Fire and Ice

This is going to be a two part story, I'll start with the most recent first.

Tonight we were sitting at the bar, chillin, Jaiden was snacking on her some crushed ice cubes when all of a sudden we hear a "uh, uh, uh" Daddy looks up at her and busts out laughing - she's got a huge piece of ice stuck to her top lip! OMG I didn't think that actually really happened!!!! (Remember the movie of the little boy with his tongue stuck to the pole?) So I grabbed her up and ran her to the sink to dislodge the iceberg under cold water....all the while of course I'm thinking 'where's my camera, where's my camera'

The next story is not a funny. Its one of those moments that you just never want to happen as a parent but according to Murphey's Law will have to happen 99% of the time...well we were cookin up some eggs a couple Sundays ago, Jaiden and I, she was sittin so nice on the countertop watching me scramble and no sooner than I lifted up the pan to put the eggs into her plate but "plop" her little hand went smack down right dab on top of the burner. I snatched her up and ran cold water on her hand but it had already turned white and hard. Ugh! So then I tried some aloe, which made it start to sting, so then we soaked the hand in cold water...all this time Jaiden has not shed a tear, just looking at me like "what the heck just happened?" She was very good about keeping her hand in the cold water, then when she got bored with that she carried a baggie of ice around for the rest of the day. By the next day it had started to bubble up and she was starting to use her hand again....but it looked horrid! I felt so bad and she was such a good little trooper about it. I kept salve and ointment on it and it is doing much much better now. We both learned a lesson from that experience....whatever the boys didn't do... Jaiden will! She is my take life by the horns and shake it kinda girl...LORD help us!!!

This is soooo Un fun

Sorry I haven't been updating lately, there has not been much to talk about except the weather and it certainly isn't much to brag about. Today is hopefully one of the coldest days yet, with the wind chill of around 54 below zero. The temp is -24 right now and our high is expected to be negative twelve today. I hold my breath and run but the few breaths that I take to get into work still is like a sharp knife cutting me into. This is totally un fun. I would not recommend living in the north to anyone. Even the locals are saying its cold. They say not to go out without your winter survival kit....

My idea of a winter survival kit is:
A nice warm house, a warm blankie, a hot cup of coffee, chocolate and a good book

Stay warm!
Cuddles :)

*Evening update - it was sunny and cloudless sky all day - when the wind died down it wasn't bad at all - I wasn't cold a bit when I went out to my car this afternoon - the car didn't care for it too much and boy she sure was sluggish but she warmed right up and it sure is nice to have heated seats...what a great feature! My toes were a bit cold but my tush was nice and toasty on the ride home ;)

Brrrrr Baby!

We were just issued a wind chill warning...the temps could reach -50 tonight!

I am seriously thinking about hibernation! Taking a winters supply of oreos, milk and chocolate bars and not coming out of my house until spring...ok I suppose I'd have to get food for the kids too. They love fruit and lately the fresh fruit supply has been dwindling into very shoddy selection. The grapes are about the size of a pea.

Take away the clouds, the surf, and the beach chair....yeah it looks a lot like Destin, FL here today :)

Except it is -15 degrees outside!

a sledding we will gooooo

Weeeeeee! Jaiden, Jared and I took the sled out for a run down the levy on Saturday. The snow is still about knee deep in some areas and I got stuck walking up the hill carrying Jaiden. I sat her down on the hill in front of me on a more level spot and she laughed and laughed at me as I struggled to work my way out of the embankment. I'm not used to walking in the stuff, I'm not used to anything more than what sticks to the ground...it has been an eye opener, and it's quite a workout too. We only made it down the hill about 3 times. The trek up is a lot tougher than I remember it being as a kid...but then we just scooted down the ditch embankment and it was never that high. The wind was really brutal and as you can see from the kids rosy cheeks, we were only out for maybe 20 minutes and we'd had enough of the cold. And it was actually a warm 20 degrees that day.

Chapstick obsession?

