Way behind again...

yikes... i didn't realize it's been so long since i've posted anything here. sorry... and to keep it simple this time, i'll just mention that i've posted on our adoption blog, so feel free to check my updates there.

I think maybe the baby is going to sleep now... i hope so. But i think i might try and sleep too ~ we've had enough late nights lately, and another busy day tomorrow.

Mixed emotions

Well, after two weeks of "doing the baby thing" i brought him in for a new placement today. This was my sister's decision to make, and while we have sure enjoyed having him, i could see where my sister was coming from, and even if it doesn't make sense on the surface, i can understand how it makes a difference for her and her healing. (Not sure if that all made sense). The hope is that when she's healed up, they'll put him back in her home.

My mixed emotions ~ i would've loved to keep him here, but we're quite committed to working hard with Brenden before completing our adoption, so i don't want to compromise too much of that when it's not necessary. I have been tired... besides having my nights broken up for feedings, etc. i've been fighting a cold for a while now... so that's made it a bit harder to function overall and i found myself spending quite a bit of time cuddling baby and caring for him (which is way more fun than housework anyway).

So when i dropped him off this morning, i was sad to leave him, and i cried when i got back to the van ~ lol. I knew i would. Then i felt the freedom, immediately followed by guilt for feeling free! How's that for confused emotions? I was out and about so often with baby that several times today while driving (i spent the rest of the day shopping ~ and enjoyed it), it felt strange/empty when i remembered there was no baby in the seat behind me.

I still think i have a heart for fostering, and now i've got another perspective. And of course it causes me to think about our adoption as well... lots of thoughts.

Well, i am super tired, need to do a little more program with Brenden (because i was gone all day), want to warm up with a hot bath, and then get to bed at a decent time.

Ahhh...

sorry to leave you hanging there for so long...

My sister finally had her surgery on Monday afternoon, and is hopefully coming home today. I haven't actually had her boys over as much as I anticipated (although i've been over there a few evenings), but we do still have the little baby with us. He's a joy! I am tired though! I'm not good at broken-up nights, and i've been getting to bet too late most nights ~ sigh. Today i have a headache to boot, so while it could've almost been a normal "school day" (after Darwin & Reagan's orthodontist appointments this morning), i'm feeling blah! Oh, little praise ~ Reagan finally got his expander taken out!!! He had it in his mouth for 2 yrs! And the dr. would've left it in longer, but he was planning to cut a piece off at each end (to make room to pull a few teeth), and it was loose, so he said to just take it out! Reagan was so relieved ~ and i was too!

Last night i took "baby" in to see a doctor in emergency (i was advised to go there rather than minor emergency because they have the pediatrician, etc.). His breathing didn't sound/look right, so i just wanted to be sure. He had bronchialitis, but he's coping well, so we'll just be observing him and hoping it clears up on it's own...

k, i might just take a bath to warm up... i'm cold!

Yikes! again

Friday was my last "official" day of full time for this one family (one day/week after that). This week i still have three days, but it looks like i could be busier than usual for other reasons...

My sister is in the hospital so i've been taking care of most of her crew! And the 9mos. old has been miserable much of the time ~ i'm wondering if he needs to see a doctor?? (He was much like this Friday/Saturday as well when we had him overnight ~ along with 2 other babies and 3 older children, who all did just fine, although babies at 1mos. and 3mos. of age need night-time feedings, so i was tired after that.)

My sister... she went to emergency yesterday because of severe pain, and it appears that she'll need to have her gall bladder removed, but they're also planning to do the scope thing to figure out if there is a gall stone stuck in her liver?? Not fun! Please pray for her!

Anyway, Janique is covering for me to give me a few minutes break... i better check on them.

Yep, it was a busy one (and a personal record)

This has to be the most kids we've babysat, and with 3 of them being babies, i really appreciated the older girls who love babies! :-) Overall it went quite well. Didn't mix up any soothers, blankets, bottles, medications, etc. The babies were generally happy and content.

In all, we had 12 extra kids over (for a total of 16). It resembled a big birthday party (without the cake). The 9yr. old was at school but came before & after, and for lunch. By 4:00, half of them had gone home, the other two babies were sleeping, and it was pretty quiet in the house!

We didn't do "school" except that Brenden & I managed to get a good chunk of his program done before most of the kids got here, so that was a real plus. We could've finished up this evening, but enjoyed a game of Settlers instead. What a nice break!

The best thing about all of this is the evidence of how God has been working in my life & healing me! A few years ago it would've been WAY TOO MUCH, so i rejoice in the healing i've seen God do! (Not that i'd be asking for every day to be that busy, and i wasn't looking to break a record, but i can laugh about it when it just happens that everyone calls for the same day ~ and hey, i got a little extra tidying done in preparation, so that's a good thing!)

Yikes... i could be busy tomorrow

Besides my regular three extra kids tomorrow (the oldest will be at school most of the day), i've got another 6 planning to come, and i'm still waiting to hear back from the other family (3 kids). Good thing some of the kids are older and love babies ~ lol. Janique is very excited about the babies coming so i'm sure i can count on her help.

But seriously, the house has been a mess far too long and i need to make room for this many kids ~ lol ~ so i'm off. (Have already made some progress, but need to do more...)

It's been a while...

since i posted any updates here...

And it's been a busy few weeks again ~ but that's hardly noteworthy since it's quite normal to be busy.

Friday before last, we had a neat answer to prayer. Short version... Jonathan's van wouldn't start after work on Friday, so i drove out to "help" (as in, provide another vehicle for him to boost his battery). After a bit, he got it going, we got off the parking lot, he turned on the lights and the van died. Boosted again, i just started backing up to turn around and follow him home, and he waved me back ~ he'd turned on the heater and the van died again. Another boost... and we got going again... about up to the next driveway anyway. He had stepped on the gas a bit too hard?? and the van died again. Ugh! Yes, i had been praying, but now i prayed that the van would start and make it all the way home! (All this boosting, etc. took about 45min.). God answered prayers... the van stayed alive until Jonathan got to our street. It died as he took the corner, and was able to coast into our driveway! Lol... that van now has a new battery.

This last Friday I took the kids to the homeschool science workshop at the school division. Our wonderful homeschool facilitator does such a great job and the kids enjoy this every time. So that was our morning. (Yes, i was babysitting, so i had two extras along who also enjoyed it). From there we hurried home to have lunch and start decorating cakes for the cake auction that evening ~ at a benefit supper/auction weekend. I'll try to post some pictures later. It was a bit chaotic trying to help each of the kids with their creations while baking pumpkin pies and still babysitting, etc. but we managed to get everything done ok and on time.

So with the auction and all, it was a busy weekend. Darwin had swimming lessons Saturday morning as well, so i missed a chunk of the auction to take him. I've "stepped down" from the committee, so i felt a bit "guilty" for not helping out more, but i think i've identified the greatest source of the guilt (i can get over it) ~ and i did enjoy the auction anyway.

Friday was just too busy to do any program with Brenden ~ and i was hoping to get in at least a few "most important" activities at some point during the weekend, but it didn't happen. (My brother & sil came over for a visit/games yesterday so that was awesome). So today i'm feeling really draggy about getting back into program. It was a lovely 3 days off ~ lol. And then we were up late last night playing another game of Settlers because my brother & sil are letting us borrow their game for a bit.

Apparently this is my last week of full-time babysitting for this family. After this week it will be only one day/week.

Ok... i'm hoping the kids are nearly done breakfast so i should get going...

An interesting phone call...

I got a call today from someone at the school division ~ she's new there, and had landed on Brenden's file, and noticed he'd been referred for an assessment that was withdrawn. (This all happened quite some time ago, and i think i blogged about it ~ altho perhaps that was on an older blog?? ~ so in summary, when we heard they were only prepared to do an assessment like the one they had done previously, and we'd be no closer to a diagnosis, we said forget it). So this wonderful lady looked at his file, and wondered about all of this. She offered (only if we are still interested) to do an assessment and "possibly/hopefully" get us a diagnosis and work with us!

YES! We are interested! We had given up pursuing the diagonis (having tried the school system several times, and looking at a few other options that didn't materialize either) and were moving on ~ having decided (again) that we don't "need" a label in order to address the issues (at least not with the Hope Centre).

I'm rather surprised that someone just"landed on this file" and cared enough to take it upon herself to offer help... I think it's another God thing!

So we'll be writing up a new referral/request thing (they expire after 1yr. and that was October ~ lol). And then she'll be trying to set something up for us (and I don't think we'll have the months and months to wait ~ she knows he's waited long enough).

Wow!

Babysitting ~ i had the 5 all day (with the 6th one coming after school), and it will be a little bit of an adjustment. Janique LOVES that baby ~ lol ~ i didn't get to hold her until Janique left for clubs (she and Darwin are helping my sister with an after school Bible club program). But that'll work out ok, as she's learning to care for babies, and i'm more free to do program with Brenden. Of course Janique will still need to get her school done, but i think we'll figure out a way to make it work (lol... maybe she'll be more motivated to get her school done earlier if she has to do that before she can hold/play with the baby ~ she day dreams WAY too much while doing math). I decided this morning that i wasn't going to push for a regular school/program routine today, and just give us a bit of slack. I'm glad i did (even though i didn't get much extra work done as i hoped i would).

k, time to get supper ready...

Babysitting... as i mentioned a few weeks ago, i was expecting this job to be done (except for one day a week) by now. Last week one day she said they'll need her until the end of November, and would i be ok keeping the kids longer?? Of course! Still been wondering what to do then... if i should look for more babysitting or not (and of course, the idea of taking in foster chidren is still there somewhere in my mind).

