Ice Skating

LG got her first pair of ice skates from Grandma and Grandpa Mickelson and we tried them out yesterday. At first she kept trying to walk on the ice with them, but we showed her how to glide and she was off like a pro. It amazes me how many things she can do well the first time she tries. I was a lot more causious and clumsy as a kid. It might have had something to do with my height. LG is just a little peanut and doesn't have a height issue to compensate for. Anyway, we had to coax off the ice with hot cocoa and dinner and a promise to go back tomorrow.

Little Girl's first overnight was a success

We had little girl overnight for the first time Friday. It was a success.
When I picked her up at Foster mom's house I didn't know if it would be. She seemed a bit nervous. When we got into the car I asked her if she was. She told me that 'yes' she was nervous. We were able to talk about it and I was thankful for that. She has been having a few problems talking about her feelings with her foster mom and with her therapist, so I wondered how that would go with me. We had a good talk about it, and thankfully that's all she needed.
Once we got back to the house, we were met by her therapist and LG showed off her room and all the great things that she had in it. After she left we played paper dolls, crazy 8s and Old maid. Then Jerry came home and played with LG so that I could cook dinner.
We ate and LG talked nonstop about all kinds of things. I must say that she's a good eatter. The nieces and nephews are the opposite, so it's nice to cook for a kiddo that will eat anything. After dinner she and Jerry went down to the studio and played drums and recorded a song. LG sang, but didn't want anyone in the room while she did. Silly girl. After that we watched 'Elf' and then it was time for bed.
Once we told her it was bedtime she was ready to go to sleep. I turned on her nightlight and gave her the glass of water she asked for, tucked her in and gave her a good night kiss, and she went to sleep. She didn't seem at all nervous. I think our little talk worked out.
In the morning I got us an hour before anyone else and had a chance to have my coffee and do my crossword. The dogs got noisy and woke Jerry and LG up. I asked her how her night went and she said that it went well. She heard a lot of noised, and a shadow on the ceiling scared her a bit. I listened and assured her that she would get used to it. Then we were off to the kitchen to make waffles. Again, she ate like a champ.
She really wanted me to do her hair, so I spent the next few hours braiding it up. It looked really cute and she was happy to have it done. After that Jerry took her out Christmas shopping. He told me when he got back that she grabbed his hand and held it for quite a while. So cute, I wish I could have seen it. That must have made him feel really great since they were having some trouble bonding on the last few visits.
I have notice that she's a bit clumsy. It's just like she's my biological daughter. I happen to be VERY clumsy myself.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we took LG over to Grandma Cris's house for dinner. Grandma also invited Cousin Ayreonah over to meet LG. We ordered pizza and made a gingerbread house and the girls played together. I think they had a good time. I know that I did. It seemed alot more relaxing then the other night when we met Tekaija and Naz and Izy.

Here's LG's beautiful and sweet gingerbread house. I think she really had fun making her house and eating her candy.

Today I pick her up at 3:00 and we will have our first overnight. I can't wait, I think that it will go well. We are going to try and keep it low key so we can get to know eachother better.

Baking cookies/visiting the cousins

We had a really great day baking cookies on Sunday. I think LG had a great time too. She decorated her heart out with sprinkles and red hots. My sister Kirstin even helped her bake some cookies in her Easy Bake oven. She was so proud. She ate 2, and gave one to me and one to grandma Betsey(my mom).

When she wasn't baking she was colloring with Jerry, playing barbies with Kirstin, or listing to Kids Bop on her radio in her room. We had an old boom box with a CD player in it that we put in her room. I think she likes that a lot. Her foster mom said she had a hard time falling asleep that night. I hope it was just because of all the commotion from the day and not nerves.

Yesterday, I picked LG up from school. I didn't know how that was going to go because I know she doesn't like her foster mom to pick her up or drop her off at school. Well it didn't go that great. As we were walking out a boy from her class asked if I was her mom. She got a bit mad at him and said, "No." I figured that she would say that. I'm not going to lie and say that it didn't hurt my feelings a bit, but I can understand it.

After we got into the car things got better. We drove over to The Railstation to wait for Jerry to get off work. When we got there LG was introduced to Grandma Cris who welcomed her with a big hug and chicken fingers and fries. She only had pretzels for lunch because she didn't like the other things that her foster mom packed for her, so she was a bit hungry. So, we visited with Grandma and played a bit of tic-tac-toe until Jerry got there.

Then we were off to visit Jerry's sister and her kids for dinner. It's a good thing that we have a DVD player in the car, because it was a 45 minute drive and it kept her occupied and happy. Once we got there she was a bit nervous, but Tekaija, our niece was so excited to meet her, that she instantly warmed up and had a great time and didn't want to leave. She even had fun playing with Izy, our 9 month old nephew. I am happy that they got along so well.

When we got back, she told her foster mom that she met some cousins, her grandma, and her grandpa Charlie. It warms my heart when she talks about our family as hers. I do feel like we haven't had that much one on one time with her though. I think this weekend we are going to try and just keep it us, so we can bond a bit.

