Friday, July 28, 2006

Questions


QUESTIONS TO AN ADOPTIVE MOM

Oh, your child’s adopted?
How lucky he must be.
I laugh because that thought seems so naïve to me.

I didn’t save him and
My purpose wasn’t rescue
Look closely and you’ll see
The opposite is true.

I needed to be a mother
I felt it in my bones.
But you see, I wasn't able
To do it all alone.

Though the Lord did not
Bless me with a pregnancy.
He brought a young woman into my life
To fulfill my destiny.

And so this special woman
Who loved her baby so dear
Picked me for his mother
To raise him through the years.

Don't you ever wonder
About a child of your own?
Believe me, he is my child
I didn't take him as a loan.

And I know he is my son.
I'm as sure as sure as can be.
Giving birth was not the way
God chose to bring him to me.

I made his birth mother a promise.
I'm honor bound to serve.
To give this wonderful boy
All the love that he deserves.

Every kiss I give him
Comes from two mothers hearts.
One very near,
The other far apart.

And as he grows, we'll teach him
As only mothers can.
Two women came together
To create this man.

Aren't you afraid she'll come back
And want to take him away?
It goes without saying,
She misses him every day.

But she chose a life for him
One she couldn't give.
And honored me with her choice.

A commitment I strive to live.

This triangle of love,
You may consider rare.
But, you see as blessings go,
I've got more than my share.

And yes, my son was adopted.
He makes me happy as can be.
But what you don't understand is
The lucky one is me.

AUTHOR: LAURIE SAUNDERS

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Korea Camp


This week is Korea camp. It is in Tulsa so it is so convenient for us. We will be there the rest of the week. I went to help set it up today. What fun!! I wish I was a kid again!

Quote of the week

Nothing is easy to the unwilling. -Nikki Giovanni, poet

Trip to Wichita


Paul and I went to pick up his new (used) car in Wichita on Monday. We had a sitter for the kids and we spent most of the day driving there and back.

He bought a different old station wagon a few months ago but he was disappointed in it. I guess an old lady with poor vision that smoked must have had it prior to us since it had a lot of dings in it and smells.

His new one is so nice. I am not big on station wagons but it is really nice. He wanted something for the weekends that he could haul the kids in. His Miata doesn't quite work.

We sold his large truck and paid off my van so he could buy this and we would be out of a car payment, yahoo!

Saturday Surprise-


I was out taking care of the kids' pool and I saw these adorable frogs. I let the kids play with them a little (Washing hands afterwards). We had a creek by us as kids and my brother and I played with frogs a lot. I feel everyone should experience it. Just don't hold them too tightly like I did when I was real young :(.

Tuesday-- Yard






The whole reason we built were we did was because of the land. We have over an acre. It is located on a dead end street that is located off of another dead end street. It is SO quiet here. There is not much traffic at all. The kids had a pop/ push up pop stand today because Joshua just knew he would have a lot of business. Kind of hard when there is no traffic to speak of :). I noticed that the yard had a empty pop can and an empty push up pop wrapper on it after they had been out there a few minutes. Oh, well-- they had fun!

Monday-- Laundry Room


Okay, this is probably the most boring room in the house. Hey, it serves its purpose, that is all that matters. The dynamic duo are what I have had since before Paul and I were married. They are still going strong. When they do decide to go out, we want front loaders. Of course, there is no rush ;)

Sunday House






Here are the remaining bedrooms, I already posted Joshua's room.

I painted our room purple a year ago, the pictures don't do it justice. I love it. The walls are one color and the vaulted ceiling is a darker color. One of my favorite things is the saying from Search from Significance, a Bible study. One of the ladies in the class made these and I put it in a frame.

Delaney's room was painted purple before she came home. I sponged over the blue we had painted for Joshua. Turns out, it is now her favorite color. Mine too-- hence, my bedroom.

I stripped all the furniture in Delaney's room and whitewashed it so it matches her bed. Not bad for someone that didn't know what they were doing!

Busy Busy-



Okay, so I have fallen behind a little on the House challenge. Here are the Saturday pictures of my Freebie room. I picked my office. I spend a great deal of time in it working from home.

Here is my wall of pictures, probably my favorite part of the room. I had the same pictures doen of the kids when they were younger.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Photo For Friday


This was taken at a friend's wedding about one year after we married. Wow, there is nothing like old pictures to make you realize how much you have changed. I guess age does that to you. It adds character, right? Isn't that what it is called?

Our Rest Stops





Here is the Friday edition of the House Challenge.....Bathrooms.

You can probably guess which bathroom is ours and which is the kids;)

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Happy 14th Sweetie!