Well, the first family i babysat for (the one that started my babysitting jobs)... she's been on sick/maternity leave since February and was planning to take the full year off... i've watched her children from time to time since then. Today she asked if i'd be interested in babysitting 3 days/week or so ~ she's planning to take a part time job. Yes! Janique is delighted about having a baby to watch, and i'm just excited at God's provisions once again. (And i think He's telling me that it's not time to take in foster children just yet).

Oh, and did i mention... (no i haven't yet)... Jonathan finally asked about his "6-month raise" that he was expecting 2mos. ago. It had been entered wrong into the computer so now he'll be getting his raise, and back pay.

Just had to share how God continues to provide.

Just an update

We signed our homestudy update/addendum on Wednesday. That was exciting! We really have a wonderful social worker ~ it was good even just to connect with her again. Not sure how long it will take to get the updated paperwork to the right people/place, but there really isn't a big hurry since there are many families ahead of us still waiting for their referrals. Our referral is still months away. The referrals do seem to be coming again, and i'm just eagerly waiting to hear of some sibling referrals. Soon, i'm so sure it'll be soon!

Babysitting... i did say it'd "probably" be slowing down, right? I stuck that "probably" in there for a good reason ~ lol. It's been like that since i started (and i think my starting dates were like that too ~ get a date, and then it changes). So now it looks like til the end of November. I'm totally OK with that. I'm happy to keep babysitting. I was wondering already what i would do til "fill that void" if this job was going to be done. I can't get fostering out of my mind, although i still don't think it's practical at this time. Kind of funny... the other day my dad suggested that Jonathan & I, together with my sister and bil who are fostering already, should do a foster care home type thing together. Funny also, Jonathan was home that day because he wasn't feeling great, (and the kids LOVED him), and I got thinking it'd be kind of nice to have him home full-time and we could do child/foster care together :-) Interesting thought, but i don't think it'll happen (at least not any time soon??). (Apparently it's not a good idea to say never because often that IS what ends up happening).

So there's a little update again, and now i better check on my kiddos... i have 5 extras at the moment, and 4 more coming later (not sure if any of these 5 will have been picked up by then, but it won't be a big overlap anyway). It's been a long time since we've had this many extras, but it's going good. The youngest this time is 3, so no babies to watch out for.

Some updates... here's basically a copy/paste from my adoption blog:

We've been waiting just over 5months now. Still doing well with the wait... sometimes i wonder if i'm even normal, but really, when i know there are so many families ahead of us still waiting for their referral, there's no point in getting up in knots about when it will finally be our turn. I'm guessing the wait might be more difficult as we get closer to the top of the "list" ~ perhaps?? Early on in this journey, when we shared with a couple (missionaries in Zambia) about our plans, he encouraged us to be open to what God might want to teach us along the way ~ to not get too caught up in the wait (finish line) to see what God is doing here and now along the way. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like that. Wise advice that we haven't forgotten... and God IS still working in our lives.

From a practical point of view too, we have plenty to keep busy with ~ and we are trying to maximize this time to help Brenden with his special needs as well. Program is going quite well with him.

Babysitting will probably be slowing down some in the next few weeks. The lady i babysit for has one week of full-time left, and then she'll be down to one day/week. (Apparently anyway ~ things don't always actually end up as she says ~ lol). I've wondered about whether or not to look for more children to care for... not sure yet. I still haven't completely put the idea of foster children out of my mind ~ but Jonathan & the kids still don't seem very interested, and it probably doesn't make sense to start now, not knowing when we will get a referral, and not wanting to disrupt a placement, but wanting to be able to give 100% to adoption when the time does come. By the time we get through the required training... well, really there are probably enough good reasons to not pursue it at this point.

In an effort to de-clutter, i dug up some boxes that have been in storage for a long time. I'm not sure if you could call me a pack-rat for this, or just a bit sentimental, but i've saved many of my letters and notes from Bible school days. That among other "memories" from my growing up years. I read a few of these, and had a brainwave... one box (i think) is just letters/notes between Jonathan & I, so i've brought them up to our bedroom, and now every night (almost every night) we're reading a few of these notes and letters. It's been fun reliving those memories...

Oh, right... we heard back from our social worker on Friday night. She's ok with doing the update for our revised request. We're planning to sign this next week. Our request is for a sibling group between 6 months to 6 years with at least one female. Preference for the older child to be female unless both children are under 4 years, then no preference who is older.

Last week when i wasn't feeling the greatest, i was having some anxious thoughts about the changes, but i'm so much more at peace about it again. It's kind of crazy how i allow my emotions to be affected by how i'm feeling ~ i think this is an area God is trying to teach me to live above/beyond my circumstances (think "through/past" the "feelings" and live in the reality of life in HIM).

Ok, i AM getting somewhere today, so i better try to keep up the momentum ~ i'm actually cleaning out this room of all the stuff that's basically in "storage" in here. I'm hoping to make it a more functional room (besides just "computer room" ~ and at that, almost a maze to get to the computer). I'm not babysitting today (they had an appointment today so i got the day off)... so trying to maximize again :-)

17 Years!

Jonathan & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this last weekend. It's hard to believe we've been married that long already ~ it's been a wonderful 17yrs. though!

Saturday night we went to Saba's in Saskatoon. At first we had planned on going to another place closer to home ~ we have some coupons for this place and thought we might as well use them (and try out a new restaurant ~ new to us anyway)... but long story short, the coupons stayed home. So we decided to go to Saba's ~ African cuisine. It was good! And a nice evening out.

Then yesterday after church, my sister invited us to go out for Chinese buffet (like their whole family and our hole family)! What a huge blessing/treat! We loved it. Of course, they have SO much food selection (including western) that everyone found more than enough food that they enjoyed. At suppertime we still were not hungry.

blogging break

Wouldn't it be nice to have the house to myself for a week? Do i really think i'd get done all that i keep thinking i might get done if i no other responsibilities?? But the reality is that it's really not an option... at least not the best option. Primarily, Brenden's program needs to be consistent ~ we were reminded of that at his follow-up appointment yesterday. Just Brenden & I made the trip out to Quill Lake yesterday ~ a 2 1/2 hour drive each way. It was good... a nice drive, good to have the assessment (because i don't see as much progress "day to day" as they will see in the actual evaluation after 4-5months), nice to hear the encouragement, but i knew there would be areas where we haven't been doing well enough. Goodness... for the money and time that we are putting into it, we better maximize the potential! Not to mention, i don't want to be doing this forever!!!

So the truth is, best case scenario, we stick to it diligently (as per schedule ~ i've got it all nicely written up on paper) and we get through basically everything on the list before lunch time (leaving only a few short activities for after lunch). Oh, and the part of the program that Jonathan does with him.

So Reagan is 10 since Tuesday! He's having a friend over to celebrate tomorrow... guess i have a cake to decorate yet, but it should be pretty easy (he wants a snowman cake like the one he did for the Gospel Echoes cake auction last year).

Still babysitting, and maybe it is still almost full-time?? I just take it as it comes and i think it's working out fine with homeschooling too. Might be a little distracting on kindergarten days ~ to bring J to school in the morning, pick her up for lunch, bring her back after lunch, and pick her up again after school. Not a big deal since the school is so close by... but if we keep this up for winter it could be a little more time consuming, etc. Maybe by then J can come/go with her "big sister" or maybe they'll take lunches then? or maybe their mom will be done work by then. (take it as it comes ~ lol).

I'm feeling a bit under the weather (and like a nap would be pretty wonderful today), but i've had my little blogging break and should tackle a project of some sort ~ hmm, computer room, bedroom, downstairs, kitchen, or any other part of the house??

but, Oh right... it's "snack time" (one of them was asking for a snack while we were still eating lunch... and i've heard a few requests since then too... it's about that time).

It looks like we might be doing part-time babysitting now... maybe?? Lol... we take it as it comes, but for now it looks like on days when J has kindergarten, their mom will stay home. So for however long she decided to do that, we'll have them 2-3 days/week. Of course, being a seasonal job, she might be done soon too. ?? Last week, we only had them one day. This week might not be much different since kindergarten is usually Mon & Wed. and i had to ask for Thursday off because we're busy that day (Brenden has his appointment with the Hope Centre).

I'm feeling just a bit under the weather today (& tired), and one of the kids got up with a bad attitude this morning... not a great way to start the day or the week! I think we're re-grouping, but i also think a nap might be a good idea after lunch.

Oh, strange thing... Janique had Coco outside this morning, and all of a sudden she's calling the boys ~ "Coco has a dead bird stuck in her ear (fur)." How does a toy poodle get a dead bird caught in her ears? Lol... i guess she was rolling around in the grass, and must have caught on the feet of the bird? Darwin got it out ok and I think Coco is getting a bath now (fun fun! ~ i'm just glad they can manage that without my help).

K, time to make something for lunch...

Back into some sort of "schoolish" routine... i think

Well, I don't think we're jumping in with a splash this year ~ but we've gotten our feet wet now anyway. Would've started Monday, but with two boys having eye doctor appointments at 11:00 i decided it wasn't worth trying to work school around that. So we "started" yesterday, and both yesterday & today we had three extra kids for a few hours each day (like, three extra besides the two we usually have ~ plus their sister before & after school and for lunch). Surprisingly, we actually did pretty well anyway ~ lol. We're still waiting for some of our materials ~ science for everyone, handwriting for two of them, and then i need to get some photocopying done too ~ so we didn't do everything on our "list" yet. Janique was happy to take care of the baby, and even when the baby fussed/cried, she assured me that she was fine and didn't need me to take over. :-)

Monday is Janique & Reagan's first violin lessons ~ they are excited about that. I am too! The little girl we babysit also starts kindergarten on Monday... it'll be an adjustment for "little brother."

