Friday Thoughts

Jaiden is growing up. FAST. All of her 18 mo clothes are getting too short. Her tops are belly tops and her pants are capris. We took her to Target last night for some new outfits. I usually shop the base thrift store and find a lot of really cute and gently used brand name clothing but I just haven't had time and base is a 30 min drive from us so we don't get out there very often.

There wasn't a great selection but we found some cute pants and jeans and a few tops. Hopefully I will be able to get out and do some more shopping this weekend. The temps are really starting to drop rapidly and it will be winter here before we know it. Fall is cerainly here but I'm not sure how long it will last. Already seeing neighbors with pumkins out on their doorsteps which is really weird for me because growing up we never did pumpkins until the latter part of October. I planted mums a couple of weeks ago and that was weird too because that to me is a fall flower and it symbolizes that fall has officially arrived.

I still haven't had a chance to get that video of our vacation finished. I've just been too exhausted every evening after work and crash early. Plus I started a new diet (visit my blog to follow along) and I'm really grumpy so I don't think it would be my best effort. I will work on it this weekend, along with helping hubs to install a window in the bear's room. Window 2 of 4 that need to be done BEFORE winter sets in. When we bought our house in March the existing windows had about 4 inches of ice on the INSIDE of the windowsill. Not good. Our house is fairly new (built in 04') but the previous owner was a total goober and our house reflects it where it counts. (Remember the unfinished driveway?) In addition to the windows there are numerous other (costly) projects we will have to tackle in the next year. Hubs is a bit stubborn when it comes to hiring good help so he tackles most of the projects himself (me I'd rather hire someone) this is all well and good until you try to take on projects that need more hands...that's when we get recruited. So we will be out doing windows tommorrow. Wish us luck :)

* Update
Hubs installed the window today with our teens help so I am free to go shopping in the am! Yay! We went on a "date" tonight to China Garden and then took a swing by Lowes and then Menards...I scored some new houseplants :) My reward to self for enduring a week without sweets.

I'm speechless

Daleea has nominated me for my first ever award and I am humbled that it is the Nice Matters Award. I am touched. She is very deserving of this award. She is nice, uplifting, inspirational to others, encouraging and just such a beautiful person inside and out. I would like to give her an oak leaf cluster for this award. (In military terms that means you've recieved the same award more than once) Thank you so much for thinking of me! I would like to share the love with these 7 individuals that have touched my life in very positively uplifting ways.





"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."





I nominate...





Dusty @ OurFamilyVoyage





Krissie @ 5 Far From Home





Connie @ Somewhere in China





The Princess Diaries ... doesen't disclose her name on blog





Heather @ Journey with Julia





Emmie @ Sister 2 Two

These are some wonderful women that truly deserve this award because they are nice people far beyond the realms of blog world.

Road Trip

We are going on a little family vacation so we will not be here for a while. In the meantime I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend...I realize it is only Wednesday but I am a bit bored at work today and I am thinking of starting my vacation early and taking off today instead of waiting till Friday...I need to find swimgear for the kiddos, pack, do laundry etc. etc. etc.

We will be staying at the Waterpark of America Lodge. Doesn't that sound fun? I will post a full review upon our return. Our neice Ashley will be singing in the State Fair on Saturday and in addition to that we hope to do some mega shopping at the Mall of America and get a day to go to the Minneapolis Zoo. (I am a zoo freak!) There is also an IKEA across the street from our hotel :) They have .99 breakfast so I think I know where our days will begin!

It will be Jaiden's first time for a lot of this so it will be fun to see her reactions. Stay tuned! And wish us luck!

Bringin home a baby bumble bee

Jaiden is learning to sing songs in daycare. She's been clapping her little hands together and I couldn't figure out what she was singing so I asked Miss Liz and she said that they've been learning "Bringing home a baby bumble bee" so I started to sing it and the grin on her face went from ear to ear!!! Now on the way home I can bring home a baby bumble bee :) Jaiden starts clapping her hands together and singing "baby bumbee"

Prayers Needed

Please say a preyer for my daddy, he's in the hospital with fluid around his heart (congestive heart failure) and according to my brother he's not doing well. He's in his 80s and has been in and out of the hospital a lot this year. I haven't seen him since March and that was only for a couple of days. I am going to try to go down there and see him (he lives in Louisiana) I hope I am not too late but I have been expecting this for a while. We haven't been close since my mom and dad divorced when I was 8 but he will always be my daddy and I hate to have to say goodbye. (He's the inspriration behind the Riley in Jaiden's name, my dad and mom's middle names)

Sunday Update
spoke with my stepmom yesterday and my dad. He was a bit incoherant but otherwise his normal self. I don't think I am going to go down to visit at this time. I am not sure what good I could do to be there. My stepmom said that he could live with this for many years or he could have a spell and not survive it. I just hate to think of him in any sort of pain and know that the Lord is going to take care of him. Thank You for your prayers.

