It's been a while....

There is still not a lot of time to blog and I am really kicking myself for missing some great stuff going on. But I can barley keep laundry done these days so here is a little glimpse of what is going on at our house.

(Updates in random order as they come to mind.)

• We are still searching for a house.....not really sure where God is leading us.
• Josh turned two. We had a very small party for him of about 50 People. Yeah and that really was just family! A lot of people love this kid. I hid my tears as we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. It was a weird mixture of sadness and total happiness. Sadness because of missing his first birthday and for his birth family that is missing out on a great kids. Happiness because of who he is becoming and how much he has learned in the past year. And for the years ahead.
• Abbie turned Five! I was totally sad over this. I didn't want my little baby to grow up. We celebrated with a little tea party, just like an American Girl. We had tons of fun and lots of tea in our sugar.
• I went back to work. I am teaching at the school I was last year. This year instead of 15 students I have 75! I am completely exhausted at the end of the day but it's a lot of fun. I am teaching a culinary class based on America. We are basically cooking and eating our way across 50 states.
• Abbie started Kindergarten! She had a rough couple of weeks in the beginning. Thankfully it's the same school I work at and only one day a week. For some reason my outgoing little girl was shy and clingy. After a few weeks she likes all her teachers, and the boy she sits with everyday at lunch. :)
• Josh has started speech and occupational therapy. He has progress tremendously but there were a few things he was struggling with. He still does not suck well from a sippy cup and can not chew his food well. He also only has about 5 words including Mom and Dad that he uses on a regular basis. The therapist are confident that he will be on track soon.
• Abbie started Girl Scouts. She is a cute little Daisy. She has loved getting together with her little girlfriends. Last week was their "official" induction into the "club". She had to stand on the stage in front of everyone and say the Girl Scout Promise. She was confident in herself and had not problem completing her task.
• We are on the edge of our seat often. Josh has become a real dare devil. He jumps off the bed, couch, tables and sometimes the stairs. He gets hurt a lot but always tries again! No emergency visits yet, so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
• Josh had surgery a few weeks ago to remove his hemangioma. I was curios if this was necessary. We decided to go ahead and do the surgery. Not until about a week ago did I notice the change. He seemed the same to us. However instead of getting comments at the grocery store asking questions about what it was, people were telling us how cute he was. It was a strange difference. Always being on the defence for him, and now people talking about him because they finally saw something they saw as beautiful. We are happy others see him the way we do.

That about sums it up. Grocery shopping, clipping coupons, Doctor visits and eating fits some where in it all. Just think...it's only a few weeks until Christmas and it's about to get busier!

A simple life full of changes.

About 2 months ago I woke up and decided my life needed to be more simply. After adding a new kiddo I don't think I had completely woken up to the adjustment. I don't handle change very well. Yet God gives me passion for things at are outside my comfort zone that require the eventual need for change. I was on a quest to live simply, free of clutter and chaos. Turns out I am really only able "control" the clutter in my life. Chaos comes with children, and life in general. Just as I began pulling out the label maker, bins and filling the goodwill box life took us a different direction. It seems as though the pulling to live simply was preparing me to let go of my "things". We have been looking for a house to buy and not much is coming up in the area we want to be in. I kept wondering if as I was feeling called to get rid of our excess, was I being prepared to live in a really tiny place? Our lease was up at our house and there were still not many prospects. With the way the economy is here you either find a foreclosure that will need major repairs or a house way over priced because the owner bought it at a really bad time. My husband and I have been feeling at a really odd place in our life. We have many friends who have lost their jobs. We on the other hand we feel as secure as you can be in an economy like this. We've learned to live off a meager income, clip coupons and our social life consist of playing cards on the weekends. When many of our friends are trying to keep their homes we are looking to buy one. We decided to move into a small apartment in order to save more money for our down payment. During the discussion process sweet friends of ours offered to let us stay with them so we could save even more money. These same friends are also unemployed. Talk about hospitality and giving when you don't have much. What an amazing example. I realized that the calling to get rid of my stuff, and share with others was really what I was learning. It was not just about living simply. We decided that we love them enough to make the same sacrifice they were willing to make for us, we made for them. They were willing to give up privacy and share their home. We decided that we would give up the same privacy that an apartment would give us and "rent" some space from them. They are helping us save a huge amount of money and not be stuck in a lease so we are able to move when a house becomes available. Hopefully we will help them with the stress of paying bills without an income. For someone who doesn't handle change very well, I feel at peace. This was, is and will be a lesson in sacrifice. I became clear to me that living simply doesn't mean getting rid of excess things in my life. I means "needing" less stuff in my life. Changing my heart from "needing" things such as material things or my own privacy. For our friends, I am not sure how much sacrifice or loss they will have to endure. Poor Cassie has already lost a pair of shoes to or dog and a C.D. player to Joshua. :)