First/Second meeting with my daughter

On Friday at 4:00pm we drove up to a cute little house in the city. I was really nervous. It's not everyday that you meet your daughter for the first time. As Jerry and I walked up to the door we saw her through the window sitting at the dining room table. She saw us and jumped up from her chair. She didn't come to the door to greet us. She was nervous as well.

We were greeted by her foster mom and the family dog Olive, a boxer. I could see LG from the corner of my eye as we took off our coat and shoes. She was intently trying to figure us out. As we made our way to the table she dropped some coins on the floor and headed under the table to pick them up. She would not return to her seat for 10 minutes. Her therapist told us that she was very nervous and excited. The photo album I made for her lay on the table with a few questions for us on a sheet of notebook paper.

We didn't push her to come up from under the table to meet us, but eventually she did. Once she was out she was bouncing all over the place with nervous energy. Finally, we got her to sit down and read us the life book that she made when she was 7. We learned all about her likes and dislikes, her favorite foods, colors, and songs.

Her therapist left once everything calmed down and her foster mom served us hot cider and crackers and cheese. She then excused herself too, so that we could have a moment together alone. I asked her if I could take her picture, and she beemed. We got a group photo of the 3 of us that I will charish always. Then she showed us her room, and every other room in the house.

The family had plans that night to see a play, so we gathered up our things to leave our little girl. She kept asking her foster mom why we couldn't go to the play too. That was a relief to hear, because at least she liked us and wanted to spend some more time together.

As we left I wanted to give her a hug, but was nervous how she would react to that, so I didn't. I wish I would have.

Then yesterday Jerry and I got up at 7:00am and cleaned the house up a bit and then set off to pick up our little girl. This would be the first time she would see her new home, pets, and room. It was exciting. As we pulled up in front of the house she was ready and waiting. She waved to us through the window. She gathered up her things, put on her coat and boots, and we were off for a day at our house.

On the ride home we asked her questions and she asked questions of us. It was a good trip. There was no stress, and I hope she wasn't too nervous. I think she was feeling more at ease because she wasn't as bouncy as the first time we met. Once we got to the house she voiced her concerns about the dogs. She hasn't had much exposure to pets. We let her know that it would be alright and gave her some tips about how to get rid of the dogs if they were bothering her.

She loves our house and especially her room. She kept asking if she could move in right away. I wish she could, but I know that she can't. She has a whole week of school left before Christmas break, and it's just better that she can finish out her time at her old school and make a clean break and a fresh start at her new one. We did let her take a couple of books with her and the santa hat and reindeer antlers that she wore all day.

While she was here we put up our Christmas tree and it looks perfect. She kept saying how beautiful and colorful it was. Every ornament she touched she was thrilled with. It was a great feeling having the 3 of us together put up the tree.

When we took her to her foster home, I made sure to give her a hug this time. I can't wait to give her a million more!
I wish I could post pictures from our day so that my relatives and friends could share in our meeting, but unfortunatly I can't yet, but as soon as the adoption is final, I will post them.

Today she will spend the whole day with us. We are baking christmas cookies! I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Adoption Milestone Timeline

I decided to take this off the side and stick it into a post since it's so long, but I wanted it to be out there for history. It helps me too...

4/24/2007 - Adoption Orientation
9/22/2007 - Adoption Classes Started
10/6/2007 - Adoption Classes Completed
10/9/2007 - Initial Paperwork Submitted
10/23/2007 - Fingerprinted1
2/12/2007 - Approved for Homestudy
2/29/2008 - First Homestudy Visit
3/11/2008 - Individual Homestudy Interview - Dad
3/20/2008 - Individual Homestudy Interview - Mom
3/28/2008 - Adoption Physical - Mom
5/9/2008 - Final Homestudy Done
5/24/2008 - Mailed the last of our paperwork today!
10/28/2008 - Additional Homestudy Interview - Both of us
4/16/2009 - Homestudy Approved - Transferred to our new SW
5/8/2009 - Matching Meeting
10/15/2009 - Matching Meeting
11/05/2009 - Meeting with LG's workers
11/12/2009 - Chosen to be LG's parents
12/22/2009 - Move in Date

Yeah! We have a transition plan!

Here it goes...
Tomorrow we meet her after school
Saturday we will get her for half the day
Sunday we will get her all day
Monday after school
Wednesday after school
All the next weekend and then she moves in on the 22nd!!!

I am nervous and excited all at the same time. It's a good thing that I washed all her bedding and put them on her bed this morning. On Sunday we have planned for my mom and sisters to come over to bake cookies. LG had plans to do cookies this weekend at her foster home, so it works out great that we will be doing them this weekend as well. That way she won't be missing out.
I am so glad that I decided to make a second call to the adoption worker today. I got the transition right from the maker!!!

Little Girl's Room is done

I worked really hard last week after Andy moved out to get Little Girl's room all done and furnished with all the goodies that we have received from the showers we have had thus far.