Is it possible to have a chapstick addiction? Jaiden LOVES LOVES LOVES chapstick. She can uncap it, put it on, cap it and then 2 minutes later starts the process all over again. If I don't watch her, she will have chapstick wax clumps all around her lips because she has put on so much. The girl just LUUUUUVS her chapstick!

Of course we have dozens of chapstick tubes all around the house now and everytime I see new flavors I have to get them for her. I have always wanted to buy those tubes of lip moisturizer in different flavor, so that is what she had in her stocking this year. She LOVED it! Now her kisses come in assorted fruit flavors :)

Smmmmooooooches!

Merry Christmas!

*Which photo is YOUR Favorite?

Hi Verna!
Yes we have snow here. We have about 2 feet of snow on the ground and there was a really light snowfall most of the day. Its very pretty but very very COLD. When the sun shines, as it often does, it looks like you are walking on diamonds. The ground just glistens. It's quite spectacular...or maybe that's just me trying to find the good in the freezing walk to the mailbox ;)

*Well, my video is too long...so I will try to load a few photos until I can get around to shortening it.

Home at last

Well, we just got home about an hour ago so I'll give a quik update and then go finish unpacking.

On Tuesday we found out that Jaiden had phneumonia on Wednesday we loaded up and headed to Albany on Thursday we had Gramma Obie's funeral and then birthday cake and icecream for Jaiden's 2nd Birthday. We loaded up again this morning and came home.

Jaiden is doing much much better. The antibiotics went to work right away and although she still has a dry cough she is back to her usual perkiness and smiles again.

Thanks to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts!

Happy Holidays!!!

I'll try to catch up soon, sorry this is so vague but I really need to get some things done around the house :)
Kim

Chicken Soup

Sorry there haven't been any updates lately. We have been having a pretty busy month already. We went to visit family over the weekend and Saturday morning my hubbies grandma (his Mom's mom) passed away. It was good that we were there, his mom needs all the support she can get, she just lost her husband (Scotts dad) this spring. So in the midst of all the other chaos that our life has become this past month (I don't think I've been home but maybe one weekend in months) we will be attending a funeral on Thursday. That is also Jaiden's 2nd birthday so not sure how that will get squeezed in there. Right now it's looking like the two of us won't be making it back for the funeral. We came back home yesterday and Jaiden was coughing all the way home. By the time we made it (3.5 hour drive) she was burning up with fever and coughing so much she was throwing up. We have kept her fever at bay with Motrin, I've stayed with her all through the day and while the motrin was working, she was her happy go lucky smiling self but when the fever kicks in she is so sad looking that it almost rips my heart right out to see her like that. If she doesn't start feeling better by evening we will be making a trip to the ER. If anyone has been through these symptoms; fever and a cough please let me know what I can do to make her feel better. She is still drinking some milk but has not eaten or drank very much all day.

BACKSEAT DRIVER

I made it back at around midnight last night. Oh my is it COLD here!!! Of course there were some major delays, first out of Memphis and then in Minneapolis. I had to RUN the entire length of the airport in MSP to get to my flight home to Grand Forks. The plane from Memphis landed just 5 min before my flight home was due to take off...and I was in row 45! Needless to say it was a run at breakneck speed for many of us, which under normal circumstances may have been quite exciting but after a few hours in a pressurized cabin the last thing you need is to sprint into another pressurized cabin! I coughed like crazy for about an hour after that and thought for a minute that my first hour back would surely kill me. Going from a high humidity environment to a near zilch humidity was like taking a fish out of water...I just couldn't breathe!

We have a LOT of snow on the ground, several inches or maybe feet I dunno and I'm not going outside to measure it. My hubs is the snowblowing freak, he's out in that awful stuff for hours clearing the driveway. Me I will stay holed up in hibernation for the winter :) I am just "chillin"
at home today with Jaiden, we took the boys to school this morning and as I was cautiously sliding to a stop at a light, Jaiden pipes up from the backseat "GOOOO Momma Goooooo!" Guess we need to teach her that red light means Stop.