Cow Appreciation Day

The Whole Herd headed to Chick-Fil-A for free meals tonight.

Happy Father's Day From Wendy's

What could be better than treating your Dad's to a frosty this weekend? It will benefit the foster kids of America! That's what I'm talkin about!

Head to Wendy's some time Saturday or Sunday, and buy a round of frosty's for the family. They will love you for it and so will all the kids with out a Mom and Dad. You can also go here and design a FREE card for your Dad and the kids will benefit too.

There is no other way I would like to celebrate Father's Day this weekend, than making a choice to contribute to the kids that need a Father.

Feed the forgotten! I did!

You can feed these children for $0.14. A $1 will feed their entire family. Go hear to GIVE.

(don't for get to put "feed the forgotten" in the notes!)

Poop!

I know this face looks sweet and Innocent but it's NOT! This morning was one of those morning and I was thankful that I had woken up early. I had gone to work out, already eaten,had my 2 cups of coffee, had some quiet time and was ready for the day. Boy was I ever thankful because I was going to need patience. After making muffins ( a rare nice mom thing I do) I went in to wake up Josh. I found him awake and pant less! A new thing he has learned is to take off his diaper. I never mentioned this to my husband who put him to bed last night in a cute pair of baby boxers. Since those little boxers are easy to get out of, it made his diaper completely accessible. I found 1 clean diaper and a urine soaked bed with poop smeared all over it. GROSS! There was poop in his hair,all over the crib, sheets, bumper and the few stuffed animals he ask to take to bed. I am not the kind to grab the camera in these special times of parenting. However, just imagine the delight in his face when I walked in and then his puzzled look when I gasped in horror. It's now lunch time. Everyone has had baths. I have cleaned up the mess. Washed the laundry. Wiped out the washer from the "debris" left over and now it's time for naps. Don't worry I am looking for the duck tape to fasten the diaper. What's that the social worker said about adopting a teenager?

Fun in the Sun!

I am a planner. I don't like spontaneity or change. After a crazy week and honestly a few crazy months, my spontaneous husband decided we needed some time away. Last Thursday he realized he had a 3 day weekend. So he came home and announced he had reserved our families condo and we were leaving after he got home from work Friday. I had a million reasons why we should not go. To list a few, it was supposed to rain all weekend. I don't really have a bathing suit that fits. I hate sand. Kids require a lot of stuff to go on a trip. I had no desire to pack up the pack & play, mini high chair, snacks for 4 days, many changes of clothes, diapers, sun screen, beach toys, beach chairs and sippy cups. The thought of throwing this together in the next 24 hours was crazy to me. If I were going to do this it should have been on the calendar for at least a month so I could prepare my mind for the work load. I decided to put a smile on my face and indulge him.

Mr. Spontaneity was right we did need a break. We had a great time. Lots of playing in the sand,flying kites,watching movies and reading some great books. He was so nice he didn't even make me get that dirty. I think I spent all of 4 hours on the beach the entire weekend. The rest of the time was spent on the balcony reading books during Joshua's nap times. I love listening to the ocean. And come to find out it only rained once at the beach, and it rained the entire weekend at our house!

Thanks Honey, I don't say it often, but you were right!