Happy Friday!

Jaiden woke happy this morning. I think those back molars are finally giving her some relief. She is going through this new phase though of wanting to be carried instead of walking. Guess we cuddled her a bit much over the past two weeks and now seeing the reprecussions.

It's Friday!!! Today is another gorgeous day, a bit on the cold side (yes cold) it was 50 this morning when I woke and I had to turn on the HEAT...in Aug! That is rediculous. Then I read about the heat wave so I feel a bit confused as to where I am. Maybe I am on another planet and just don't know it.

Not sure what we are doing this weekend. Hubs wants to work on installing a window but I think I pressured him out of that by saying we never have any fun...waaa waaaa waaaa We did the park last night (Jaiden loves the slide and the swing) so not sure what other fun things are on our agenda. There is not much else to do in this town.

Watch your back

or backside as the case may be....

Tonight we went out to dinner at Subway (it's always a nice treat when a family of 5 can get a free meal...there was a mistake with the credit card machine so the manager gave us a freebie) We stopped off at the park for a while to let the kiddos play...then we came home and I transplanted some weedy looking plants into another bed. Jaiden "helped" me with this endeavor by putting handfuls of dirt all over the place.

Fast forward a few hours and after I put her to bed I make a pit stop and... what the L??? when I get up to flush I notice potting soil all over the floor and in the toilet. It seems I've been "soiled" by my sweetie. Sometime during that time when she was "helping" me it seems that she got a fistful of dirt down my pants when I was stooped over digging. Aaaaah, quite the little trickster she is turning out to be. That's a good one girlie...it's on baby :) I have a prankster after my own heart it seems.

Mamma has the summertime blues

Thanks everyone for your visit and comments! I love hearing from you, it's a real treat to check my mail and see that I have comments posted on my site :)

Yes, I've been in a bit of a funk...I think it started in Sept 04 and I haven't quite been able to shake it off. That is when we moved to Germany, the weather was a big change for me (I love hot weather) and for the first time my family and I was living far from extended family. It wasn't the first time being away from home but back then I was single and stayed very busy with friends and travels. Being in Europe with my family was a lot of fun but not having friends or family to share those moments with makes things a bit lonely. We started our adoption process in Nov 04 and even then I felt very alone, especially since there were not many adoptive families on our base. I did a lot of mass emails to family and friends and had about 5 different websites going with photos, which everyone seemed to love, but no one ever replied to me. It was hard to keep up a one way conversation and I felt like I was being shut out. I joined our agency chat group and that is how I met fellow adoptive families. That led me to our DTC chat group, which led me to find Do They Have Salsa in China and that is how my blogging began. I think without my little world of bloggy communication I would lose my mind. I love reading about everyones daily ups and downs and stories that touch the heart or make me laugh. My blog friends have become a family to me and some days I think you are the only ones that care. I don't hear from family that often and that is really sad. I miss all the fun things we did together. Maybe it is because I chose the life I have and moved away but I still need the companionship of friends. I know I should try harder to make friends here but I know I don't want to live here any longer than I must and that is preventing me from reaching out to others and establishing a relationship with those that try to get to know me better. I know in less than 2 years we will move again and then it will be time to re-establish new friendships all over again. I can usually make friends quickly wherever I go but I have always been a one best friend kinda girl. I am pretty adament about who that one friend is going to be and one established, they are my friend for life. I guess I should try being a better friend to everyone I meet instead of trying to find that perfect someone because until I am settled somewhere, we will not be close enough to establish a true friendship that lasts. I don't know why but I've always wished that I'd had a sister. Someone to share secrets with, someone to be there for, to laugh with, cry with, or just to pester and annoy. I think when you have a sister, you'd never be lonely...you may want to be sometimes but you never are. You can be yourself and they love you, even when they don't like you very much. That is why I am so torn right now. Should I, in the current situation that we are in, push for another adoption? Shouldn't Jaiden have the experience of a sister? I don't want to deny her of this and I really want to bring more children into our home. What is it that holds me back? Fear? I think it's fear, not sure of what but something. I've never been afraid of anything except dying without making a difference and as the years have ticked on I reflect and wonder what I've accomplished. Where's the brood that I dreamed of? When did I lose that focus? Where am I going? When did having a nice home and finacial security become that much more important than my dreams? Why can't we have it all? What is the price of happiness? I don't know the answers but my heart tells me that I am not compete yet. I sit here in a nice job and look out the window at a perfect summer day and wonder "why in double hockey sticks am I not out there enjoying this day with my children?" I don't think there is any place I'd rather be.

This was supposed to have been simple....