On the adoption front, we're planning to check with our social worker about changing our request. The way it is written up right now is pretty restrictive, so we want to open that up, and probably ask to go up to "under 6." We really can see ourselves accepting a 5yr. old (somehow that seems to suit us more than a tiny baby, although we're open to that option too), and have thought of 6yrs. as well, but our social worker was suggesting under 48mos, so we felt 60mos. was a comfortable compromise and sufficient at that time. Either way, there haven't been many siblings coming into care at the transition home lately, so timelines have been getting longer and longer for those requesting siblings. We're now being told to expect 12+ mos. for a referral. YIKES! Guess it's better to prepare for a long wait and be surprised if it's earlier...

Communication ???

I'm still babysitting (haven't heard an "end date" yet ~ but i have a feeling it won't be end of August ~ lol)... and school has started now, so i (typically) have all three kids in the morning (8am) til the oldest (Ch) goes to school, and then the other two all day. (J will be starting kdgn in a few weeks). And their mom asked if Ch could come for lunch ~ sure, most of the time that should work out fine. So first day (Wed) that all works out fine.

Yesterday i was busy getting things done at home, and all of a sudden remember "Ch is supposed to come for lunch, what time is it now?" Lunch time! I hurry to get something together so that she doesn't have to wait too long... expecting her at 12:15. 12:20, then 12:25, and by 12:30 i'm really wondering because the day before, she was done and leaving by that time. So I call her mom to find out if there were other arrangements... "oh, yes, sorry i forgot to tell you that she took a lunch to school." Ok... thanks, at least i don't have to wonder where she stayed.

So I expect to see her after school ~ 3:15 or so. 3:20, 3:30... "umm, where is Ch?" Feeling a bit dumb, i call her mom again... but this time i leave a message because she didn't answer. 5min. later i get a return call... "oh sorry i forgot to tell you that Ch won't be coming today..." Ok, so at least i don't need to go look for her!

Then last night while i'm making jelly, the phone rings, and Jonathan takes the call... it was the kids dad. Jonathan tells me he'll be dropping the kids off at 10am this morning. And i asked a few times to clarify they were only coming at 10. Not totally unusual because "dad" is self-employed and sometimes he brings the kids a bit later, but usually it's been by 9:30. Ok... sweet... i get to sleep in :-)

Not! ... 7:50am i wake to a knock on the door ~ strange! Really strange! Who would be knocking on my door at that time of day? I scramble up in my lovely (not) pj's, and answer the door... the girls are there with their mom. Apparently "dad" is only bringing the little boy at 10!

Hmm, ok... take it as it comes!

K, i'm hungry for breakfast

Summer has gone by quickly

We had another "outing" last weekend. We almost didn't make a holiday of it ~ considered just going out Monday morning for Brenden's 2:30 appointment (we took him to see a Naturopath in Sherwood Park), and coming home after that ~ but we decided it would be too much driving for one day, and since we had the opportunity (who knows when we'll have the chance again) we should take advantage of it. I'm glad we did as it turned out to be a really good holiday.

After enough hassles trying to find a motel that would take a family of 6 for a reasonable price, we actually ended up at a place that gave us a really good price to stay for 2 nights. It wasn't the "nicest" place, but it was clean enough and all worked out just fine.

We got to Edmonton (the mall) about 3:30 or so... walked around, watched the sea lion show from the second floor (and off to the side a ways, so not a great view, but whatever), walked around some more ~ looked at the huge water park, visited galaxy land to watch the rides (didn't go on any though), stuff like that. We didn't really do any "shopping" at the mall (how sad is that ~ lol).

Then by about 7pm we checked in at the motel, and went to a nearby Superstore to pick up supper ~ that was an adventure! The store was crazy busy with LONG line-ups at the tils, and thinking we were only getting a few things, we didn't take a cart or basket. So here we were, almost all of us carrying "something" and almost done, when Reagan suddenly sat himself down on the floor. He was very pale, and weak, etc. ~ he's done this before (and it was like 7:30, so TOO long since he'd eaten). So we're scrambling to figure out what to do... (like get him sugar quickly)... finally got Jonathan to take him out, i grabbed a basket from a nearby til to put all our stuff into, had the other kids "stay together right here" and i hurried out to help Jonathan with Reagan. I stayed with him while Jonathan looked for a vending machine with pop and we got some sugar into him to perk him up again. Jonathan stayed with Reagan and the rest of us finished up our shopping. (Yes, i now have an appointment for him to see the doctor! Of course we have a few weeks wait to get in...).

Sunday we spent most of the day at the science centre. We got there basically in time to catch the 11:00 Imax movie ~ Human Body ~ which was really good. We took in most of the science demonstrations and really enjoyed those. Making pop, making ice cream, playing with fire... lots of fun stuff. And we kept and eye on Reagan and made sure he had enough to eat ~ lol.

Monday morning we had a few hours before Brenden's appointment so we spent that time at the mall... and we actually did a little bit of shopping! All of about 20 mins?? lol... we hung out by the sea lions waiting for a better view of the show (we asked that morning and they were planning on a 12:00 show, but after waiting 1/2 hour asked again and it had been cancelled. (Well, i browsed while Jonathan & the kids "waited"). So no show... we walked over to a pet store and admired the adorable puppies & kittens, and looked at the other creatures too. Lunch (which was kind of a disappointment ~ not that great), and then we were off for the appointment.

Interesting appointment... and we're hoping to see some of Brenden's issues improve.

And the long drive home. A nice family outing!

Can i just say i'm feeling...

well, i'm not sure what the word is... but i think i feel like i'm not getting anywhere with all the stuff that i'd like to be getting done. I think that probably, the underlying thing is the sense of responsibility for Brenden's program (to be doing it diligently every day), so holidays don't help here (obviously we aren't going to get much program done on holidays).

We spent nearly a week in Manitoba and the break was lovely! I'd love to post about it all, but don't afford myself the time.

I can't believe how busy i feel and yet i look around and everything is a mess! (Yes, i'm back to babysitting, but i can't really blame it on that... well, maybe a little, but not all of it!).

Ok, computer is getting ready to do an auto update so it'll be shutting down right away...

later... (hopefully!)

is it just me?

I'm sure it's not just me... but it really bothers me how some people waste food! I've seen it quite repeatedly in the last two weeks, and it gets to me! There are so many reasonable options... start with smaller servings and go for more if you need; save the left-overs and eat them later when you are hungry again (it isn't always a great option, but it often is!)

Well, i've listened to a lot of noise today! Much of it has been "happy" noise, but it's been noise none-the-less. Having three extra children over for a week... well, it's always an adventure. It's been great for Janique to have another girl in the mix too, but they've been having their share of disagreements today too (nothing big, but just enough to be annoying) ~ i'm sure they are ALL over-tired! Plus the girls moved their playing upstairs (a living room floor-FULL) because the boys were pounding away on the drums (i've never heard those drums played that loudly before either). So there really hasn't been a place for silent retreat today ~ this is the closest i've come to finding it here. I was browsing homeschool catalogues for a few ideas ~ still need to figure out a science for this year ~ so that's a fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. But it was almost hard to focus on "science" with the girls' constant chatter ~ lol. If it hadn't been so windy i think i would've taken my books out to the trampoline. Oh well... the kids seem to be having fun (mostly).

Anyway, i guess this was my little "getaway"

it doesn't sound like Jonathan is getting far with getting the kids tucked in (kind of hard when he's running/chasing around with them)... lol

I really shouldn't be at the computer... but i am for a bit. And finally getting to some of our camp pictures from last weekend (trying to figure out where they are, how to find them ~ to post, you know ~ and renaming a few so they're easier to find, etc.). Anyway, there's a lot that i can't even post because the foster children are included on so many of them... but still hoping for time to create a post with what i can. In the mean time, here's a picture of some of the fun i had on Thursday... i did a mystery meal for the kids at cousins camp. It was a lot of fun... but a lot of work. I did these ("race cars" on the menu) for 13 children plus my sister and parents.

The rest of the menu included the following "mystery" items and they had to chose (without knowing what was what) in what order they wanted their meal:

Blisters (biscuits)

Karate Lesson (beverage ~ punch)

Curly Cow (beef flavored oriental noodles/ soup)

Race Car (the veggie car above)

Grubs (macaroni & cheese)

Little bit of Fear (chicken)

Rainbow Stew (rainbow jellow done in layers with 6 colors of the rainbow)

Then for their main course, they each had a kitchen utensil to eat with (they've done this other years and loved it).

Anyway, i was going to make this quick ~ i need to make sure i'm ready for Sunday school tomorrow, and then get some sleep!

Busy... &, did someone say babysitting??

Wow... life is going by faster than i have time to update. Before i get an update posted, i need to "update" the update.

I was going to update last week that i had agreed to babysitting again in September (this is the three kids i had since April), and i was also asked if i'd take the other two little boys one day/week to give the new mom a break (her baby has been pretty fussy)... so i agreed to that as well. So the newest update is that the mom of the three kids called this morning and asked if i could take them back sooner. She said the kids are just more pleasant when they've been staying here, and they ask to come here... i guess they really like it here. I'm wondering how much of it is the adjustment of a new place... but whatever... I agreed... but because we're busy quite often in the next two weeks, i won't have them until the 11th. Oh, she said she would most likely be done work by the end of August, until spring, so then i don't feel so bad for not taking off the rest of the summer.

We did have a wonderful weekend away at family camp (Ranger Lake Bible Camp). I'll try to get some pictures up of that (eventually). Jonathan was blessed to get Friday off so that we could be there for the full long weekend (Thursday night til Sunday afternoon). My sister & bil were there as well with most of their crew (one of the foster children was with his family for the weekend), and my other younger sister joined us.

I think i sort of surprised myself by actually going on a trail ride (like, on a horse). Maybe my sense of adventure is improving/growing?? (preparation for our trip to Ethiopia??). Jonathan got the first horse in line up, then they said "one of the moms" for the next horse, and i thought it was kind of big so i'd pass and let my sister take that one, but then i thought i'd like to be near Jonathan, so I went ahead. And I'm sure it ended up being the biggest horse in the group... but he was just fine ~ one of those "gentle giant" types. I even managed to get up on my own.

