheduled for 5:20pm on Friday.
I talked to the kids all week and we were all spoiling Will for the rest of the week.  Brittney thought she wantd to go to the vet with me but by the time we were leaving, she decided not to.  So it was just me and Taylor.
The vet was wonderful.  Taylor and I petted Will in the exam room while we waited for them to get everything ready.  Then the ven and her assistant came in and had me put a little muzzle on Will so they could give him a shot in his hip to sedate him.  I held him while they administered it.  As soon as that shot was given, they let me take the muzzle off so he would be comfortable and calm.  They said that medication would take about 5 minutes to take effect.  They left the room to give the medication time and also to give us some time with Will.  By the time they came back into the room, Will was really relaxed sleepy.  I held him in my arms, wrapped up in his own blanket from home, and petted him while they brought over the syringe with the pink fluid in it.  The vet very carefully explained everything she did before she did it.  The pink fluid would stop his heart, probably very quickly.  Once she injected it, I kept holding Will and masaging his head and Taylor put her little face right by his nose and talked quietly to him, telling him it was ok.  After a minute, she checked for Will's heartbeat.  She let us know that his heart was slowing down.  After another minute or so, she said that his heart had stopped.  The vet wrapped will up and carefully placed his body in the container I brought and carried him to the van for us.  He's now buried on my family's farm.

Tough Day

Tough, tough emotional day today.  I'll blog about it tomorrow or Sunday.  I cry actual tears about once every couple of years, seriously.  But today the tears flowed.  I'm thankful for my simpathatic and loving Taylor, who shared the sorrow with me today.

Last Chat of the Season :(

It was a beautiful day for our last Thursday Chat!  The adults started out around the table and then moved out to the deck.  Ironically enough, when we were inside, the kids were outside.   But once we moved outside, the kids kept going back into the house.  I really enjoyed the company and the great homemade cinnamon raisin bread (thanks Diana!).  The kids had a good time and so did the moms.   The only negative part is that it always seems like our time is up too soon.    I'll miss our chats over the summer but hopefully we'll still get in some good conversations at the pool, which, by the way, opens  this weekend.  Last day of school tomorrow and they only go until noon.  Summer will officially begin.

Anthony's Preschool Zoo Trip

Who, us?

These were my poor plants after Zeke and Anthony had been playing in the back yard without my direct supervision.  Notice all the torn and shredded leaves and shoveled dirt.  When I retorically asked, "What were you thinking?!", Anthony responded with, "We were being gardners!  See, I even have on my gardening glove."

Anthony Says

Anthony was chatting with his friend James at our house today.  This was just one of many interesting conversations:

Anthony:  "Hey James!  Do you know what a bukalo is?"

James:  "No."

Anthony:  "It's a buffalo that bucks you off really bad!"

Marathon Week

Marathon Week is almost over!  And no, I'm not running any more than I'm already required.  I'm talking about the busiest week of the school year.  Gymnastics, softball, soccer, hospital field trip, water festival, music concert, pizza night with bible study group, helping in Tay's class, Washington Pavilion trip, more gymnastics, more soccer, band concert, zoo field trip, more soccer and 2 kid's friends' birthday parties.  Today we'll have soccer, mowing at the church and possibly attending a graduation party.  The last few weeks of school are always hectic but a lot of fun.
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Next week will be another zoo field trip, more gymnastics, more soccer, Brit's track meet, preschool farm trip, helping in Tay's class, Brit's ortho appointment, a Swiftel Concert, teaching Sunday school and the Last Day of School!  Lots of pictures to come.

Zeke's Hospital Field Trip

1st Grade Mother's Day Tea

Taylor's class held a Mother's Day Tea on Friday.  They made the invitations and waited patiently for the day.  When we arrived, the boys greeted me at the door in their awesome ties.  Then one gently took my arm and ushered me into the candle lit room to my table.  They had pushed four desks together into a square and covered them with white cloths so they looked like little tables.  In the center of each "table" was a candle and some snacks.   Each mom sat by her child and visited while being served either coffee or tea.  The kids got punch and cookies.  The girls helped with a word game and then we visited some more.  It was a wonderful experience for me as a mom and also a great learning experience for the kids!

A Brief View of the Water Festival

My great group of 4th graders from Watertown!

Don't look for my kids in any of these pictures; they're not there.  I was a guide for another school.  There are so many interactive things for the kids to learn and experience but I thought I'd give you a small glimpse.

Mother's Day

Yesterday my dad took us all out for lunch.  The food was great and I didn't have to cook or clean up.  We also got to visit with quite a few people that I don't see much anymore.  After we ate, the kids played and allowed us to relax and chat.
Thanks Dad!

Then in the afternoon my husband gave me a foot massage, let me take a nap, helped with supper and did all my laundry - even folding it and putting it away!  Wow!
Thanks Steve!

Riley & Anthony

Happy Mother's Day!

My Two Wonderful Moms

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Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other.

One you do not remember, the other you call mother.