Ok, I am going to post my original inspiration, which at the time that I spotted it in Target seemed simple enough...but with some modifications here and some inspiration there, has turned into quite an endeavor.

Cute right? Simple too. Not only that, a kid could draw these out in about 5 minutes...and have them colored in 10. Well, it's taken me days.

I kinda fell in love with some of the other art around these prints so I kinda incorporated it into the painting too. The three trio flowers are inspiration #2...and that's where things started getting interesting




P.S. NOooooo I can't give you a sneek peak - I already have a hard enough time letting my family see it. It feels like its being jinkzed and I am going to over analysz it again and then it's never going to get done...I just wanted to paint a simple flower! I know nothing about art (the good kind) you know that kind where the artist actually has something called talent. I just splatter globs of paint around and it helps me to relax. This week it hasn't helped much. I have PMS in addition to Jaiden's teething issues. Too much fun in one house I tell ya! Have you ever had one of those days when you get dropped "the bomb" out of nowhere and you're totally unprepared? That was my day today. Great. Fun. Total Exhuberation. I felt like a duck walking around today if you know what I mean. I didn't do much walking around that's for sure.

Thank you very very much for visiting me. I was feeling very much alone and in the dumps the past few days and I've missed you. I will be back soon and can't wait to catch up. Thanks for being supportive :) It means so much!

uh oh Mommy is trying to be creative...

Blogging is on hold for a while while I follow my new inspiration of painting. I found some cute...and really simple prints at Target, thought they were a bit too pricey and ventured out to recreate them myself on a blank canvas....days later I am not finished. Just actually started the painting process yesterday and with some modifications to the original art, it is going pretty well. I should be done in another week or so.

I'm just trying to make some simple flowers that's all. You'd think that would take all of 5 minutes. Not days and days to conjure up an idea and acrylic it onto a canvas. I love to paint but today I haven't felt very inspired so I am taking a really quick bloggy break.

Jaiden is teething again. She was up 4, 5??? lost count of the number of times she/we woke up last night but today we are tired and cranky. I wish those teeth would give the girl a break. I don't remember going through this much pain with the boys. They just drooled a lot. Jaiden is in total misery and we've tried anbesol and teething tablets, ice and rubbing the gums. Any other soothing ideas would be most appreciated.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Wordless Wednesday

Lady Katherine has arrived!

Dusty, Chet and Mary Joyce (of group 117b) just delivered their baby girl this morning!!! Praise God! Everyone is doing great and Katherine is simply a doll. (Follow their blog link to see photos) Congratulations Thomas family!!!!

Love those eyes

Jaiden would not smile or hold still for the photo above...she was too busy eating peanut butter! I just love those big brown eyes, don't you?

Sentimental Friday

It's been a few days since I felt like posting and even now, I am very meloncholy about it. The bridge disaster on I35 hit a little too close to home for comfort and last night I had a nightmare about it, but it was me and my babies that were plunged into the muddy Mississippi and I couldn't get Jaiden out of her 5 point harness, the loops and latches just kept slipping from my fingers in the swift moving murky muddy water. I could see the eyes of my children looking at me for reassurance and I couldn't get them free. That is such a horrible feeling to wake up to.

It has made me aware of two very distinct things. 1) I will pay very close attention at the first aid class tommorrow. (I have attended dozens of classes and yet I couldn't begin to tell you how many chest compressions or breaths to give. If my babies life could someday depend on me saving it, then I must be better prepared and pay closer attention. 2) Get swimming lessons for the younger ones so that they have confidence in the water. In my dream Jared was hanging on piggy back and strangling me in the process because he could not swim. (He's done this numerous times at the pool so this could be from a reality experience)

Anyway, just been in a mellow mood and didn't have much upbeat to write about lately. Yesterday was a most beautiful day and around 2:15 I'd decided I couldn't stand being cooped up anymore and was about to fill out a leave slip when my phone rang and it was the daycare. "Jaiden just woke up from her nap and we think she has pink eye so you have to come pick her up" Ok I was on my way home anyway so I pick her up and take her home (yes, the eye was red, swollen and looked pretty yucky so I called hubs and got her a referral to go to the ER) by the time we got home the eye was looking normal again. I think she must have just poked herself in the eye. Anyway it was a gorgeous afternoon and we spent it outside, Jaiden playing happily in the sandbox and me digging rocks and putting them along side of my garden. I am trying to create compost in a couple of garbage bins, anyone ever tried this? I don't know if it's going to work but I thought I'd give it a try since the pile I had going was just getting ravaged by our doggie. My garden is starting to have tomatoes and squash and it won't be long until they are ready to pick. My tomatoes are a bit heavy and floppy, I've learned my lesson; sticks just will NOT work. They must be caged. I will do better next time. This is my second year with raising tomatoes (on sticks) you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now. But they start out so small and frail and those cages look so large and frightful!!! I know, I know I must get over it and see the big picture of those big tall tomato bushes loaded down with one pound tomatoes!