The last night at camp we had a thunder storm ~ all night ~ it was still thundering when we got up in the morning, and 10min. before breakfast, the power went out. By lunch time the sky had cleared up beautifully (power was back on after breakfast sometime).

Coco was happy to see us when we got home. I was so concerned for her because she gets so depressed when we go away (we seldom go anywhere overnight) she doesn't eat or drink properly, and she's a bit finicky about who takes care of her (usually my younger sister does that, but she was with us at camp).

Today i got out for a bit of shopping (didn't get everything done ~ again ~ just not enough time ~ lol), and planned to be home by 3, but wasn't home til 3:40 when Darwin reminded me (i had totally forgotten) that he was working today. Yikes! I got home just in time to take him to work.

And now i've got 3 of my sister and bil's older kids over for the week (minus 2 days when all the kids are going to "cousins camp" that my sister is doing for them ~ i'll be helping at least on Thursday).

Anyway, looks like it's time for me to go... more (pictures) when i get a chance.

My haircut on Tuesday was fun... I really like this hair stylist, and my first hair cut was free (well, with a coupon ~ and we paid for the coupon book). After cutting (trimming) my hair, she took a straightening iron to it and straightened all my hair. I've never had straight hair before, so it was very different ~ it was funny seeing some reactions (if i can figure out how to post a video, i'll share Jonathan's first reaction).

Sorry this isn't a great picture, but it's one of the better ones (if nothing else, i've had a few compliments on the smile ~ lol).

Maybe one day i'll get a straightening iron... my hair felt so super soft and it was so easy to do for a few days. It's curly again today :-)

K, so the week is almost done again...

... and i don't feel like i've gotten much accomplished ~ lol. Ended up babysitting on Wednesday, and have 2 or 3 kids for the day tomorrow as well. Today I went over to my sister & bil's right after VBS to stay with her brood while she went to pick up two more foster children (in case she isn't busy enough?? lol... ).

Tuesday was my day in the city ~ i had booked an appointment for a hair cut, so i thought i'd take advantage of the day to do a big grocery shopping (it ended up even bigger $$ than i anticipated), and pick up a few other things... although i really only got the one other big thing done, and that by the grace of God.

Janique has a beautiful dress that she'd like to wear to her cousin's wedding this summer, but by our standards of modesty, it wasn't "complete." (It needs a "top" of some sort). The color and type of fabric is kind of unique, so i figured my best bet would be to check out a fabric store and ask for suggestions (pattern & fabric). I haven't been to a fabric store in YEARS and i had less than an hour to figure it out ~ at first i thought that'd be enough time, but in hind sight, it wouldn't have been if God hadn't sent help ~ lol. I walked in, began looking for patterns, was wondering about the first one i found... and a friend walked in with her daughter. They both know sewing well, so i asked for some help. I pulled out the dress to show her what we're working with, and she quickly found a pattern that would work well (she quickly agreed ~ when she saw the one i'd been looking at ~ that i didn't know what i was looking for ~ lol). Then she offered to help me find fabric as well. She was SUPER helpful! I was so blessed! Really, the odds of meeting in that place at that time... thank You God!

And we're "past" bed-time again... but everyone is still up, so they might as well pack their lunches for tomorrow (one less thing to do in the morning since we'll be babysitting by then). If the 8yr. old comes, i think she'll feel lost without Janique home... so i'm thinking up some possible "fun" things to do.

What a strange feeling!

This morning I drove all the kids to VBS for the day. It's a new experience for them in a few ways... it's not our church's VBS (so new faces and in a new place) and put on by a conservative Mennonite church. Also, it's all day (from 9:30-3:00), and open for children ages 5-15! Our church used to have a longer program, but several years ago shortened it to just the morning, and that's the way it's been since then.


Our church is planning VBS for next week, but they're doing the Veggie Tales program "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." Besides the fact that our personal convictions don't hold up Veggie Tales in high esteem (not sure that we're adamantly opposed, but mildly anyway), our VBS is only up to age 12, and Janique was rather disappointed that her last year was going to be a Veggie Tales theme, and Reagan didn't really sound too interested either. Brenden & Darwin are both too old, so it's kind of neat that they all get to go to this other one. Reagan was most apprehensive ~ guess he's really not used to new group settings ~ and I wasn't going to "make" him stay if he really didn't want to, but he seemed fine with it by the time i left. Friends of our have their kids there as well, but only the older kids are in the same classes... the others are all in between ages. After I left, I realized that i hadn't connected with Brenden's teacher/leader ~ to let him/her? know where Brenden's "academics" are at (just in case he's asked to read or write... stuff like that)... Ooops! Oh well, if i was really concerned, i could've gone back (i'd only just left when i remembered i could've mentioned it), but i'm confident that Brenden & Darwin together will figure out how to manage that.

Unfortunately with the kids all being away all week, we'll be working hard to get Brenden's program done after VBS. I doubt we'll get through it all, but we'll focus on the more important parts.

Oh, i think i'm babysitting on Friday (the new babysitter for the last job i had will be away). Hmm, that could be a different kind of day ~ babysitting without my kids home.

Anyway, I got a chunk of weeding done this morning before i got too hot... so i'm taking a break. I have PLENTY of housework to do anyway!

But first it's lunch time...

All done babysitting?? lol...

Today i watched the two boys who we had more regularily last year til earlier this year (their mom is on maternity leave now).

And I guess we're having my newest nephew over tonight (sounded like they wouldn't be back for him til midnight, so i offered to keep him overnight instead ~ rather than stay up that late).

BUT, today is the first day that Brenden & I got all of his program done (except for the part Jonathan does with him, and he shortened his "trampoline" time because of rain)! That is a pretty big accomplishment for us! He didn't get as much math done as we've been aiming for, but he's just been very slow with it, so he more than filled the time allotted for that. The important thing there is to have him understanding the concepts... and then perhaps we can work with the speed??

Anyway, i guess i better get ready for the baby ;-)

All done babysitting

Well, like i said to my kids... "all done 'full-time' babysitting... for now." The last two weeks we've had more days off than not for our regular family, but we've had other kids too so it's been busy anyway. By Friday night last week i was feeling very "DONE." But i realized too that i'd gotten myself to that place, and so on Saturday, when my sister called and asked if i'd be honest about whether or not i'd be interested in having 5 of her kids overnight, i told her i'd likely not be honest... so that pretty much answered her question. I really felt bad turning it down, but she is so understanding and had no problem saving their "event" for another time. I just wasn't at a place where i could've really enjoyed having them (i likely would've been less patient and more grumpy)... all while trying to get ready to teach Sunday school the next morning, and feeling sunk in the disorder our house has become in the last several week.

By Monday (i had the day off ~ nice surprise Sunday night) I finally felt like i was getting it back together a bit. Still haven't been feeling on top of the world ~ or anything else for that matter ~ but I'm learning things about myself and I think i'm identifying the greater sources of my stress. Knowing that makes it easier to now figure out ways of dealing with those stresses.

One stress, and probably the underlying stress, is program with Brenden. I guess that doesn't totally surprise me considering how i found it 7 yrs. ago when we tried this program with him, and i am really thankful that it's not worse now than it is! Truth is, I think we're probably doing a better job of it this time around than we did back then. I really have to be careful not to beat myself up when we don't get it all done, but at the same time, i want to be committed to it! A big part of it is just sticking to it and DOING it.

Anyway, not sure if i'm making much sense... but it's getting late and i've been way too tired lately, so i'm off :-)

I guess June is almost done too...

And i'm ready for a break... i feel like sleeping for a week ~ lol. I'm waiting to hear which days i'm babysitting in the next two weeks, and then, I think, we're done ~ the full-time babysitting anyway. At least for the rest of the summer ~ lol. I had given my notice for end of June, but their new babysitter has several days in the next two weeks that she can't have them, so we might just have them for the next two weeks yet. I'm fine with that... it's not as intense since we're done watching Robbie. I was planning to take the kids to the zoo today, but the weather really wasn't that great, so we didn't go anywhere.

I've been enjoying weeding my garden this year ~ and my body is actually enjoying the warmth of the sun (this is something new for me since last summer ~ i think that is thanks to homeopathics)... not too much of it though (last Saturday was a bit much ~ and i'm sure the heat by August will seem almost unbearable). But mid-20's or so?? and loving it enough to make me feel like taking a pillow out to the trampoline and having a nap... if i could wind down that much. Actually, i know this doesn't make any sense, but the other day, as i've been feeling so tired (mixed with "enjoying weeding") I said i felt like sleeping while weeding my garden (like, doing both at the same time). Yes, i'm over-tired ~ lol.

Last Sunday i took the kids (and two of their friends, and my younger sister) to a free-for-all at a nearby (1 1/2hr. drive) Bible camp. Much as i would've loved to have Jonathan there too (his worship team was up and he forgot to get a replacement), we all had a great time. Janique got to ride horse (the one and only thing she really cared about), the boys did some archery, pellet guns, paintball guns (just at target bottles ~ lol)... i think Darwin tried the wall climbing, and he & Reagan & I went canoeing (my highlight). The weather was about perfect ~ toward the end of the afternoon we had some rain ~ light at first, and then a bit more. It poured on the way home.

Oh, soccer season is done now too ~ Reagan's last game was on Tuesday. That was a bit of a mix-up... their games were scheduled for Friday's but the other team said they couldn't make it for Friday (today), so they asked to have the game Tuesday. Sure, agreed upon, and we were told the game was in their town (altho originally scheduled for our town). That team was told it was still in our town. Yep, we all went to Hepburn, and they all came here. Fortunately for the cell phones we were able to connect and still have a game (in their town)... and i think it was a tie game. A nice way to end the season.

and i better go...