We were supposed to see LG this weekend, but of course we didn't hear from our social workers this weekend, and therefore our visit didn't happen. I hope to hear from them today. I really hope that we will meet her this week. They told us that they were going to tell her on Friday and give the photo album I made for her of our family. I hope that went well.

Happy Turkey Day

I am thankful for all the wonderful and supportive people I have in my life. Since we started our adoption journey they have seemed to multiply and I cannot say enough how appreciative I am for them.

My hopes for the day:
That my Turkey is yummy
That my family has a great time
That my dogs are good while we have company
That LG has a Happy Thanksgiving whatever she does today and that she feels loved by whomever she spends it with.

This week

Hopefully we will meet LG this week. We are waiting on some paperwork to move forward, but we hope to have that in the next couple of days. LG's therapist is on vacation this week and they wanted her to help break the news to her, but her social worker can also do that. Don't know what they've decided yet. I also have to get our photo album to our Social Worker. She will then get it to whomever will be breaking the news to LG.

So, they kept telling us we would have her for Thanksgiving, but I am doubting that will actually happen. At least we will get to meet LG, and she will know that she will be a part of a family for Christmas.

I am so excited to meet her, I am about to burst out of my skin. I hope that doesn't actually happen, however, because it could get a bit messy. Just kidding...

Ready for Santa

LG is all set for Santa to fill her stocking on Christmas morning. I made her a stocking this weekend. I knew that if I didn't get it done before Thanksgiving there would be a posibility that I would have to buy one of those cheepies and puff paint it. Jerry and I have handmade ones that I made a year ago and I didn't want her to feel left out.

Also, I have put the first coat of paint on her dresser, nightstand, and vanity.

Here's the before picture :

I have also found the bedding for her bed, but I won't be buying it until Wednesday. Our renter is going to be moving out by the end of the month, so that means that we should have her home with us for good around the first of the month!

Tomorrow we are meeting with her therapist to get a feel for what she's like and what her emotional needs will be. I cannot wait to meet her and find out what makes her tick. We have been asked by several people what we need for her, and I want to wait until we meet her to make sure what we know so far is on track.

On another note, some family and friends are throwing us a shower. They want us to experience having that special day. LG won't be coming to the showers because we don't want to overwhelm her, plus I don't want to put her in any awkward situations like that. We will be registering at Target for things she will need in her room like sheets, pillows, lamps, alarm clock, and probably some books and a few toys. She doesn't have many of her own things from what we here, and we don't want her to be bored out of her mind when she gets here. We do have a few things that I have collected for our neices and nephews when we have them over, but they are more geared to the younger ages. Anyway, I/we are so blessed to have such supportive people in our lives that will do these kinds of things for us. I thought I would have to go without the baby shower experience, but it turns out life has other plans for us.

Chosen

We've been chosen to be LGs parents! I just got the news and I am very excited. I felt in my heart that it would end up this way, but with so much disappointment in the past I didn't want to get my hopes up. Now I can. Yesterday I went and got a dresser and nightstand because I thought we would need them eventually, but now I know that we will be using them very soon! We are going to have a child in the house this holiday season and I am so thrilled. I know my family will be too!

Happy Birthday Jamison

This is me and my brother on Halloween. Today he turns 21. I cannot believe that he is really that old. I remember the day that he was born. My mother woke me up in the middle of the night to tie her shoes and get ready to go to the hospital because she was in labor. I was 13-years-old and so excited that I would finally have a little brother. I was by my mom's side through her whole labor, and with the doctor when my brother came into the world.
Now he's taller then me and too big to put my arms all the way around. Time really flys.
Happy Birthday Baby Brother!

Picture

Today we got to see a picture of LG at our meeting with her workers. It was only a cell phone picture, but you could tell she was a cutie. She has dimples. I have always wanted dimples!
Everything went well, and I am confident that we will have the go ahead on Monday.
The worker that meets with her every month had nothing but good things to say about her except that she can get sassy with people she's close to. What kid doesn't?
I feel like I have a lot in common with this LG and I am excited to meet her. She's artisitic and loves to read. She hasn't had alot of opportunity to do many things or go many places. I know that Jerry and I can facilitate those kinds of things for her. She will fit into our family really well and I know that her cousins will love to have her around.
Her workers want to get her moved fairly quickly to her new home. We could have her here by the end of the month. Can you believe it?

Meeting Scheduled

Our meeting with all the social workers is scheduled for next Thursday at 1:00pm. I am really excited!

Appointment

For the sake of keeping the child that we are matched with anonomous I will going forward call her LG, short for little girl.

We are in the process of setting up a meeting with our worker and LG's workers. In this meeting I get the impression that they will get a chance to ask us questions that were not answered in our homestudy. We will also get a chance to ask some questions. Then, after this meeting we will get the final decision whether her workers think we are still a good fit. If so, and we still want to go forward then we get to start meeting with the important people in her life like, teachers, doctors, workers, her foster mom etc.

I wonder how long this will take and when we will be able to meet her. I keep telling myself that we are on our way, and hopefully if all goes well, we will be parents very soon.