Overall my trip went very good. I just missed my plane out of Memphis on Sunday so I had to spend 4 hours there but other than that the flights went smoothly. It was the typical funeral, go to the viewing, see lots of family and friends you haven't seen in decades HUG, HUG, HUG lot and lots of HUGS. I think I'm all hugged out. I was feeling a bit suffocated after a while. My dad looked like my uncle (his younger brother) so that was a bit weird. He is home now and I have great comfort in that. I know he is at peace. It didn't really hit me that he would not be there anymore until I got on the plane to come home. That was a little hard but I've always known this day would come. My mom attended the funeral, which in an odd way made it so much easier to let him go. I guess knowing that I still have one parent left in the world and I'm not totally alone. I know there will be days ahead when I just want to see him and give him a hug again. I loved his smell. He always smelled like an apple tobacco pipe. When I stayed at his house, the smell of him was gone. I slept in the bed he slept in for over 20 something years and could not feel his presence there. That in itself was more of a comfort, knowing his spirit is with God and has gone home to rest. He's no longer "All stove up and can't hardly walk" That was one of his most used phrases. He is walking and talking with God and I'm sure he can now hear every prayer that I whisper. I will no longer have to scream out loud for him to hear me. He will always be here with me in my heart and those memories are like hugs that I can pull out anytime I need him.

Go Rest High

My father passed on last night around 9:30. I am going to fly out tommorrow morning early, his funeral will be held on Monday. Thank You everyone for your prayers. They mean a lot to me, as does knowing that you care enough about me to keep up with me during these times.

Our Road Trip South

Baby its COLD outside!

Today was fairly warm and sunny. The temp were above 0 and the wind wasn't kickin too bad. We just bundled up as much as possible in as many layers as possible and faced the day.

Our humidifier went out at work and by midday all my paper was sticking together with static electricity. My fax machine would kick out about 5 sheets at a time and when I peeled them apart they went "snap crackle pop" ok maybe not that sound but the sound you make when you peel socks or something off your clothes fresh out of the dryer when you forgot to add softener.

Tonight was a grilled cheese and tomato soup kinda night. I made a pot of pork chops and rice in the slow cooker but it turned to mush which I had and will take for lunch for the next few weeks. I can't seem to figure out how to make my crock pot cook slower...it was on low. I guess I will have to get a timer for it.

Hubs is working late tonight so its just me and the kiddos hanging out so now I can get around to catching up with my blogs. Jaiden's vocabulary has really exploded in the past week. She can now repeat almost everything she hears and can put together short sentences. Just last night as we were about to sit down for dinner she said "Come sit down!" She seems to be twice as sassy since we've been home from our trip too. She seems to be enjoying this new developement and trying it out as much as possible.

First Snow!!!

Its snowing...rather its coming a blizzard out. But we are only getting about 3 inches so the weatherman says. Right now everything is white and its beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

Our road trip went well. All 1600 miles each way. I saw my Dad and he's doing better now that he's in the nursing home so he will be ok for a while. He was very excited to see me and Jaiden walk through that door. Its sad to see him like that and walk away knowing that there is not much that I can do. I just hope he knows how much I love him.

I'll post more later, I'm still trying to catch up. Today was a busy day getting errands run around town and rounding up all the Christmas decorations from the attic. I made some nice warm scarves today too out of some scrap fleece, it was a very easy project. I am thinking of making more as gifts. Mittens and gloves would be easy too and could be paired to match the scarves. They will come in handy for those bitter cold winter days.

Pray with me

My daddy is not doing so good. As I write this, he may possibly taking his last breath. I am going to try to go see him this week but I don't know how it will go... I am putting off that moment, hoping it will never come and yet knowing it will whether I go to him or not. He is not a church going man but he is a good man and he's been a great daddy to me. Please lift him up in your prayers and pray that I'll have the courage to face him for that final farewell.