Glad softball season is over!

It's not that i mind the game, and i love to watch my children's sports... but it almost hurts to lose game after game. Tonight's game was the biggest loss of the season. And it's a good thing they are limited to 6 runs. The other team got their 6 runs every time they were up to bat, and it took til the LAST inning for our team to actually get any runs ~ and then they made it good and got 3! Lol... But i had a nice chat with a mom from the other town/team (her son was playing). I think Darwin is a bit discouraged that they didn't do better in the season and he's talking about not playing next year... but it's a short season, and with so few players returning year after year (and a bunch of kids new to ball each year who are learning from scratch), it's just hard to make a lot of progress in such short time. They seemed to have fun though (mostly), so that's really what it's about.

OOOOPPPSS!!!

Set the stage... Coco (our toy poodle) is way over-due for a grooming. Poor dog can hardly see already, and it's just time for a proper cleaning up. We haven't been totally pleased with our previous groomer the last few times, and since we'd heard about someone closer to home (MUCH more convenient, btw), we decided to try the new place. So i made the appointment a while ago ~ but she couldn't get us in til next week Tuesday because she's taking two weeks off to move to a new house.

So yes, stage 1 is set with "Coco badly needs a grooming."

Stage 2... we have no fence yet, and our neighbors across the back alley don't really have a fence either.

Side note... Unknown to us at the time, these neighbors are pouring concrete for a driveway/sidewalk?? and i think they were in the process of smoothing it. I didn't see any of this of course.

Continue setting the stage... I'm outside doing yard work, and Janique is coming outside to join me (Jonathan took the boys fishing).

Ok, no more stage setting... now it's time for the action...

When Janique opened the door, Coco decided she wanted out too. Usually she's just fine hanging out for a while off her leash, so when Janique started calling Coco to come in, i said i thought she'd be ok ~ she'd like to be outside with us for a bit, but bring the leash. So she brings the leash, and tries to get Coco, who seems to think it's more fun being free. As Coco wanders off into the back alley, i go to help, but can't catch up to her before she takes off into the neighbors' back yard. Thinking they might have just put grass seed down (they recently brought in top soil to build up their yard), and not wanting to mess it up, i continue calling Coco, but don't run after her at this point. Coco doesn't listen AT ALL! but keeps going. She's heading for their front yard (and i'm thinking, the street! and then the school yard??) I send Janique around the back alley to try catch up to her there. She didn't get far before i hear someone YELLING "GET OUT OF THERE!"

My first thought when I saw Coco coming back around was, "hmm, i guess that worked." I considered thanking them...

As she ran home i noticed that she looked unusually "muddy."

Yep! She's wearing some of their freshly poured driveway!!!

Yikes! Never mind "thanking them" now... i guess we'll have to go apologize?? Sigh!

I'm really looking forward to Coco's grooming on Tuesday! Til then, she'll just look a bit goofy since we've given her a "partial" grooming (including a bath, of course ~ just what i stayed home for today ~ NOT!)

Hey, i guess we can count down the hours now ~ lol

We're on our last day of watching Robbie full-time (well, full-time Monday-Thursday). And referring to it as "full-time" because to be sure, we'll be asked to babysit him from time to time. The last two weeks have been somewhat easier just knowing we were almost done... and now that we're on the last day, i guess we can count down hours. I don't mean for it to sound bad... Robbie has been fun too... but it has been a lot of work, and a major distraction from things we need to be doing too (Brenden's program, homeschooling, yard work, housework, etc. etc.).

The other family ~ i asked a while ago to be done at the end of June (that was the original plan anyway as she anticipated being done work by then ~ but it looks like she's more permanent now)... and i haven't heard if they've found someone else or not, but the oldest child was saying something about having a different sitter by the time her sister is in school. And she seemed to know that i'd asked to be done by end of June. So we'll see... I think i might miss that job. But, i have to admit i'm looking forward to a little break anyway. And then, lol, i've already been thinking that i can make myself available to foster families who need sitters (respite and whatever). I almost wouldn't mind taking in a few foster children, but it's probably not ideal for us at this point, (plus i don't have my family's support yet), so this is something i can do to still help out a bit financially, while helping out the foster families who need breaks!

BUT, first of all we need to get us on track. I think we've decided that Darwin will do homeschool one more year, and then we'll probably let him decide next year if he wants to try school or not... so now i can go ahead and plan our next school year. That feels good... just to know where it's at.

Jonathan's work has been a bit frustrating ~ they've been told that they'll have to work manditory over-time every Saturday til Christmas! Yikes! If he wanted to work weekends he could've stayed at the farm (ok, there is still the pay difference, and he does get Sundays off). He should be getting benefits by now, but we haven't seen that yet... so still waiting for all that to come through. Along with confirmation that his probation is over and/or his position is considered permanent.

Anyway, i should run...

Ouch!

I guess my fall the other day hurt my knee more than i realized. The bruise on that knee doesn't look all that bad, but the pain if i kneel on it!!!! It doesn't hurt unless i kneel on it, so i keep forgetting it's hurt ~ until i accidentally kneel on it. And then it burns! It feels something like a very nasty rug-burn and/or a big wound being ripped open. And then it continues to burn for a while. Strange, because it doesn't "look" like it should hurt that much. I think i almost scared my little guy today when i got down on the floor to get his diaper on him after he went potty... i forgot about my knee until i was on it, and it hurt SO bad i yelped in pain as i quickly tried to get off that knee. I think i've probably bruised the actual bone... Jonathan wondered if i might have chipped it too, but i don't think so. However, if it continues to hurt like this for too long, i might get it checked. Not that there's likely anything they'll do for it...




Oh well... most of the time I AM remembering now to stay off that knee ~ lol.



We had an absolutely beautiful day for Reagan's soccer tournament on Saturday. The forecast that morning was for showers, but all day was perfect soccer weather ~ not too hot, not too cold (light jacket over a t-shirt was about perfect for me ~ shorts and t's for the players was fine), and almost no wind.



We came home taking a drive through the country along the way, and as we neared home, the clouds were beautifully dark blue and grey. I suggested the kids quickly pick up anything outside that they didn't want blown away, and we brought our stuff from the van inside... hadn't been in one minute and it was hailing. Nothing too big, but fascinating since we don't see hail too often. It was pretty cool watching it come down the eavestrough with the rain that followed. The rain did a lot to melt it quickly too. I got a few pictures, but we had to download what was on the camera before taking more, so by that time the hail was melting quite a bit.

Well, i better run check on my kiddos...

Lazy Friday??

Well, hardly "lazy" with Robbie & Andrew here ~ lol ~ but i'm still in pj's anyway! (My other family isn't here today, so i took the liberty to sleep in a bit, and "feel lazier" in pj's, etc.). Normally i don't have R&A on Fridays ~ my younger sister used to have them Fridays, but she only committed til the end of May. And since we had the benefit supper last night that we help out with, Trudy offered to take the day off so i wouldn't have her boys, but then we'd watch them today. Although i still had the other kids yesterday i agreed to the arrangement. I thought i might not mind the break after our crazy busy Wednesday anyway.

Had i known the other family wasn't going to be here today i would've probably would've rather had Robbie & Andrew yesterday instead of today... but i guess this is a good arrangement for Andrew who's been dreading coming because he & the other little girl don't get along too well. (Of course, yesterday would've meant just Robbie since Andrew had kindergarten... and it would've been a shorter day... but i guess it's nice to have a day with just these two too).

I took a tumble yesterday ~ upon arrival at the watermelon supper. Coming to the front door, there's a bit of a step (like 1-2"?) just before the door that i forgot about and didn't see, so my foot hooked on it and i went flying. I thought i had almost regained my footing just before i totally crashed/crumpled to the sidewalk. The door was open ~ i think i had caught it from one of the kids who was just ahead of me (might have been in a bit of a rush to catch the door?? and i'm guessing i probably grabbed it as i began flying), so once i was sitting i made a good door stop. I kind of wish i could see a replay in slow motion to see exactly what happened ~ it must have been an almost funny sight anyway. So now I have a few more bruises to add to my recent collection, and a sore muscle on my left arm (doesn't bother me unless i'm trying to use that muscle). I won't be kneeling on my right knee more than necessary for the next few days, and my right arm is sporting two new bruises ~ lol.

The other bruise ~ At Darwin's ball game last week (the game where he hit a homerun ~ woo hoo!), at one point the ball went foul and came over the fence right in my direction (i didn't remember who had batted that ball, but Darwin told me later he was sure it was him). So there were two of us in line... the other mom was sitting just to my right and one row down. She scooted over to the right, me to the left, and we were both "out of the way" but she reached out to try and catch the ball at the last mili-second; the ball deflected off her hand and into my elbow. I didn't think it really hurt much (i was wearing imitation leather jacket), but later my arm felt stiff, and then i saw the bruise.

Reagan has his soccer tournament tomorrow, so another full day there. I wish they didn't spread the games out so far apart (11, 2 & 5), but this is the way it goes. There's a LOT of teams, so i'm sure they were just trying to space them evenly. The boys were hoping to go fishing, but i guess they'll have to wait. They're getting a bit annoyed that Jonathan is still working an occasional shift at the farm on weekends ~ taking away from potential fishing days ~ lol. They've really taken to fishing! (Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa! lol). Milking is a fun out for Jonathan though, and he gets paid for it too, so i won't try to take that away from him. (at least not at this point).

Well, i better go see how everyone is doing...

Feeling a little blah today... wondering if the last trip to the chiropractor was too much for my body?? I usually see a different one, but with our busy schedule lately i've been going to whoever is available when i feel i need it... and the one i saw now has been good for me before, but the last two times it's been a bit too rough. I'll feel good for a day, and then my head/neck feels tight and i feel tired!

