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These are the weeks of my life…

Sunday, May 27

The Princess woke up croupy. No church for us today. By the end of the day, it was obvious she was only getting worse, so off to urgent care we went. We pulled in just in the nick of time. As soon as the doors opened, the parking lot was covered in regurgitated food. Yuk! Not long after, armed with steroids and an inhaler, we headed  home.

Monday, May 28

Memorial Day 2012 – Spend six hours at an appointment with the two younger ones for an evaluation. All a necessary part of the adoption as we move forward, but none the less, emotionally exhausting as well. We made it home to grilled salmon and grilled zucchini…awesome meal! The Good Looking One came over for a visit later, which always makes my day!

Tuesday, May 29

It was the Princesses birthday…ten years old. My how the time flies! I remember the day she was born and the first time we ever brought her home with us. She was just a few months old and I didn’t have any real idea of what her needs were. Several back and forth trips and now, hopefully, the adoption will be final before the summer is over! She requested grilled cheeese sandwiches and tomatoe soup. Home made tomatoe soup. (There are three foods I really don’t care to ever eat…lima beans, black eyed peas and tomato soup), but I made the soup and dipped the sandwich in it and smiled the whole time, because she was so happy that we had made her special request for her birthday! (Bboo shares my sentiment and forced the liquid down, too!)

Wednesday, May 30

Happy 20th anniversary to hubby and I! I spent some time this week sitting and remembering…I honestly can’t believe twenty years have gone by so fast! I also never would have imagined this wonderful, amazing life that we have spent together. And it’s a good thing we celebrated on the weekend, because there would be no celebrating on the actual day! Between work, court and dance, all he got was a text message. He, on the other hand, sent me a beautiful note, so he won the most romantic award for the day.

Thursday, May 31

I honestly don’t remember it. I think it was because I slept through it.

Friday, June 1

Another busy day of work, appointments, various sport events for the kids, etc. A quiet moment with the Talented One while we watched a movie ended the day nicely! It’s not often we get to spend one on one time together!

Saturday, June 2

Errands, cleaning, grooming dogs, etc! Finally, a houseful of people and a game of Hearts and Mexican train with good friends, because after all…there will ALWAYS be time for a game of Hearts!

But the best part of the week?

The Drama Queen found out last minute she is singing tonight. She is usually pretty confident, but was completely unsure of herself last night. The Talented One called her downstairs to the piano to work with her.

Sometimes, certain memories just stick…you know it’s going to be one you won’t ever forget. As I sat there playing the game, I was able to completely keep my composure. But inside, I was choked up and melting as I listened to him playing the piano and encouraging her while she sang, “Lead Me to the Cross.”

It was beautiful.

My family. My life.

God is good.

 

Boys are Easier…

…to send off to Prom, that is! The boys, we throw them in a tuxedo…that’s is. Sure, we can instruct them to be a gentleman, open the doors, treat them like a lady, ask them if they have enough money, etc., but then we send them off and trust that we’ve taught them well.

But when it’s your daughter….it’s another story! It’ takes weeks of preparation! There’s shopping for the dress; then the shoes; then accessories…and the list goes on and on.

Until it’s finally the day…and in it, there are not one, two, or even three trips to Sally’s…but FOUR! Half a bottle of fingernail polish is used before the nails are just right. Then there’s the bobby pins, glue gun to make the hairpiece, make-up for “smokey eyes” and so much more!

And when you’re all done…you remember the dress has to go over the head….yeah, that was fun!

And the finished product?

 

 

 

 

 

And then, there’s that smile!

 

 

And a moment with her father…

 

And her oldest, very protective brother…

Big brother on the front porch with a Samurai Sword...waiting to greet her lucky Prom Date!

And finally, we’re about done with pictures…..

And they’re off!

Long Overdue

Saturday was one of those days. You know, the kind where you want to sleep in, but have to get up even earlier? And then it’s clean the house, do the laundry, work in the yard.

But…

How wonderful it was to have the Diva come over and work with the Drama Queen because she was singing in the praise band for the first time tonight. But what made it even more special? When the Talented One started talking harmony with them; giving them suggestions and then singing along with them and helping. What a moment!