*Jaiden Riley and her Pappaw David Riley last March when they met for the first time

11/21/07 **Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers throughout this past few weeks. I went to see my Daddy on Monday, he's skin and bones but his face lit up the second we walked into the room. He is in a nursing home and they seem to be taking good care of him. There was not a lot that I could do for him but just be there. Jaiden went with me and she was very excited to see her Pappaw again. I have some precious photos of them together and will post them when I get back home. As I was leaving his room during our second visit there, my dad said "Pray for me" I said "every second of every day Daddy"

Belated Halloween Pics

We spent Halloween indoors again this year. Last year we were in Germany and I just didn't feel like getting the kids out in the cold, this year was cold but not so bad. We did get out...and spent 2 hours in line at the Alerus center for a 15 min stroll through the maze of tables to get a handful of candy. There was about 1300+ kids in line ahead of us and at least that many in line behind us. Quite a colorful parade of costumes. Lots of superheros and princesses, some really unique and some just plain out adorables. We saw a real live Dora (that was my favorite) pirates and bears and zebras oh my! It was fun, we got there at 5:30, expecting to just zip in and out (I was thinking it would be a craft for kids thing) but instead we stood in line until 7:30 (way past dinner, we were starving!) we made it through the maze of people and out by 7:45, grabbed burgers at Culver's picked up Cody from work and headed home. Cody's friends were sitting out front of our house when we arrived home so he grabbed the bucket of candy and treated them. We had a couple other little goblins after that but we were pretty much done for by 8:15. The kids were happy (at least Jared was, Jaiden was a bit overwhelved by the whole thing) She did not want to wear the hat on her witches costume so she looked more like a princess (as she sometimes is...but sometimes she's the other)

Enjoy the pics, I'll be out of town for most of the month so not sure how much blogging I'll do. Have a great week!

How bout them Red Sox!

Waiting for someone to love them

http://www.mnadopt.org/WaitingChildren.asp

Check out this link. This is the children in Minnesota that are currently available for adoption. When I breezed through it yesterday, Nathan is the one that caught my eye and pulled at my heartstrings, well they all did of course and I wish I could bring them all home with me but little Nathan...I don't know, he looks a bit like Jared. There is only a side glimpse of him in the photo, he seems to be a very busy little guy, much like Jared. I think they could be great pals.

Every time I look at these links my heart just breaks for each and every child that needs a home. The domestic adoption process is not easy, we've been down this road before twice already and didn't get anywhere. I'm finding that adoption here is not going to be a walk in the park either, there is very little information available and there doesn't seem to be many resources to find out anything towards getting started. I've already had the greater Grand Forks door slammed in my face yesterday when the lady said that because we live on the Minnesota side, the North Dakota office cannot help us. The only offices I've found so far in MN is located in Minneaopolis. I'm currently trying to find an agency that will help with getting a homestudy update. Also, not sure how we would finance another adoption right now.

Daycare is currently taking up a huge percentage of our income....thus the reason for not pursuing another baby at this time. I love babies, and if God blesses us with another then I know we will do fine but right now at the precarious place we are at with pre-retirement looming on the nearby horizon, we just can't afford to do the diapers and childcare routine x 2.

I'm really feeling the pull to act now. Its stronger than ever before and I pray that we can work through the hurdles before us to bring our children home.


(Match 64 of 152)
Name:Nathan (3094)
Age:5
Has Siblings:No

Nathan is very cute and likes to stay busy. Typically his a happy little guy. Nathan has severe special needs globally with his development and communication and will require intensive therapy to help him. Nathan enjoys many activities typical of children his age. He likes to ride his bike, play with trains, watch Bob the Builder, and listen to music. Nathan is improving in his social skills but struggles to communicate with spoken language. We are looking for a family that is structured and patient. Nathan really thrives on structure and routine. A family must be willing to make a long-term commitment to supporting Nathan because it is likely he will have long-term struggles.

*Does anyone know what severe special needs globally could mean?

Thinking it over...