Yesterday was another busy babysitting day. Over lunch time we had 8 extras again (all 5 and under). I had a brainwave later on that day, or was it this morning?? I should ask the parents to bring bag lunches for the kids ~ lol. I think it would actually save me a bit of work.

Today I just have one family (2 kids now, and their sister comes after school) ~ my sister took the day off so i was less tied down because we're helping out with a fundraiser supper today ~ Watermelon and Rollkuchen. But then i have her boys tomorrow (which will be a longer day for us because Robbie doesn't have preschool on Fridays... ).

Next week is our last week to babysit Robbie & Andrew (although we've already been asked to have Robbie one day the following week ~ lol). I am looking forward to that break though... and i'm still hoping we have most of the summer off altogether (although i know we'll end up doing occasional days for whoever all, whenever all ~ ha ha).

Darwin is asking to go to school, and we're having a hard time deciding. I'm almost ready to let him go, but i do have some mixed feelings about it. And then we'd have to decide which school... more mixed feelings. I am praying about it... and i've asked Darwin to pray about it too.

Anyway, i better go...

Had a good day

I had a pretty good day today! I got to sleep in a little this morning... my kiddos didn't come til 12:30 today. And I only had the two of them (til their sister came after school)... so since i needed to bring some stuff to the next town, i took the two with me and we did some garage saling as well. It was fun! I was surprised at how much i actually enjoyed that! One of the things i have appreciated as my kids have been growing up is their independance ~ not needing me to buckle up their car seats, etc. but i really didn't mind doing that for my "little kiddos" today. Somehow it gave me a picture of how I imagine it might be when we have our two new children home... and it just feels right!

Busy day miracle

Yikes... i had my four regular kids today, and then the 2 boys i used to watch regularily, and then my sister asked if i could watch two of her boys... so we had 8 extra kiddos today. It didn't hit me until later that this is probably the most kids of that age that we've had at a time (usually when we have this many, several of them are older). So let me see if i can remember everyone's ages... 16mos, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5... can i say i'm THANKFUL for my kids help! And THANKFUL for a miracle ~ both the baby & Robbie had a nap! The last time we had the baby over, he didn't go down easily, until he was so tired he fell asleep in his highchair ~ lol. It's not easy getting Robbie to sleep, so with this many kids over, it was a miracle that he went to sleep! My kids watched the other kids while i got Robbie settled/sleeping, and then once he's sleeping he usually sleeps tight. The baby had a BIG nap, and by the time these two woke up, 4 of the kids had gone home.

Anyway, i'm trying to get ready for garage sale on Friday, so i should get some more work done on that ~ i don't get far while babysitting.

Last week Wednesday I was curious if our file had arrived in Ethiopia yet (it was to be mailed on the 6th), so I emailed our case worker. Apparently it arrived and was picked up on the 10th, so we are officially waiting for a referral now.

We were told that with the number of people requesting siblings, the referral time is likely to be at least about 8mos. I guess that would put us into January of 2009. That is just about too long! I know it's better for us to expect it to take longer, and hope that it's sooner... but somehow i just can't quite imagine waiting into 2009. Naturally i'll be "hoping" for a referral by Christmas. But again, all in God's timing! I'd rather leave it in His hands and trust Him for His patience. (Easy enough to say at the beginning of the wait, right?) I honestly believe it is God who has lead us to/through this journey so far, and I am confident He will see us through in His way and in His time. That doesn't mean our patience won't be tested (it already has been numerous times)... but for now it does feel good to know that our dossier is complete, correct, and in Ethiopia!

Officially our request is "a sibling group, preferably a girl and a boy, or two girls, with the female child being the eldest within the age of 24 to 60 months, and a male or female child within the age of 6 to 36 months."

Or more simply put... "a girl (24-60mos) and boy (6-36mos), or two girls (6-60mos)."

Last week Monday & Tuesday were not easy with Robbie ~ he was extra difficult, and didn't take a nap, so that makes for a long day. Thursday though, he was much better. Maybe it's a bit of a chain reaction too... if he starts off well, it puts us into a better frame of mind to enjoy him more?? Not sure, but we all had a better day. He came in the door smiling, and very huggy! He climbed up on my lap and started hugging me, and when the boys would get close, he'd draw them into the hug too. He was being cute. He actually sat on the floor and played for more than a minute at a time too. Then later, after his nap (YES, he had a nap that day), he went into the bathroom, and i heard Brenden trying to get him out of there... and then Brenden called me. I've told the boys repeatedly that if they can't manage Robbie, let me know! so now i was sure he was having trouble getting Robbie out, but as i got up to go help, i asked anyway what was up, and he told me "Robbie is in the sink!" (he was sitting in the sink, and Brenden needed me to help get him out of there). Lol... i had him clarify to be sure i'd heard right, and then i quickly picked up the camera to get a picture before taking him out. It was too funny! I guess in a way he was still being naughty because he didn't listen to Brenden (come out of the bathroom), but we all had a good laugh before taking him out and locking the bathroom door.

So now we have four more weeks of watching him... hopefully we'll have more "good days." Tomorrow we have just Robbie and just for the afternoon (i think). So a "long weekend."

Jonathan did 3 shifts at the farm on the weekend (2 yesterday and one today), so it'll be nice for him to have tomorrow off!

Anyway, it's WAY late again (how do i keep letting the day get away on me like this??)...

I did it!

I've been contemplating for a while now... do i continue babysitting through the summer or not? We've got about 5 more weeks to babysit Robbie & Andrew, and when i took the other job, i was told til the end of June... and i was fine with that, but her job appears to be long term now, so i/we had a decision to make. After giving it much thought, i came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to take a break. I know a lot of it is just that the work-load with Robbie is just so tiring that we're all ready for a break... and that, quite possibly, if it was just the other two* it probably wouldn't be too bad. (Last Friday it was just the other two, and it felt like such a manageable/normal-ish kind of day that i thought we could probably keep watching them ~ feeling pretty well "adjusted" by now, and they really aren't all that much work when it's just the two of them).

* key to remember... through the summer we would probably have their older sister here most days as well. She's not a bad kid, but i have found that when all three are here, all three fight more with each other... (we usually have all three for 1/2hr. in the morning before school). So that's something to take into consideration. There would be another "adjustment" to having her here full-time too, but i think we're just ready for a break.

One of our children in particular has grown quite an attitude in the last few weeks (and has done his share of complaining about all the babysitting), and it's been difficult trying to get Brenden's program going strong between running for Robbie... plus I'm seeing areas where my kids are needing some extra one-on-one in their school work... so i believe it's time to take a break, take a step back, re-group and "get back on track?" Lol... and try to do all that during the summer when they want to be outside all the time??

So I had no idea how or when i'd approach it, but when she came to pick up the kids today, it kind of flowed into the conversation and i just said that we've decided to babysit til end of June, but would like the summer off; that my kids need a break. We didn't discuss after the summer... i'm guessing if she finds someone else they'd probably just continue there, but i'd consider having them again in Fall if she needed someone.

I'm kind of sad about it in a way ~ there's a good possibility that if we hadn't tied ourselves down so much with Robbie, the other job probably would've been good to keep long term. But that's where it's at for now. I feel good about the decision overall... and hopefully we make wise use of our break.

Letter of approval

Our "latest edition" "Letter of Approval" has finally arrived at the agency! And it's RIGHT this time! No mistakes to correct!

This means our file is now complete and ready to be mailed to Ethiopia. Then we officially begin our wait for a referral!

Praise GOD!

Quite a while back, in a ladies Bible study, hmm... i think it might have been the book "Calm My Anxious Heart" that we were going through... but i don't remember for sure...

Anyway, there was a little illustration/story that stuck with me and it went something like this... "two women were looking out of a prison cell; one saw dirt, the other saw stars."

I think i'm seeing more dirt than stars today... you know how sometimes that dust just gets into the sky so that even when you're looking up, you still see "dirt?" Lol... ok, not a good excuse, but i have a feeling i shouldn't "dump" about everything that's wearing at me today. Goes along with that saying... "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."

And sometimes when we just want to complain, we're better off counting our blessings (without sarcasm that is...)

Ok, you probably get the point.

Last week Tuesday

I'm reposting this... an overview of last Tuesday...