And then, taking Chicken Noodle Butt and the Drama Queen outside with me and teaching them how to trim the rosebushes. And we talked and laughed as I shared memories of trimming rose bushes with their oldest brother. Which took me down memory lane…..

And having chili dogs and guacamole outside in the backyard; just sitting in a circle laughing and talking.

And working on Bboo’s hair while watching the four youngest playing baseball in the backyard. Laughing while we listened to them screaming “run, run….get the ball, get the ball!” And remembering baseballs and soccer balls crashing through the same window through the years.

And finally, playing Super Mario races half the night; laughing as I kept falling off the cliffs and rainbow road (or whatever it is called), and getting inked or struck with lightening.

In our hectic life, these are the type of days I long for. I’m so glad I was blessed with one this weekend.

What is Family Anyway?

Today has been an interesting day. Twenty years ago my hubby asked me to marry him. This morning I dragged my family outside in the cold at the crack of dawn to take family pictures. We haven’t done family pictures in seven years. They’ve been threatened, coerced, and then threatened some more; no matter what, they would not mess up my family pictures in any way, shape or form!

And it was fun; cold, but fun!

This afternoon, hubby and I took some of the youth from our church, as well as our own kids, and went on a mission. Earlier this fall, the girls Bible study had come up with the idea of collecting blankets and then taking them this weekend to pass them out to the homeless, along with the Lovewell bags. (You can read more about that here.) We piled the kids, blankets and bags into our van and went off in search of someone to give them to.

As we drove downtown into the heart of the homeless, we were saddened to realize we did not have near enough blankets; or bags for that matter. We had to choose where to pass them out because we realized there were certain areas where there were so many homeless, we’d never be able to provide enough for them.

And yet, we prayed and asked God to direct us where to go. At one point we stopped and the boys got out to pass out the blankets and bags. The people were so grateful; it is so cold out tonight. One of the men took a blanket and said,

“I don’t need this, but thank you, I’m giving it to someone who does.”

They were sleeping in boxes, make-shift tents, and on the dirt ground in a lot next to the road.

Over and over we pulled to the side of the road, passed out blankets until we ran out, and then continued to pass out the bags. They’d see our van pull over and come running when they realized we were handing out something special for them. Having no home, they still smiled and said “Thank you” or “God Bless You” as we presented them with a small token: socks, snacks, water, and hygiene items.

And they’d tell their “family” to come over and get a bag; or they’d ask for an extra to hand to their friend.

They took care of one another. Family.

As I sit here thinking over the day, I am grateful for the home that I have. For my family and friends.

For God giving me a daughter who has such a heart for those who have so little.

We’re already talking about continuing. Next time we’ll bring more blankets. Next time we’ll add sandwiches to the bags that we pass out.

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. I miss my family who is so far away and I don’t talk to nearly enough. I hope they know how much I love them and miss them.

And I thank Him, for reminding me of all that I have. Twenty years ago I never dreamed of a day like this. A good day. And a wonderful twenty years of blessings.

Rainbows

This week my schedule is a little off. Not in a bad way at all. It’s actually been kind of nice.

This morning, I had the privilege of driving my two youngest to school. Usually, a friend takes them. This morning, I took her daughter instead.

I was on my way to pick her up after dropping off Bboo and started driving my normal routine. This forced me to be a little later while I backtracked to get her. And then headed to pick up my kids, as well. By the time we were situated and on our way, the sky was doing some unusual things in the desert. It was a beautiful pink, with clouds and rain. The Smart One noticed it at the same time as I did and pointed it out right away! Right in the middle was the most brilliantly colored rainbow I’ve ever seen. It was incredible! We both just kind of stared in awe as we kept driving towards it, remarking about the beauty that God has created.

As we got closer, it started to sprinkle, then rain. I love the rain.

We went inside to carry on with our day. As I spent the rest of the day working, it was so nice to have the Drama Queen stop each time she passed me to say hello. Or bring her friends over to meet me. It is a special moment when your child wants her friends to know who their parents are!

The Drama  Queen’s name means, “Beautiful Rainbow”…what a blessing this morning to have such rainbows in my life!