Thank you for the 14 greatest years of my life.
It is so hard to believe that we have known each other for 15 years!


Paul and I met each other back in 1991.

I was just out of nursing school and had moved into a duplex with two friends. I had told the rental lady that I only wanted to look at houses and not duplexes or apartments. I humored her and went and saw this place anyway. She was right, it was perfect!

Several months later after being robbed twice in his rental house, Paul moved in next door. He came over after a couple of days to ask when trash pick-up was. (He told me later that he already knew, he was just trying to meet us). My friend answered the door and I briefly peeked around the corner and introduced myself. I was NOT interested in dating as I had just broken it off with someone else.

The next week, Paul came over to ask if we wanted to come over and watch Total Recall. I declined for a number of reasons: 1) I was home alone and didn't want to go watch a movie with a stranger. 2) I don't like Arnold S. movies. 3) There was a movie on that I had been waiting all week to watch and 4)I had some ironing to do (I don't iron nowdays).

It was a warm and calm summer July evening.

All of a sudden, the electricity went out! I ran to the front door at the same time Paul did. "What did you do?" We started talking and sat there the rest of the evening on the front porch getting to know each other. He asked me to go out with him on July 4th. I actually already had a date but said yes anyway!

We believe it was fate! Paul had never planned to move but did due to the robberies. I never wanted to live in a duplex. We later found out that we both looked in the exact same areas prior to finding a place to live.

Why on Earth would the electricity go out on a calm July evening???

We became engaged 4 months later and married once we had known each other for one full year!

We played the song playing by Luther Vandross at our wedding.


(oops, our anniversary was July 18th, I really thought I had blogged about it! Kids will do that to you;)

Joshua's turn-





Joshua wanted to show off his room. You will have to wait and see the rest of the bedrooms on Sunday.

House Pictures Challenge





Maryland Mom Loving Seth, Longing for Mya has been challenged to show various rooms of her house throughout the week.

Last year, during a time when I was a little down, I decided to redecorate my house. I tore out all of the wallpaper and painted 5 rooms. I love my house now. It is so "mine" and I feel very cozy in it.

Here are pics of my living room and my kitchen. As you see the kids wanted to be a part of the pictures!

I don't get it!


We paid off the van last month, sweet relief!! It is so nice not having that car payment.

Since the van has been paid off, the following things have happened-

---I received a dent on the driver side back upper panel. (probably a handlebar did it at a friend's house).

---I received a nice scratch down the driver's side door.

---Tonight, I received a windshield crack from a rock.

Okay, I had a few incidents since I received it. We had a rock crack the windshield while following a snow plow in Flaggstaff, Arizona.
We also had an ice chest fly out of someone's truck and hit us causing plastic residue on the side of the van.

These were not at all close together. But ever since I have paid it off, everything has been happening. I just don't get it!!

Update on Joshua....


I forgot to post this earlier this summer. Joshua had updates for both his vision and his hearing this summer.

Great news in both areas. His glasses now have him seeing 20/20 in both eyes. There was a question on whether or not we would have to increase his Rx at some point.

Even better news, Joshua showed that he is actually hearing better in his right ear (worse ear) and about the same in his left. We are still not sure if his loss is progressive or not but we breathe easy with each year that comes back about the same and not further loss.

They also said that with his hearing aids he hears better than normal when it comes to normal conversation level.

He hasn't worn his aids too much this summer due to all the time in the water. He definitely needs them. I try not to get frustrated when I have to repeat myself 2-3 times but sometimes it is hard, esp. when he choses to sit in the back of the van and then tries to carry on a conversation with me. Patience and understanding, Lord. Give me patience and understanding...

Your Never Too Old....


to try something new!

The kids have been wanting to go to a water park that is about 40 minutes away. I talked them into going to our local pool. We have never been so I was not sure what to expect. I don't like crowded public pools for the obvious reasons. People can be so rude.

I called my mom since she says we never invite her to anything. I really didn't think she would go since it is hot outside. Have I mentioned it is hot here ;). I really didn't want to go but thought it would be a nice treat for the kids. To my surprise, she actually joined us.

Joshua wanted to go down the water slides so I went with him the first time. After that, Delaney wanted to go to the kiddie pool and I had put her off long enough.

I asked my mom to go by the water slide exit and watch Joshua.

Well, when I returned back to them, my 59 year old mom exclaimed,"That blue slide is really fun!" Excuse me?? I asked, "Did you go down it?". "Yes, I really enjoyed it." She said it was the first time she had ever gone down one. I guess grandchildren will make you do a lot of new things if you are game. We continued to go down the slides the rest of the time we were there with Delaney exclaiming, "Again, I want to do it again!"