7:30 ~ first three children arrive8:00 ~ feed them breakfast8:30 ~ older one is off to school10:30? (i'm already losing track of time ~ ahh! lol) ~ next two children arrive (Darwin gets one baby, Janique gets the other one)10:45? ~ next two children arrive
Somewhere in that time frame, we discover the banans on the banana holder (the hanging thingy) are beginning to peel themselves ~ falling down ~ so we decide to make banana loaf. (Would've done muffins but i don't like cleaning muffin pans, and i'm out of liners).
11:15 ~ one more child arrives ~ Brenden & Reagan will run after him and "try" to keep him out of trouble.
By this point, "time" is kind of a blurr between changing diapers, helping Janique settle the little baby, trying to keep the preschoolers away from the table & dishes until i've actually got lunch ready for them (i'm working on it), helping Reagan & Brenden with Robbie because when he doesn't cooperate, he's more than a handful for either of them, and just in general trying to make sure everyone is doing ok... except, i'm still watching the time because i need to bring one of the 4yr. olds to preschool by 12:45.12:30 ~ Scrambling to figure out who's coming with me, who's staying home with my kids (previously ok'd by the parents either way), getting enough safety seats into the van, shoes on feet, several children out the door, but baby's crying again (can't leave him like that, but i can't really take him along cause his infant seat goes on an attachment that i don't have) ~ ok, "Darwin, please get the kids in the van buckled while i try to settle baby again"... finally decide he's getting close enough to feeding time that it won't hurt to warm a bottle for him ("quickly please Janique ~ yes, i know, there's a pile of dirty dishes in front of the microwave, but hurry anyway" ~ lol)... by now Darwin is back inside, I hand him the baby and bottle, baby seems happy with that, and i'm off. The time in the van says 12:45 ~ i'm thankful it's about 5min. ahead. The drive to preschool is about 7min.Back home in 20min. Everyone was fine. Darwin had trouble burping baby, so Janique took over and did wonderfully. (She LOVES this baby cousin! and i'm seeing her mature so much and becoming more responsible ~ quite a good babysitter really). Darwin is really good with babies (and older children too), but i guess he just hasn't been in the situation too often where I help/ offer suggestions like Janique has been. I think Darwin is probably better with older babies where there's more interaction and action.Anyway, the rest of the afternoon kind of just happened. The older kids played fairly well ~ I held Robbie for a while, hoping he'd fall asleep, but not too determined yet. After a bit (movie was done) i let him play again for a while.About 2:30 the first mom showed up for her two boys. Before she left, the next mom came for her son (who had gone downstairs just minutes earlier, and now came up smelling sour ~ lol ~ so his mom quickly changed him), and during that time my sister showed up for her babies. It was a busy few minutes, but after everyone else had left, my sister chatted with me a few minutes, and really blessed me... she said something like "your family is like a rare gem" referring to how our children are learning to take care of other children, and babysitting and all. I don't always see it that way ~ sometimes i focus on areas where i don't see them being responsible enough (doing their chores, for example), but i guess it's true that they are learning responsibility in other areas too... and mostly doing well. This morning they are playing with the two little ones that are here now... all just "playing" together. So anyway, thank you Mary for the blessing!So after all that commotion, it was pretty quiet with just Robbie. I tried once again to get him down for a nap, and he did finally give in.3:40-ish, I drove Darwin & a neighbor boy to work (since our friends moved away 2 weeks ago, i'm happy to have someone else nearby to carpool with ~ this guy started on Monday).5:00 ~ wake Robbie to take him home since we're going to his town anyway for a 5:30 appt. to do our income tax.I had stuff in the fridge to make for supper, but i was so spent I suggested pizza and Jonathan totally went for it ~ we swung by the pizza place and just hung out while waiting for our order. The kids loved the pizza too... and i loved that i didn't have to cook :-)So there was our very busy day...And Andrew will be here shortly, so i'm off.

Tomorrow should be a relaxing Tuesday in comparison... we think.

But I'm really hoping that the rest of our adoption stuff arrives at the agency tomorrow so that our file can be off to Ethiopia. We're waiting for our payment to arrive (mailed it registered on Wednesday, so if it's not there by tomorrow i'll be a bit nervous), as well as the corrected letter of approval from the province. The last one only took a week, and tomorrow will be two weeks for this one, so i'm feeling a bit impatient.

Tired...

Hmm, wonder why...

I'm looking forward to having tomorrow off ~ it worked out that we don't have to babysit tomorrow and i'm ok with that! But i'll still be getting up early for an appointment. Oh well... it'll still be a break. I've been feeling really tired today, and wondering how i'll manage when/if this newest job goes full-time... but the way i understood it, this wasn't a permanent job either ~ just til summer if i'm right. Although she did say something about getting another job after that... but i won't likely be looking for anything full-time for the coming school year. Lol... i wasn't "looking" for either of these jobs! Just feeling like we wouldn't be doing justice to homeschooling if we continue babysitting full-time year round. I really like part-time babysitting best, but i guess we'll see. "J" will be in kindergarten this Fall, so it'd only be about every other day for her, leaving us just the little boy the rest of the days.

We've done 5 weeks now for my sister, so if she sticks with the 12 weeks she was aiming for, we're almost half-way done. (lol... sorry, guess my honesty is showing up a bit ~ it's not our favorite job ~ but we have come a long way!).

We had two other kids over yesterday for the afternoon (the first two boys that we began watching last year in June), and that was kind of nice! We've missed them i think!

Adoption... our agency received my medical and the amended letter of approval on Tuesday. For some reason, the letter was changed in a few other areas now, so it still didn't say what it was supposed to. We called our adoption worker again, and suggested they just go with the first letter, but change the "24mos" to "6mos" and then it would be perfect! Sounds like that's what she was going to do. I hope so! Didn't know it could all be that confusing ~ lol. I'm hoping it goes through quickly like the last amendment (one week).

Anyway, I should see if i can get Robbie down for a nap. I don't think i'll be trying longer than an hour anymore. I just don't have that kind of patience (or determination?) day after day. He just needs that nap. Today it's just him (and my kids of course) so hopefully it'll be easier.

Funny how i can have so much on my mind, and when i finally get a chance to sit down and blog about it, i'm not sure where it went, or how to get it all into words ~ lol.

I know at the time i was thinking about all the babysitting jobs i've had in the last year ~ i'm not sure how common it is to have so many new/different jobs in such a short time, but i find it somewhat interesting anyway. On Monday I met my new family (the mom and younger 2 children), and on Tuesday was their first day here. As I was anticipating meeting them, and maybe even after that, i found myself thinking how i don't particularily "enjoy" the "getting to know the new family" part ~ i think maybe God is revealing to me that i am still dealing with some inferiority issues. That could be one of the things He's chipping away at in my life by bringing all these new jobs to me?? But then, i find it hard in any situation to be "out-going" and make the initiative to meet new people... so yes, it is stretching me.

At any rate, the new job seems to be going ok... although, Andrew and the new girl didn't get along too well when they were both here. I hope we can help them work it out ~ but we'll have to watch them a bit longer to figure out if it's more one than the other.

On Thursday we just had the little boy (he's almost 3). Robbie wasn't here either, so it was a farily relaxed and quiet day.

On a different note, we've been thinking about this for a while, and have decided to take Brenden back to the Hope Centre for NeuroEducational Development and get him on program again. I'm scared of the commitment (which is what's been holding me back for so long ~ i've often thought we should come back to this), but want so badly to help him achieve as much as he can before he's all "grown up." (He turned 15 on Monday). And I'm thinking that we should maximize the time we have now while waiting for our adoption to happen. So we were anticipating a wait of about 3-4 months to get the first appointment, but they called this week and offered us a spot in two weeks! Looks like i might have to do this without Jonathan since he's still on probation and we're thinking it's probably not a good idea for him to ask for the day off.

Oh... I finally located my "original" medical form on Thursday. It was in my files at the doctor's office! I guess i never had the original ~ they gave me a copy. Back then, it didn't realize everything had to be the "original" so i didn't think to check or ask about it at that time. So I made a trip into the city that day to pick it up, and brought it to our adoption worker who said she'll mail it with the ammended provincial letter of approval. Whew! I had just mailed an envelope to our agency the day before, and registered (or Xpresspost) isn't cheap ~ i was wishing i'd waited, but this worked out ok too (well, i'm trusting it IS working out ok ~ lol)... and i'm glad i didn't need to do another registered mail right away.

It actually took until this week for our financing to come through too ~ we might have been ok (although a bit delayed at the agency end) if it took another 2-4 weeks, but this worked out better overall, i think. Because Jonathan's job is new (probation), we didn't qualify for the Bank of Canada adoption loan... so we made some adjustments to our mortgage so that our fixed portion remains basically the same, but we have a line of credit available to use as needed. We have a great broker :-)

Anyway, it's Saturday, i was actually getting some tidying done ~ really, the extra babysitting seems to be adding to the messes ~ not really looking forward to the next few weeks of mud to boot (lol... sorry about the pun). I've been feeling more crowded in our house again, wondering where to put what, dreaming of more room (still would love a family room addition to the back of the kitchen/dining room ~ oh, and a bigger entrance would be great as well ~ i have a dream plan figured out for that too), and feeling some guilt about not being content with what we have. But yes, i "should" get back to work. Might not hurt to get the kids doing their chores too ~ i'm pretty sure they aren't doing them without being told/reminded!

Sigh...

It's feeling like it could be a "long" day.

Sigh...

And while our file made it to the agency yesterday, they are missing my "original" medical form and need that. Our adoption worker says she doesn't have it, and i haven't heard back from our social worker (which is a bit odd cause she is usually very prompt with replies ~ i'm HOPING she's not away!). Agency needs the original. There was also a mistake made on our provincial letter of approval, so that needs to be corrected too before the agency can move forward with our process.

Ok... no time for the details...

sigh...

So much on my mind

and no time to write about it ~ lol. Ahh, i feel like i could talk up a storm already, but i've got my new kids this morning, need to get them lunch before their mom picks them up, Robbie comes in a few minutes, and my friend is bringing 4 of her kiddos around lunch time too... among other things that i need to get done.

ahhh... help! lol

k ~ later

Friday already?

Lol... well, it did feel a bit like a long week earlier, and here it is late Friday night!

I did call our adoption worker yesterday, and she said she has the letter of approval ~ if she got the time, she was planning to mail our file to our agency yesterday. If we haven't received our copy of the approval letter within a week i need to call again. So after our agency receives the package, it goes to wherever for legalization/ authentication (about 2-4 weeks for that)... and then off to Ethiopia and we officially begin waiting for a referral at that point. That could take 3-12 months. Exciting!

It really felt good to have a day off today. The kids and i went to our favorite second-hand store. We didn't buy a lot, but found a few treasures. Reagan bought a "Shmuzzle Puzzle" (all the pieces are the same shape ~ shaped like lizards ~ that all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle). We had fun putting that together ~ it was a regular scenery picture of water, trees, mountain and sky, but complicated because of the shapes.

Then this afternoon Jonathan & I needed to sign some papers for our mortgage, and took advantage of the trip to the city to do another "grocery shopping." Well, he looked so tired that i told him he could go sleep in the van if he wanted. (Getting up at 4:30 is a bit of an adjustment). Two hours later I was done shopping and packing $250 worth of groceries. I was thankful (at that point) that at least he'd be able to help me pack everything into the van. Lol... when i got to the van, he wasn't there :-) He'd come looking for me i guess, and he must have just missed me. So I loaded everything up myself (fortunately the hatch held itself open ~ it doesn't when it's too cold), and when i grabbed the last item out of the cart, he showed up ~ lol.