Got her social history on Saturday

We got the packet of social history information on Saturday and we have decided that there's nothing in there that would cause us to turn back, so we are looking forward to the next step. It turns out that this child is not the 10 year old, but she is an 8 year old little girl. From the report that we got she seems to be small for her age, but we have still not seen a picture of her.
Since this isn't a done deal, I would like to keep other information about her private until we get further along in the process.
Since finding out more information and deciding that we would like to move forward, I keep decorating her room in my head, coming up with special mom and daughter activities, and other things. It couldn't be happier where we are now. I hope we hear from our social worker today to find out what's next. I will continue to keep you posted.

Got some News

I just got an email from our social worker that a worker for a child that we submitted our homestudy for contacted her to say that she thinks we will be a good match. Unfortunatly, I don't know which child this is. I left a message with our worker, but haven't heard back yet. I should be getting information in the mail, but I can't wait. I am thinking it's probably the little girl, 10-years-old, that we were interested in. I will let you know when I know more. It's exciting to see process happening!

A Beautiful Fall Weekend

This weekend we picked out our pumpkins.Ate apple goodies like donuts, turnovers, brats.And drank apple cider and tested wine.

We also picked apples directly from the trees.

All in all we had a great weekend. On Sunday we had a visit from our nephew Josh with his little girl Savannah. She's adorable, 3, and looks just like her daddy. Also on Sunday, my sister Melanie came over to watch football with us.

On Thursday we had our second matching meeting. It went well. We have migrated a bit higher in age. we have requested information on a could of sibling groups where the children are over 10. Although our niece will enjoy having some cousins here own age. There are several youngersters that are in sibling groups of 3, but we still need to discuss those. Jerry is very nervous about having 3 new little ones in our house all of a sudden. I think it might be a bit overwhelming.

Today I had my Remicade infusion and now I feel blah. I have a bit of good news though. I have a phone interview tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

Loaves

Yesterday I made 6 loaves of bread. Three of them were pumpkin (my favorite) and 3 were zuccini bread from the 3 ton zuccini that my mother in law gave us a week ago. I have been cutting off hunks to make for dinner and now for the bread and there's still a 3rd more left. I don't know what I am going to do with it. Hopefully, by the time I get home next Wednesday from up north Jerry will have eatten the rest of it and I won't have to worry about it.

We also brewed a new batch of fall beer last night. We have an annual Halloween party at our house each year and we wanted a few varieties for our guests to enjoy. So, this year they will have a choice between a pumpkin ale and an apple ale, and of course the normal Michelob Lite from the keg. Boy, it sounds like we are lushes, but really we have so much because we are expecting about 100ish people. Last year we topped out at 69, but we invited a few more this year, so it's gonna be a full house, literally.

This morning I got up really early. I couldn't sleep with anticipation of my adventure this weekend. In a few short hours I will off on my 3 hour drive. This will be the first time I have driven up north alone. It should be alright though. At least I don't have to fight over the radio with the hubs.

It's Me and that's Just Fine

Well, I have been going through a mini crisis the past few days. I can't stand being at home anymore and I feel less then productive. Why doesn't anyone want to hire me. I have a great resume and a good personality if I do say so myself, but still I haven't had any good employment prospects for months. Maybe it's because I have been unemployed for 10 months and I am getting out of "practice". I am willing to take a paycut and everything, but still nothing. I know that this is not a reflection on myself and that the job marked just sucks right now, but it's getting more difficult to accept that as the reason. Again and again I have to reason with myself that it's not a personal refection on me.

In other news, we have another flyer meeting scheduled with our social worker on the 15th to go over all the flyers of the waiting kids in the system. I am excited for this meeting, but I don't expect anything to come of it, since we came out of the last one with high hopes and nothing to show for it at this point.

This weekend I will be heading up north to spend about 6 days with my younger brothers. My dad and stepmom are going to a lodge up north for their 20th Anniversary. It seems like not so long ago that they were married . Can you believe that I actually loved that polka-dot dress. My stepmom Kathy sewed if for me as well as my sisters pink one. Flashback to the eighties... I know that you are jealous of those bangs too. I had that down pat that I didn't even need a mirror to make them do that. Just a little hairspray and a blowdryer. I hope that fashion never comes back into style.

Little Disappointments

Well, today we got a call from our social worker with disappointing news. All the children that we submitted our homestudy for have been placed with relatives or tribe members. She did have news of another little girl that we are definatly interested in. She's 2 years old, soon to be 3 in October. Some other good news is that we have scheduled another flyer meeting where we will meet with our social worker and go through all the waiting children in the state.
It's disappointing that we weren't a match for any of the children we were interested in. It just wasn't ment to be I guess.

In other news I am fighting a cold that has been hanging on for a week now. It just gets slightly worse every day. I just wish it would go away already. I am supposed to have my next infusion soon and I can't be sick for that or I will have to reschedule. ugh.