I've been thinking it over...maybe it's time to start the paperchase for a brother or sister. Hubs and I have discussed this endlessly, he has known my heart is set on adopting as many children as we possibly can in this lifetime, he is the ever practical one and wants to make sure we are financially sound whatever that means....I can't see putting money before my babies. I still feel in my heart that I have more children, I just haven't met them yet. I know I could easily be a Mommy to a dozen...or more. Convincing the rest of my family of this is the hard part. I've really felt the urge to do something towards making this dream a reality lately. I'd thought that when we got our referral for Jaiden that I would want to get the paperwork going almost right away but as soon as I saw her beautiful face I felt content to wait for the moment. It's been over a year now that she's been home with us, and still I haven't been truly "moved" to do anything yet. Something just seemed to be telling me "it's not time yet"

I know that I do not really want another baby. Jaiden was actually much younger than we had expected and going through the baby stages has been priceless and I wouldn't give them up for the world, but then again if I had to choose I think I could just as easily love an older child. I know there are many, many children without a family and this just tears me apart. I know I could be the Mommy they dream of, no I am not perfect by a long shot, but my heart is full of love to give to them. I love to watch Jaiden and Jared playing together (more often than not arguing over a toy) on occasion they get along beautifully, like yesterday. We were all home sick. It was a RUFF night I tell ya! J bear has a sore throat, possible tonsil inflamation, and Jaiden has a nasty cough that keeps us all up at night. I woke with a stomach bug that had me dizzy, nauseaus, with a heachache so taking care of my sick babies and getting Teen to school was quite the challenge. All I wanted to do was sleep. So we got home and I crashed on the couch while the kiddos played hot wheel together. They actually played nicely together for hours on end yesterday and let me rest. That does a mommy's heart good in more ways than one. Sometimes Jared gets so lonely and he has not met any friends here yet so I wonder if adopting a younger brother for him would help him. He sits inside and is quickly becoming a couch potato...something I thought would never happen because he is such an active boy. He watches tv way too much in my opinion but I can't send him out alone to play or ride his bike. The street is way too busy and he doesn't like to go to the park alone. It will soon be winter here and he won't be able to get out much. I love to spend time with him and we play games and put puzzles together, but I know he feels all alone. He needs to do "boy things"

anyway, that is my random thoughts for the day...I gotta get to work now. Hope your day is GREAT! :)

*Update, got a call from Lutheran Services, the N.D. adoption agency and the only agency within an hour radious of here and they said that I need to contact someone in Minnesota because N.D cannot help me do to state requirements...I yi yi! I'm starting to think that it was soooo much easier to do this from a foreign country. What's up with American Adoption Programs? There's no wonder why there are so many orphans. There are no agencies that care. Yes I could easily find an international adoption agency and go that route again but I REALLY would like to follow my original heartstring that led me towards a domestic adoption...but the doors are closing before me and I'm not sure what to do

GRRRR, this really gets my maternal lioness in a tiff

Ideas for a party?

Ok, it's getting closer and closer to time to prepare for Jaiden's second birthday. It's in December and it falls on a Thursday so I am not sure what to do. I've been thinking My Little Pony tea party but not sure if that would be a little too mature for her just yet.

She is just starting to like dollies. The sweetest moments come when a Mommy watches her daughter hold her "baby" for the first time and the ever so adorable way she cradles her baby in her arms and tucks her gently in with her favorite blankie. Thats when I start to think maybe, just maybe I haven't totally messed up in this job of parenting as it sometimes seems.

What are some good toys out on the market? We haven't purchased many toys since birthday and Christmas came in the same week...and we had two years to stockpile before that. Now its time to upgrade from the baby toys. We would love to get her a Power Wheels car but since it will be too cold to get outside, that isn't exactly practical. So we are looking for ideas for inside play that doesn't take up tooo much room....and something she would actually maybe play with. Any favorite recommendations?

*Update 10/24/07 I ordered Jaiden an "Emo" from Amazon. Not the talking kind, just a cuddly one since she is getting more into dollies now. She loves Jared's piggy that we got at Kohl's and I wish I'd gone back and gotten her one as she is becoming quite attached to it and so is Jared...so he doesn't like to share it very often. Thanks Dusty, I think Elmo is a great birthday idea. Can I steal from you? I think this is something Jaiden would love. Everytime she is on my lap when we "shop" Amazon and come across an Elmo, she starts clapping and bouncing with joy. There are some cute Elmo birthday items on birthdayinabox dot com.