A little outing that we both were hesitant to attend, we loved!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

TOO HOT!!



Joshua was suppose to have soccer camp this week. It has been so hot (>100 F) that I was hesitant to send him even for the two hours that it was being held. Of course, it is from 10-12 so it is really hot during that part of the day.

On the first day, I told Joshua once again, "Now Joshua, drink plenty of water and be sure to tell a coach if you start feeling bad". His reply, "Mom, you have told me that like 20 times!" I said, "Well it is THAT important. It is very hot outside."

The coach reiterated the same thing at the beginning of camp the first day. He said, "If you feel dizzy or sick tell a coach and we will take you to the shade, bring you water and get you cooled off". Great, we are on the same page!

I came about 10 minutes early for pick up the first day. Joshua was out playing soccer but was going pretty slow. Pretty normal as his endurance isn't the greatest.

About 2 minutes after I get there, I see Joshua go and sit down in front of his two coaches. He has his head in his hands and is obviously not feeling well. What does the coach do??? He tells Joshua, "There is only 5 minutes left, you can make it, go back out there. If you are REALLY, REALLY dizzy then you shouldn't play" EXCUSE ME????

Joshua returns to the field only to go back over and say something to the coach about 1 minute later. The coach says, "Fine, go sit in the shade then."

I wait a few seconds to see if they get him water before I start searching for some myself. NO, they just both stand there and ignore him and never even check up on him. I am watching this while I am searching for his water.

Once I find it and start over towards him, they say that time is up. I walk towards Joshua and his coach is in hearing distance and say, "Hey, buddy did you get overheated out here??" Nothing from the coach.

Joshua whom was excited to go to soccer camp, now states,"I am not coming back! I was dizzy three times today".

I take him home and get him cooled off and then call the coach. No answer, so I leave a message. No return call yet. Paul called this am and left a message as well.

I told the leader of the camp that as a mother and a nurse, I am really concerned that they are not taking heat exhaustion seriously. Scary stuff esp. since we have had several heat related deaths in this state.

I guess I should have gone with my initial instinct and never sent him!!!

Quote of the week


Never look down on someone unless it is when you are helping them up.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Photo For Friday



Here are a couple of Family photos from our trip. One is a reflection in the "Chicago Bean". The other photo is from the top of the St. Louis Arch.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Zoo Time!




The kids and I traveled to Oklahoma City today to go to their zoo. We met up with a couple of families that also have adopted children from Korea.

OKC has such an awesome zoo. I have been meaning to take the kids back there for a visit as it has been a few years. Today was the perfect opportunity since their was a play group meeting there that was scheduled during the week.

It was HOT. I saw later that the temp. hit 101 there with a 106 heat index. No wonder we were sweating in the shade!

A Penny for Your Thoughts


I enjoy writing this blog as it gives me a chance to brag and show off my beautiful family. I would love to hear your thoughts on any entry that touches you in some way.

Please leave comments on anything that touches you. You can do so by clicking on the comments link under each post.

I know you are out there;), now I would like to hear from you!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

HOME SWEET HOME!


We had a great time on vacation! Chicago was a lot of fun. We did a lot of sightseeing. We are officially exhausted.

We went to Field Museum (King Tut Exhibit), Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry (My favorite), Hancock Tower, Navy Pier, Ukrainian village, Water Tower Mall (Not impressed). We also went to the beach. The kids were so excited as it was their first visit to a "beach". Unfortunately, the water was "Closed" due to high levels of bacteria.

The taste of Chicago was also going on, that was cool.

President Bush met us there for a visit so he and Delaney could celebrate their birthdays together. Okay, we didn't meet him but he was there and they do share a birthday. So does Aunt Toby! Happy Birthday!

Delaney was officially initiated to Chicago by being "Christened" by a pigeon. We talked to a native and he said in all his years there, that had only happened twice to him. I guess Delaney is just lucky????

We returned to St. Louis for a day so we could see the Arch and Paul's sister.

It was fun but you really appreciate home when you are gone for awhile!

Quote of the Week


I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. Arthur Rubinstien , musician

Friday, July 07, 2006

Photo For Friday



Well, I was going to put a photo of the kids doing their King Tut stance since we saw the King Tut exhibit today, but Paul didn't have it on his computer.

The Exhibit was cool because it is fascinating to think that the items were that old. It was a little disappointing in that some of the most important items from the Boy King's tomb were absent. Josh loved it!!!!

We are having a great time!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Quote of the week


The opportunity for brotherhood presents itself every time you meet a human being. Jane Wyman - Actress