Over the past few weekends, here's what I've been up to

A family friend got married and I took the photos. It was a really lovely wedding held on a beach with the reception on a boat. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

Labor Day weekend we spent relaxing at a friend's cabin. We had a really great time and I hope we will be able to make it next year if they have it.

I went up to my Dads to take my brother Patrick's senior pictures. He's getting so grown up, I remember when he was a little guy toddling around.

Now, this weekend we are having our niece and nephew over. We are going to try and take them fishing. That should be fun. I hope that we can find the fish.

Recap of the Last Few Days

Jerry and I had a lovely time out for our anniversary. We both ate so much that you could have rolled us out of there. Anyway, when we got home I was playing with the dogs on my bed and Cody got a little wiggly and rolled his big noggin into my nose. Well I heard a big crack and it instantly started to bleed. I haven't had a nose bleed since I was a kid, but I knew what to do and within a few minutes I had it stopped. I was afraid that I had broken my nose, so I applied an ice pack and inspected the damage. Everything appeared okay so I went to sleep.
Well, the next morning I woke up feeling groggy, dizzy and a bit nausous. I figured it would wear off in a few hours. I did my usual morning things, but it the feelings wouldn't go away, so I decided to take a shower and eat lunch. Still the same. So, I decided to take a nap. When I got up from my 2 hour nap, I felt horrible. I was worried that something could be wrong with me that might be more serious, so off to the ER I went. After a CAT scan it turns out I just had a concussion. The doctor advised me to rest and get lots of fluids. She said it could take as long as a week to feel better. OK, so I went home and slept most of the evening and night.
When I got up on Thursday morning I felt even worse, and really emotional. I called the on call doctor and he said it was normal. Ugh. I called my mom and she came over to sit with me and take care of the dogs and me. By 5:00pm I was finally able to get dressed and make dinner. What an experience. I never though a little bump on the head could make a person feel so bad. Thank goodness I am feeling better today because we have plans to go camping with my moms family.

Today Jerry and I celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary. It's really hard to believe that it's been 8 years since we got married. It seems to have flown by so fast. There are so many things that have changed, but we are still together and that hasn't changed. My husband is my best friend and I am glad to have him. I would marry him all over again, and that's a wonderful thing to admit.
The plan is to spend a relaxing time at Pittsburgh Blue Steakhouse eating dinner and enjoying eachothers company. I can't wait.

A new development

Seems that we were referred for this little girl back in July. We should here somehthing at the end of the month or early next month. We have also had our homestudy submitted for 2 sibling groups. Both of them are 1 boy and 1 girl. The first group is a 1 and 8 year old and the second is a 3 and 5 year old. So excited, but not holding my breathe.
This weekend we are up to the north to visit my dad and my family up there. Next weekend it's camping with my mom and the family down here. It's going to be a family fun fest for the next couple of weeks. I am looking forward to visiting my dad and my up north family as I only get to see them a couple of times each year. I just hope the weather gets a bit nicer tomorrow and the Sunday.

Softball Tournament

This past weekend Jerry had a softball tournament. They won thier normal league, so they were invited to the state tournament. They placed 8th in the state, which is their best yet. I was very proud of them. I normally don't go to the tournaments but I felt like I should at least go to the state tournament. Guess it was a great time to go since they did so well. We stayed all day on Sunday after they played their last game to watch the semi-finals and final games. I ended up with a good sunburn on my face. I am still feeling the effects today.

Here's the Scoop

We finally heard from our worker today. She's still waiting to hear back from 2 workers on 2 sibling groups, but has refered us for a 1 year old little girl and is waiting to hear back from that worker. She asked to schedule a time for us to talk, about what I am not sure, but I am happy to get some news. Wouldn't it be so much fun to have a 1 year old little girl? I'm excited for the possibility!

It's been a while

Well, it's been a while, but still I have nothing to report. Today I went to my Remicade appointment where they doubled my dosage leaving me a bit fatigued. When I got home the hubs decided not to go to work after going to the hospital for his back pain. They gave him muscle relaxers and pain meds. They knew that's all they would do, but he couldn't sleep last night because of the pain and needed the relief. He's been seeing a chiropractor for a few weeks because of this issue. Anyway, when I got home all I wanted to do was take a nap, but alas, the dogs wouldn't leave us alone, so I just gave up and took them outside to play while I finished up my book. The hubs is still resting. I wish...
This weekend will be interesting because he has a softball tournament that he's supposed to play in, but won't be able to. Since, he's the manager, he will have to go anyway. Don't know if I'll be going though since he's not playing.
Tomorrow night I am having dinner with my sister, grandma, and aunts. I am looking forward to it since it's been a while since we last had dinner together. It's my grandma's birthday coming up, so I think I will bring her a little something tomorrow. She doesn't like gifts, but I hope she will like the necklace I plan to make her, since it will be homemade. Fingers crossed.