Two different lives, shaped to make your one...

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.

The first gave you life and the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name.

One gave you a seed of talent, the other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.

One gave you up ... that's all she could do.

The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.

And now you ask me, through your fears,

the age old question unanswered throughout the years...

Heredity or environment, which are you the product of?

Neither, my darling, neither.

Just two different kinds of love.

Sorry, no posts today except this one.  I have a terrible headache that is slowly reaching migrane proportions.  Took some serious medicine and definitely won't be sitting at the computer but thought I should at least post something since I didn't yesterday.  Hopefully, pictures of the 1st grade Mother's Day Tea coming soon.  But not today.

Tulla

A guy called Steve this afternoon and said that he found a small white dog sleeping in his shed this morning.  When he approached her, she wouldn't let him get anywhere near her.  He called Animal Control and Animal Control gave him Steve's number.  Steve took the kids and drove out there and looked for Tulla. 
No luck.

Then this evening, a friend stopped by our house to let us know that they had spotted Tulla in the ditch close to their house, which wasn't too far from where she was spotted this morning.  We immediately dropped everything and jumped in the van to try to find her.  We drove back and forth in that area for a half hour or so, calling her name and keeping our eyes peeled for anything that might even resemble a small dog. 
No luck. 

Taylor decided that all the kids in the van should pray for Tulla to come back.  Zeke responds, "Tulla please come back to us."  Tay lets him know that they are supposed to be praying to God, not to Tulla!  So the kids all prayed for us to find Tulla.  Us adults were ready to give up but the kids wanted to keep trying.  So I let them open their windows and yell for Tulla, hoping she might hear us and come running.
No luck.

We turned down a random street in Indian Hills and had kids yelling really loudly out the windows of the van.  We got kind of a strange look from a couple who were talking in a driveway.  As we were pulling away, the lady asked if we were looking for a dog.  I said, "Yes, a little Shih Tzu."  She said, "We live a couple streets over and I think she's in our dog's kennel."

We followed them back to their house (they had been chatting with a friend), they opened their garage door and we all walked over to their dog kennel.  And sure enough,  huddled inside was a dirty, hungry, wet shivering Tulla.

The couple said that they had left their garage door open and Tulla had snuck inside and curled up in the kennel.  The guy tried to check her tag but she wouldn't let him anywhere near her.   A few years ago, I would have told you that we had good luck finding her but that wouldn't be the truth.  The truth is that God heard my kids prayers and choose to answer them with a dog!

Anthony Says

Anthony was hanging out with my friend Maria while I was at a meeting this afternoon.  She asked him if his dad hunted.

"Yep",  says Anthony.

"Does he hunt ducks?" she asked.

"Nope.  He hunts presidents."

Before you report Steve to the Secret Service, we eventually figured out that Anthony meant to say 'pheasants' instead of 'presidents'.

It isn't the problems that determine our destiny.

It's how we respond to them.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world,

the Lord God Creator calls a butterfly.

~Elizebeth Elliot~

“What we do for ourselves dies with us.
What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
                                        -Albert Pine

Tulla's Missing

Our dog, Tulla is missing.  She's been gone since yesterday early evening and the kids and I are missing her terribly.  She's almost 11 years old but still plays like a puppy.  She loves kids and is totally a house dog.  Unfortunately, she dug a hole under our fence in the backyard and went to have some fun on her own, I guess.  She's done it once before while we were on vacation and the dog catcher ended up finding her.  We had to pay almost $200 to get her back.  I vowed that if it ever happened again, I'd just leave her there 'cause she's too expensive to bail out.  But I'm pretty sure that if we find her there now, I'd pay just about anything.  The kids and I are having a pretty sad day.

Relentless

From Relentless by Dean Koontz:

"As always, the eye sees more than the mind can comprehend, and we go through life self-blinded to much that lies before us.  We want a simple world, but we live in a magnificently complex one, and rather than open ourselves to it, we perceive the world through filters that make it less daunting.  Complexity implies meaning.  We are afraid of meaning."

Protest

Brittney was upset that Zeke went in her room without asking permission. 

So she formed a protest. 

She got a few of the kids to walk around the house banging on metal bowls. 

Zeke was not happy!

Zeke

Zeke loves to get his picture taken!

Bill Says

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"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure

is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby

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The World According to Brittney

A preteen girl has some pretty strange ideas.  I'm still wondering exactly when my name changed from "mom" to "dude!"?

The Patience Stone

From The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi:

As in life, my daughter, for this story to have a happy ending there must be a sacrifice.  In other works, somebody's misfortune.  Never forget, every piece of happiness must be paid for by two misfortunes. 'But why?'  I asked with naive suprise.  He replied with simple words:  My daughter, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not everyone in the world can attain happiness, in real life or in a story.  the happiness of some engenders the hardship of others.  It's sad, but true.  So, in this story, you need misfortune and sacrifice in order to arrive at a happy ending.   But your self-regard, and your care for your loves ones, prevents you from considering this.