Wednesday

Yay! I slept all night :) When I went to bed it was still full daylight out (8:30pm) and woke at 5am to a full fledged thunderstorm raging outside. Finally caught up on that REM sleep and yes, I got the children off to daycare today with no issues. It helped that Jared was actually in the car because he talks non stop so there is no forgetting that there are kids in the car when he's riding with me. Yesterday he'd decided he wanted to stay home with big brother so I guess the silence kinda threw me off.

Please say a prayer for my friend Charlie. She is going through some rough times right now and is separating from her husband. He wants something different and can't quite understand that he already has the very best. She is such an awesome person that the why of this just doesn't make any sense but I know that God will give her strength and peace to endure the tough times ahead. It just tears my heart out to think of her in pain. She has two beautiful children and they are going to need a lot of prayers to get them through this.

A year ago today...

Our referral arrived!!! We didn't see Jaiden's face until Aug 1st but our daughter's information was delivered today. Where did the year go? When your on the flip side it goes so slow....

Totally Tuesday

You know it's going to be one of those days when you get halfway to work and realize that you forgot to drop your kid off at daycare!!! That is how my morning started out...I was just cruising along when I hear a noise from the back and realized that Miss Jaiden was still with me! Oh my goodness!!! If she hadn't spoken up I'd have just taken her right to work with me. What was I thinking!? So I had to loop back around and start back over again. Her daycare is only 5 min from our house so I'm not sure what was on my mind when I passed the turn???

We had a pretty good nights rest last night so it can't be lack of sleep. After I went in and soothed her a bit she fell right to sleep and slept until around 12:30. I went in and soothed her back to sleep again and this time the dog was crying so I had to take her out to go potty. The full moon sure was nice last night at 1 am :) So maybe I am a bit out of it today. Gotta work on getting that REM back.

ooooh boy it's Monday

It was mega hard to get outta bed this morning and I'm only on my second cup of coffee but my eyes are still half shut and my mind is still foggy....I'm draggin today. Last night was night one of Jaiden's giving up the bottle. She usually wakes in the night and has a bottle...last night (at 2 am she woke hungry so we spent some quiet bonding time over scrambled eggs) she fell right back to sleep till then and slept till 6am which was nice but me, I can't seem to wake up this morning. I need my mid night REM. To start our week out on a very positive note, my pal Dusty made this adorable colage of the 117b girls (aren't they sweet!) Hope everyone has a great week!!!!

Target has a great sale going on!

Jared and I went out shopping this morning and had a great time. It's been a long time since I took him out all alone and I think he really enjoyed the extra attention....although he kept be magnetically pulled towards the toy aisle somehow. His leapster finally went kaput so we picked up a Leapster TV...his first video gamester for tv. He's never quite gotten the hang of Xboxes or Playstations but the large buttons and easy to manage hand controller is just right for him. He's always loved his leapster, he's had it since he was two so it is time for it be be retired. It is going to the home of wayward and much loved toys.

School supplies are on sale today at rock bottom prices so if you have kiddos starting school or just love art you should really stock up. 24 ct Crayons were only .20 per box! I love a great sale so the boys now have enough school supplies to last them through the remainder of their education I think...but probably not. Call me weird but I like the smell of a new box of crayons, you know before they get all greasy and broken up into bits. It's so exciting to put new school supplies into a brand new back pack in preparation of that first day of school! Jared scored some new shirts and shoes too, we bought pants last weekend (no tax in Minnesota!) I wish there were more shopping available on the MN side, we have to do most of our shopping in North Dakota although we live on the Minnesota side. (Grand Forks is right in the middle of these two states)

Wave of Love

Here is the girlfriend chain. It shows a line of little girls holding hands facing the immensity of ocean waves. Alone they might be washed away, but together they stand strong. Thank you each for holding my hand somewhere along the way when I was facing a wave of my own. I hope you will reach for my hand when your own wave threatens.

W e've shared... Our hearts Our time Our secrets Our fears Our hopes And our dreams. Let us never break the chain of friends!

*As I read the blogs of the bloggie friends that met over the past weekend I felt a sense that somehow this has brought us all together in a tightly woven net. Women from all over, that were once just online buddies got together and became forever friends. That is such a beautiful thing! I am fairly new to the blog world but it has been such a wonderful experience for me to get to know each person just a little bit better with each post I've read. I've laughed, cried and shared memories with each and every one of you at some point and each time you visit my blog it's like you are here in my home having a nice cup of tea and a chat. It lifts me up when I feel blue, it's my inspiration when I am running low, it's my outlet to share my joy, my frustrations and my triumphs of life. Thank You to my friends for all the moments you've shared. I'm touched beyond words can say.