Still Waiting

We are still waiting to be matched with children. I guess it's good that we haven't been matched yet, only because I am still unemployed and our funds are still a bit tight these days. Other then that my heart is aching for kiddos. I don't know how the state can advertise to get sympathy for all the kids in foster care, when they take so long in placing them. Or is it just us? Who knows, it just adds to the frustration of the whole process. It's hard to image that this should take almost 3 years. When we first started they said it could take a few months to a few years. I never imagined we would be on the long end of the timeline. ugh.

Stupid Truck

Yesterday I had a date to meet my husband at a movie theater after work. I waited all day. He got preview tickets from work to go see Funny People and I was really looking forward to it. I decided that I would wait until 4:30, then go to the thrift store on the way. I wanted to look for mens dress shirts for cheap. I use them to make quilts and I have been needed some new ones for a while. Well, I looked around a while and found some I liked as well as a pair of shoes, ballet flats from the gap, and a cute shirt for myself. I paid at the register and happily went out to the truck. I looked at the time on my phone to make sure I hadn't wandered to long in the store. I had plenty of time to make it to the theater to meet Darling Husband. Putting the key in the ignition I, but not starting it, I situated my bag and purse on the seat next to me. Then, I turned the key. The truck whined and whined, but would not start. So, I wait a few minutes and tried again with the same result.
My night was shot. I called DH and he came and got me, then we went home for the tow rope to tow the truck home. We got back to the thirft store and tied the truck to the SUV and followed all the backroads to the car repair shop. Unfortunatly, we were about to turn into the parking lot of the shop and the tow roap broke. Ugh. The people behind me were upset because now they missed their turn light and gave me a glare on the way past. I guess the didn't see my hazard lights flashing the whole time. Anyway, Jerry was able to get a good knot in the rope to at least get us into the parking lot. Thank heavens.
Now, I am waiting to hear what the estimate to fix it will be. I think this is all my fault for jinxing us. Just the other day I was thinking how the truck has been really good and we haven't had many problems with it recently except for the rusty bumper, but that's to be expected after 11 Minnesota winters.
So, we missed the movie I had been waiting to see, and now we get to look forward to a repair bill.

Family Picnic

There was lots of fun things to do, like: Pinatas with candy and whistles

Paddle Boats and Fishing

Throwing balls around the grassy areas

And playing with babies, which was my favorite.

We ended up having about 30 family members showing up, which I think must have been a miracle, this being the first year we tried to get this done, and having ony a month to put all the plans together. We are planning on doing it next year with a game, food, and park commitee to put together some fun things. I can't wait.

Connecting with Family across the pond

(my great-grandmother Britha Hambre Larsdatter, second from the right)

A few years ago I was fortunate enough while doing some family research to happen upon a distant cousin in Norway. He's from my maternal great-grandmother's side of the family and I am so happy to have found him. Recently we have been trading a lot of documents and photos. I went searching in the lock box that was in my grandfather's office when my grandmother died. I have looked in the lock box before, but this time with a purpose of finding things that would be of interest to my Norweigen cousin. I found a newspaper article with a photo of all my great grandmothers brothers and sisters which I immediatly sent to him. Since I cannot read Norweigen I asked him to translate it for me. I cannot wait to hear back what it says. It's also been helpful to determine the names of the people that I have pictures of, but don't know who they are.
I am so thankful that we were able to connect. It's been great getting to know a little about my great-grandmother who died when I was a baby. I have a photo where she is holding me on her lap when I was not even a year old. What a blessing it is to get to know about her and her family even if it's long after she took her last breathe.

I'm Glad

Today I did a little bit of research and found out that I will be able to continue my unemployement. It's a relief to know that I can, however I hate relying on the state to bail me out. I have always thought poorly of those people that let the state or fedral government pay their way, but fortunatly I am not often unemployed and feel that I have paid a lot in taxes over the past 17 years of employement to deserve some help now.
I am waiting to hear back from the company that I had the interview with last week, I really am hoping that I get this job. Then I won't have to continue as I am now. It's a terrible feeling not having control over your finances. Jerry can support us both, but it would make life a less comfortable. Since I suffer from anxiety issues, I would rather have a bit more control over my life. Therefore, a job is a number one priority right now.
I am a bit glad that we don't have kids right now, because it would add to the stress of the situation. Although, it would be lovely to spend that summer with them going to the park and the beach and things like that.

Weekend Review

This has been a busy weekend. On Friday I helped some friends move into thier first house. It's a cute little place, and they didn't have alot of stuff, so it was a cinch to move even though I was warn out at the end of it all. Darn arthritis of mine.
That night I went to sleep early. On Saturday we went to a housewarming party for someother friends of ours. They have a really great place by a popular lake in our area. It's a great starter home and even though it's older you would never know because of all the updates done by the previous owners. While I was there I got a stomach ache that I couldn't get rid of. So, the husband went to a birthday party that I was supposed to got to as well and I stayed home and read a book on my stomach. Thank goodness I was feeling better around midnight and was able to get some good rest last night.
Today, we are waiting for the kidlets to get here to visit for a bit, then it's off to watch the husband play softball. It's their last regular season game, and they need to win both games tonight to win the league championship outright. Exciting, exciting. After that we are off to a BBQ with some friends.
It's kind of a blessing that I don't work during the week, because at least I have time to recover from all the things going on during the weekends.