When I got home, i had an invitation to join a friend (two friends actually) for coffee (actually for me it was cheesecake and water ~ i don't do coffee), so that was a lovely evening out too. (Thanks ladies!)

Oh, and Jonathan's shift is changed back to 7:00 for next week. That's so much nicer. I love having him home at 2:30-3:00, but then he's always tired/sleeping whenever ~ not worth it.

Anyway, busy day tomorrow trying to catch up on some over-due house work... or maybe, i did suggest earlier to the kids that maybe we'd do some fun "school" stuff... but either way it's getting late.

Sometimes my blog must almost be boring... sorry.

This week with no school (Easter break, or spring break?), we have both Robbie & Andrew every day (except Friday because we've asked to have Friday's off). And mostly longer days too (starting at 9:45 ~ when Robbie has preschool he gets here about 11:30). Today it took me 2 hours to get Robbie down for his nap! I took a break after 1 1/2 hours while he sat in his chair for a bit, but then took him back on my lap for another half-hour before he finally gave in. So there's a reason i sometimes feel like i'm getting nothing done. I did some reading with Brenden today, but our "homeschool" has been very challenged lately! It's easier when it's just Robbie, so hopefully next week will go more smoothly again... but it's feeling like a long time til June ~ lol. Still trying to maintain a good attitude about it all.

Jonathan has an even earlier shift now ~ they call it "summer hours" (even though it's only March??). It's not a bad shift at the end of the work day (done at 2:00), but getting up at 4:30 (to be at work by 5:30) might be a bit brutal after a bit. The reasoning is ok ~ welding gets warm, so in the summer heat it can be unbearable ~ but we're still doing winter! We'll see... if it's too crazy, he might be able to come in a bit later.

I'm waiting patiently (so far) to hear from our adoption worker about our provincial approval. I'd like to call already and be sure she got all our paperwork and is working on it, but i don't want to be impatient either. She should've had everything last week Monday, so i think it's about time to call ~ maybe tomorrow if we haven't heard anything by then.

This week is going better. I'm pretty sure that (last week) i had swollen lymph nodes in my neck and head causing my head to feel yucky ~ and affecting how i felt overall. So I'm very thankful to have a clear head again!

So far Brenden & Reagan are doing pretty good with Robbie, but today looks like it could be a bigger challenge. We have both boys today since 9:30 because there's no school. And all of next week is the same.

I also have my other sister's boys today ~ my brother-in-law called at 8 this morning asking if we could watch them (just the older 4) because my sister is at the hospital with the other two. She took the 1yr. old (foster boy) in last night (i assume breathing problems ~ asthma or pneumonia?) and this morning they were still waiting for him to be admitted (waiting for a bed). She's got their baby with her too and hasn't slept all night! UGH! I don't know how she does it! Of course i can watch the other 4! (they don't have school today).

I guess i haven't "quit" after all. Long story short, my sister would still prefer to leave her boys with us, and so we will continue to have them, but hopefully not more than 4 days/ week. I just feel we need that little breather. Actually, Brenden & Reagan want to share the job opportunity and income, so they will be mostly responsible to keep Robbie entertained and/or out of trouble. :-)

And it might not be til the end of June... maybe only til early-mid-June, so that's not all that long. If we make a point of getting up at a decent time, we can get in 2hours of school stuff before Robbie gets here, and then we he naps we have a little more time for whatever. On the days when Andrew is here, well, i guess we'll figure something out.

We had a homeschool Math workshop on Friday (at the school division office), and we rather enjoyed it. Kind of inspired me to pull out some games and such that we've sort of forgotten about. And i asked about testing... so i guess we'll probably be doing that about the second week of April. I'm looking forward to that.

On Saturday we all went to an adoption get together (for families who have adopted or are considering/ in the process of adopting children from Ethiopia). We enjoyed that, and met a few new families. This is the second time we've been at one of these events, so we're slowly getting to meet some of these families. It's a pretty big group (almost a bit overwhelming at first), but a wonderful support group!

We signed our revised homestudy on Friday, so that's going to the office today. I'm waiting to hear back from our adoption worker about one paper (whether or not she needs it, and if it needs the professional witness/signatures), and then i hope to drop of the last of the papers ~ the employment letters ~ today.

Jonathan's job sounds ok so far. He didn't do any real welding til Wednesday, and the hours have been a bit confusing (to me anyway)... but that's likely just with orientation and such. And i think they go in earlier for manditory over-time on Fridays?? We'll figure it out yet... not a big deal. I really like that he gets home so much earlier!!!

My week has been a bit more difficult... having Robbie here full-time has it's challenges, but my head has been feeling a bit yucky all week. I find that really affects me way too much and i need to find a way to cope better with those days. But yesterday when my sister asked about it (because i had mentioned to my bil that i was feeling stressed), she decided to see if daycare was still an option... so she's going with that. While it has been a relief to me, i feel really badly about "quitting" (even though i didn't "quit" but left the decision up to my sister so far ~ i guess she thought rather deal with it now than let it get to be too much??). And I guess Andrew had wanted daycare in the first place, so while i offered he could still come here, she decided to put him in daycare too ~ but more like a drop in so that she doesn't have to pay everyday just to hold his spot. And we'll be back-up for days when daycare doesn't work out. Oh, and the bus will continue to drop Robbie off at our house and we'll walk him over to daycare.

Of course, with that decision made, today is going pretty good. My kids haven't had this much fun with Robbie, probably ever before. ???

And there i break to put him down for his nap ~ and he fights me more than usual to go down ~ lol. I guess maybe all the fun equals "i don't want to sleep" today, and he put on a serious fight. But he did give in, and after 1/2 hour of holding/rocking him, he is sleeping now.

Anyway, I do feel badly about not having it all "together" enough to manage him full-time for 4 months... and it seems like i'm looking at everything in light of our pending adoption like "if you can't handle this, do you really think you can handle adopting two children?" Maybe i'm just afraid that's how others will look at it... and i need to stop thinking like that! It's God's voice and thoughts that I need to listen to!

Tired today

My head wasn't feeling great yesterday, but when my friend called to see if I might join her (she took her little girl to emerg because she hadn't been feeling well), i decided it could be a good thing to go out. It's been a while since she & I have had a good visit anyway ;-)

So three of her children stayed here (with Jonathan & our kids), and her 12yr. daughter came along to the city as well. We got to the hospital about 7pm, and finally left there about midnight. None of us really had supper (i'd been snacking enough that i really wasn't hungry though), so on our way home we did drive-thru at McDonalds which took dreadfully long too, and we got home sometime between 1 & 1:30am. We'd been in touch with Jonathan so everyone had gone to bed. (Well, one of the boys had kinds of "waited up" for his mom and went home with her). So i had two extras today, besides Robbie & Andrew who came at 11:30.

Today being the last homeschool skating for the season, we didn't really want to miss it (we haven't gone near as often as we used to), so we packed everyone up and went! We knew it would be an adventure with Robbie there, so I really appreciated how Brenden kept running after him. (After about 20-30min. of that I had Robbie sitting with me).

I'm waiting to hear how Jonathan's first day at the new job went. I'm not sure how much work they'll have done today since it was orientation... but i'm still anxious to hear how it went. He is taking a Perpsectives in World Missions class on Monday nights (in the city), so he hasn't been home yet. Makes for long Mondays!

But i'm tired, and don't get to sleep in tomorrow morning either... so i'm off.

Couple of pictures from today

Darwin has been begging all winter to do a wiener roast, and they've kept the fire pit in the backyard cleared of snow just for this... so i had to get a picture.

And my nephew Robbie ~ After telling him numerous times not to stand on the piano bench, and he doesn’t listen, we take the bench away… and this is what we get ~ lol. Reagan was just sitting there watching TV and Robbie squeezed between him and the piano, reached his hands up and began to play piano... and then eventually propped himself up to kind of sitting on Reagan's back and then climbed right up with his feet like you see him here ~ lol.

They called to offer Jonathan a job ~ guess we'll get the details tomorrow since Jonathan wasn't home now when they called.

Still waiting...

For some reason i just thought we'd know by Tuesday if Jonathan got the job or not ~ but we didn't know that was going to be a preliminary interview. So then we thought we'd know by Wednesday... and now we're hoping to find out today... but still waiting.

Lol... just a little bit ago, the phone rang and I said "that'll be the job" (hoping, of course)... and, it's another babysitting job! Lol... too funny! Ok, so why don't we just go full speed right away, bring Jonathan home and do full-time daycare?? It sure seems that there is a need for childcare, but at the same time, i know that one of the things that people like about having their children here is that it's NOT a daycare. Guess it depends on the family. I guess the challenge for me is how to continue providing a sufficient education for our children through all the changes and added responsibilities. Somehow though, strange as it might sound, it seems this babysitting thing has been good for me... it seems that it's giving me a further purpose in my life (not that my children and home aren't purpose enough, but somehow it's easier to get into a slump with the usual routines and easier to slack off). I'm not sure how to say it the way i feel it, and it might not make sense to anyone else, so i guess i'm making myself vulnerable to say anything. But it does seem that it's giving me an extra push which has been good for me. (Although i've had some reservations about having Robbie here everyday ~ but I anticipate God will be trying to build some character in a few of us through that experience).

Oh, this new job is apparently only for a few months as well... i think she said 3 or 4 months. She's got 3 children, but one is in school, so usually just two here. She wasn't sure about her hours, but sounded like maybe part-time, at least to begin with.

Jonathan is doing some extra shifts at the farm ~ just covering for some of the others here and there, so that's been kind of nice ~ helps out.

Anyway, i need to get some tidying done... can't wait for spring garage sales to clean out some of the clutter!