Interview

I've got an interview this morning! Wish me luck! I would love to actually get this job and be working by August. My unemployment is going to run out in 3 weeks and we can't afford for DH to pay all the bills by himself.

UPDATE:
The interview went great. I will know by next week if I get a second interview. I really hope so. It seems like my kinda job as well as my kinda company. It's a small office of about 6o people and the atmosphere seems really great(like one big family). Wish me luck.

Homemade Pretzels

Last weekend my little sister and I made homemade pretzels. They turned out really great and I didn't know that they were so easy to make. So, here's the finished product.

These are the ones that I created.

These are my sisters. As you can tell she didn't think that here's were that great. But, I think they were just fine for our first try.

Here she is stretching her dough. It was a pretty fun time and something I had never done before either. I really like baking with my sisters. It's a lot of fun. It's more fun then baking alone, even though I enjoy that as well.

Adoption Update: Got an e-mail from our SW which stated that she got my message and would get back to me soon. Ugh.

Cody loves the Water

Yesterday we took the dogs out in the boat for a little fishing. Before we knew it Cody was in the water. He jumped from the front of the boat while we weren't looking. Crazy dog. It's the first time we have taken him near the water and it appears that he likes it alot.
I was surprised that Tullah didn't follow him in. She follows him everywhere. We did have a bit of trouble getting him back into the boat however. It took some coaxing to get him to the back of the boat, but once we got him there it was a bit easier. He looked so happy though, it was hard to be mad at him for enjoying his swim and now we know that we should watch him a bit more closely when we take him on the boat.
As for Jerry and I, we had a great time relaxing on the boat. I didn't catch anything, but Jerry caught two northerns. They were small so he threw them back into the lake. The weather was lovely. It was a breezy 75 degrees and sunny. That's my favorite kind of weather. I did manage to get a bit of a burn on my back, but that's to be expected on the water.

Happy Birthday Jerry

Today is my husband's birthday and I won't be spending it with him. He's got a softball event today that he does every year that he looks forward to. It feels a little weird, but if it's what he wants to do on his birthday I can't complain. We celebrated last night with friends and family and had a great time. Now, today I have to myself. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do. Since I usually have days to myself while not working it feels like any other day. Hmm. I thought of a movie, but I have seen everything out that I want to see. I could mow my lawn, but that's no fun. I dunno what I will end up doing, but I am sure it will be relaxing. Maybe I will call my mom or my sister and do something with them.
It's too bad my sister in law doesn't have a phone. I would call and see what she and the kids are doing today. It would be fun to spend some time with the kiddos if I could.

Just Another Thursday

Today is a rainy day, and all I want to do is sleep. Tomorrow we have Jer's birthday dinner and concert and I will be running around getting things together, but today is mine. Here's my plan...
Read, Eat Lunch, Read, Make Dinner, veg out!
Jerry could have gotten us tickets to Bruno tonight, but I don't really wanna see it. I didn't really like Borat all that much, so I am sure Bruno will be the same kinda thing. I would rather just stay in and spend some quiet time with the hubbins.
Tomorrow I have a phone interview that I am looking forward to. Pray that it goes well and I get an actual interview out of it. It's been a few months since my last in person interview. It would be great to actually get this job, because I am running out of unemployement. Only a few weeks left of it. On the plus side, I do have some weddings to shoot in the near future so if my unemployement does run out I won't be high and dry.
I left a message with our Social worker on Monday. I have heard nothing from her yet. I will call her again on Monday. Hopefully, I will get a response before that, but I won't hold my breathe.

I went Tubing...Can you believe that

This weekend was really fun. We went up to a friends cabin on Friday and Saturday. We didn't stay up there because it was only an hour from our home, and we didn't have anyone to take care of the dogs, but the trip was short so it was no big deal and we got to sleep in our own bed.

So, on the 4th of July I went tubing. And it didn't even hurt. I thought that when I woke up on Sunday morning I would be sore, but I really wasn't. I did have a really large bruise on my arm, but that wasn't from tubing. That was caused by my two left feet causing me to trip into the casing around the boat windshield. Figures, right, that I would get hurt inside the boat and not on the tube.

The fireworks were really great too, because we were on a lake and could see several displays going on off multiple shores, but the best were put on by the lake association with an honorable mention going to Don. He brought some with him to shoot off the shore.

Today = Gardening

This is a picture of the new grass I planted that's coming up great next to the new patio that we put in a couple of weeks ago. There's a few bare spots, but I will be fixing that up shortly. I'm just happy that it's coming in so thick.

This is a pretty pink flower that I just added to my garden today. I can't remember what it's called, but I know that I should know what it's called. Anyway, it goes along pretty with the little purple ones below.

I've also these pretty ladies in my sunny garden to add more color. I have alot of perennials in there, so I needed some more color since most of the flowers in the bloom in the spring and fall.

These little guys have come back three years in a row. It's amazing because where I live they aren't supposed to do that.

These came back this year too. This is only their 2nd year though.

This is my shadier garden under my pine trees. It's where I have the stones for my animals that have passed away.

This is my sun garden. Can you believe that I bought this as a kit from www.bluestoneperinnials.com almost 6 years ago. They came packaged in a box. There are only a few things that died off after the first year. I hae been pretty happy with it. I think next year I am going to try and expand it a bit.

Clean Puppies

Tonight I gave both of my doggies baths. My sister was over earlier and asked how I kept them so clean, because for the most part they always do look clean. I thought about it and decided that it was because they have short hair and the dirt just rubs off. I didn't tell her that I hadn't bathed them in a while and I felt a bit bad for the dogs, so after she left I got out the soap and dragged them into the bathroom one by one to get them truley clean.

To my amazement they weren't really dirty. The water that came off them as I rinsed them was really rather clean. I think it must be all the rolling in the grass that they do. But, I am pretty baffeled because they also roll in the dirt alot. I guess I have just been blessed with clean dogs. This was not the case with Peppe as you all can remember, for although he lived with us not even a month I gave him 3 baths while he was here.

So, I recommend for anyone who wants a clean looking dog to get a shorthaired breed, but not White, because White shows everything. I guess its the same reason I don't wear alot of white shirts. I can never keep them clean.

Lazy Days

Lazy summer days are supposed to be a good thing, but for me, they are getting a little old. I never ever thought I would say that in my life, but at this point in my life I would rather be working, or raising my kids.

I think I have read 12 books in the past month, did tons of yard work and housework, and I am really getting bored with it.

I guess the good news is that I have been getting calls and interviews these past weeks as well, so hopefully that's a good sign that I will soon have a job in the next few weeks. I only have 6 more weeks of unemployment, so I better find something soon.

Weekend Recap

Camping with the kiddos was fun. We told ghost stories. I think mine was the least scary of them all. For some reason these kids like all the violent killing etc that kids these days are subjected to on TV. Anyway, my niece suggested that after each person was done that we should say something nice about the story they just heard. I don't know where she gets this stuff, but it was really cute of her to make the suggestion.

The night was pretty warm and I didn't even cover myself up in my sleeping bag. The kids did, however because they don't like bugs and dirt. I didn't care because 1-the sleeping bags were just cleaned 2- I know that these things won't hurt me and will either just wash up or crawl away.

I even had the 4 month old out there with us. He slept just fine when the older children weren't waking him up. He's a natural camper. One of these days we will have to take them all to an actual campground to camp since they did so well in the back yard.

Camping in my backyard

This weekend we are planning to have our niece and nephew over to have a camping trip in our backyard. We have leftover marshmellows and graham crackers from last weeks trip to Chicago to use up and I don't think the little ones have ever been camping. So, we are going to setup the tents and sleeping bags, make a fire in the firepit and have us a campout.
I think it will be fun for them and it will give us another opportunity to setup the tent and give it some air. I think we have only used it 4 times since we bought it 4 years ago. The funny thing is I do enjoy camping, we just don't get an opportunity to do much of it.

An update to the adoption journey: we have not heard a peep from anyone yet. This might be harder then waiting to get all the paperwork approved. ugh. Why didn't ya'll warn me. After reading most of he other blogs it seems that this part went faster for other folks. Of course it would be different for us; Everything usually is.

Now I am off to pull out chicken for dinner. Tonight we are having Chicken and Black Bean Salsa over Rice. It's one of my favorites and it's so easy to make. I made it up one night after reading some crockpot recipe for quasadillas. I know, weird huh? Crockpot quasadillas...? Who would have thought of that.

Twins Win!

We had a really great time in Chicago watching the Twins play the Cubs at Wrigley Field. For the first game we sat on the first base line. We were under cover and the weather was beautiful.

At the second game we sat in the outfield bleachers and it rained until the middle of the game.

We had a great group of people with us that we have been friends with for a very long time.

Since we camped 40+ minutes away we took the Metra train into the city and that ment we didn't have to worry about parking, which was very convienent.

Our campsite was right next to Lake Michigan. We even had a path directly from our firepit to the lake. At night we saw raccoons and skunks. I even saw a deer one day.

All in all it was a great trip and the Twin won both the games we went to.

Meet Isaiah

This is Isaiah. He's two weeks old and just a cute little peanut. Elisabeth brought him over the other day and I snuggled him the whole time he was here. Although I couldn't get him to open his eyes for me. He's a sleepy little guy.

Oh, wait. I got one eye to open, but that's all he would give me.

I had to put his hood back up because my dogs love to smell and lick little baby heads. I don't know why they do that, but I don't like it. I have to keep little baby heads protected from puppy tongues.

Here's me holding the little peanut. It really makes me sad that I probably won't have a newborn of my own to snuggle whenever I want, but it's a little bit of a comfort that all the women who have babies in my family let me snuggle theirs whenever I want.