YIKES

Our home study needs a copy of our marriage license.  I CAN'T FIND IT!!!!  I know we are married.  Isn't that enough??

I need to go to my home town, which thankfully is the next town over, and get another copy.  Where on earth is my original copy?!?!?

I ask my mom today if she was willing to go with us to China.  She about jumped out of her skin, and shouted YES!!!!

I think it will be good for her.  She loves to travel, and she has been kind of wondering about this whole adoption thing.  I think this will really make her feel connected to her future grand daughter.  Which by the way is being named after her.   :)  

Funny how.....

I was downloading some of our pictures from the past to the new computer.  Funny how one finds the time to go through all the pictures. lol.  Like a moment down memory lane of sorts.

And it was so enjoyable, I thought I would share one or two.

Mystic, CT.  It was stunning. A nice relaxing vacation, not too far from home.  The scenery was worth it all.

Billy Graham's last time at NYC 3 years ago.  This is right in the park.  World's Fair.  John & Samuel are smack in the middle.
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And this is what my boys were doing during a Steelers /Patriots game.   I just don't know where I went wrong.  ::::sigh::::::

Well, I have much work to do, seeing as how I took waayyyyy too long down Memory Lane.

The Love of my Life

In a mere 20 minutes, the love of my life & I will be celebrating our 23rd anniversary.  Well, we will not be celebrating it in 20 minutes, but it will be the beginning of the day when God's hand was working furiously in our lives, despite, or maybe because of who we were.

John & I met in a club in NYC.  

This alone should tell you that this is the beginning of an interesting story. 

It is.

We were married a mere 5 months later.  I was 17 and a high school senior.  He was 19 and in college.  We knew what we were doing.  We had that kind of wisdom at such a young age.

And please note, that previous sentence is dripping with sarcasm.

Neither of us were Christians at the time, and no one, and I mean NO ONE thought it would last. (Well, we did. lol) That is except our soon to be brother in law.  Who was a Christian, and believed in the sanctity of marriage.  I am sure he prayed furiously and faithfully for us.  It worked.

Well, here we are 23 years later, and no regrets.  Thats not true.  I have one regret.  I truly regret that I was not prepared for family life.  I couldn't cook, clean, manage money, or any of those basic things of married life.  Both my oldest son, and my daughter are able to do those things.  They will be a blessing in that area.  And many more I pray.

And now, I will tell you what makes this man, that my precious Lord has blessed me with, so special.

When we started dating, we would take walks all over creation.  He loves the outdoors.  Often we would go to the park so I could swing.  There was always a time though,when at one point, I lose him to kids.  In a matter of minutes he would have a game of chase / tag/ duck duck goose or what ever other children's game he could come up with, going.  He would include any parent wanting to get off the bench, and the laughter could be heard from blocks.  The kids would complain when I finally was ready to go.  He still does this to this day.  

He is always ready for playing.

He loves the shore.  Or beach.  Or the coast.Or whatever your particular part of the nation calls it.   He decided one day he was going to take up surfing.  So he did.  Never mind that he had a full time job, a wife and 2 kids, and was going to college full time, and still managed to stay on the Dean's list..  It was time to surf, so down the shore we went.  3 - 4 times a week.  He came home one day so excited.  He bought me my own surf board!!! Ummm. Thank you?  I am not as excited about the shore as he is.  I only agreed to go everytime because I could sit on my beach chair and read while the children played in the sand.  The idea of surfing myself never crossed my mind. But I did it.  I have since given my board to Chloe.  

Every little girl needs her daddy to adore her.  And he does.  There is "no clown out there good enough for her"  (His words not mine) Chloe trust him,loves him and honors him without thought.  Even when she doesn't understand why he makes certain decisions concerning her.  She said to me one day, " I hope I marry a man who will love me and take care of me as much as daddy does."  She said this this past year.  This was not little girl talk, but young woman.   He has sat through many ballet performances.  (Though it seems like may kill him, to sit for so long.)  And he will sit through as many as his baby girl performs in..  And he will be ready afterwards with the biggest bouquet of flowers he could find.  For his princess.   Chloe is now being courted by a young man.  He has big shoes to fill.  Oh, AND he can't wait to meet his chinese baby girl.  He is just about jumping out of his skin with anticipation.

Here are some of the nieces.  They love sitting with Uncle John during holiday dinners.  He has stories to tell.  He is so goofy I keep hoping the girls will not shoot whatever they are drinking out their noses.  He is a funny guy. 

And he is a ham.....

...who doesn't care how silly he looks, as long as it makes me laugh.

And he is a man who will be there for you.  No matter what.  When we think we got it, he is there on the sidelines in case we need him. And I am always amazed at how many times when we think we have things under control, need him.  And he is there. 

I can take up pages if I start talking about his faith.  But I need to say this, he is radical.  He challenges me to live outside the american church mentality, and live like Jesus did.  The simple faith that is hard and self sacrificing.  I have to admit, there are times I want to be left alone in this, to do my own thing and just do it like everyone else.  He won't let me, and this makes me angry.  Often.  He is the leader of our home, and he takes his job of leading this family to the throne seriously.  And I love him for that.  Even if ticks me off, I know he is right. 

Yes, my God has blessed me with a wonderful man.  Yes he has his faults.  Yes there are times he drives me insane, and I thought I must have been 7 kinds of fools for marrying him.  Yes he may have a case of selective hearing problems.

He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me.  :)

Happy anniversary my love.

My day off!!!

During winter, Fridays are my day off!!

John and Samuel are out the door at 7am for a day of skiing.  

This is not them, but I give Samuel another year before it is, if its up to him.  Maybe 2 tops.  He loves skiing. At 8 years old he has skied most black diamonds  in the surrounding states.  And can't wait to conquer the rest.  I keep thinking when he is older, he will work in order to earn money to go skiing all over the world.  Hopefully we will install some reality in him before that.  

So today, on my day off......I will go to the movies!!!!!

It is impossible to get to the movies around here.  Between finding something I would actually watch & finding the time, I usually get to them long past the time they came out on DVD.   And I LOVE going to the movie theater. 

Today is that day!  I should attack the mound of laundry.  Organize the paper monster, make those phone calls.  I will, but I will also go to the movies.  All those chores will be waiting patiently for me when I get  back.

So, I hope you have a good day today too!

PS, when John gets back today, we are out the door for the weekend.  Its our anniversary weekend!  Actually our anniversary is on the 23, and its our 23rd anniversary! But we will go away this weekend.   Me thinks he will be exhausted.  The B&B has a jacuzzi though, so he should be good to go.

But don;t worry, we will be back at 3pm on Sunday.  For kick off.   :)

Am I too old?

I just came back from ANOTHER trip to the post office to send MORE paper work out to the adoption agency.

Sometimes I doubt our decision.  But then I remember that we are really joy-filled about the choice, and about God's calling.  All the prayer that went into this decision, and the excitement of raising another child to the Glory of God. 

My doubt comes from us being so old.  I wish we had done this about 5 years ago.  At least.

But then I look at Fawn.  One of our dear friends, who got married later on in life. (46)  Then she tried so hard to have a baby.  She & Bob used to pick up our kids and do great things together.  It was a nice break for us and our kids love them.  To this day, they now drive themselves over to visit.  Call to see whats new in life.  And keep constant tabs on the baby.  For you see, Fawn & Bob adopted a baby girl at age 50 & 53.  She is beautiful and they are delirious.  Katie is now 2, but I remember stopping by the house to let Fawn sleep.  Oh that desperate need of sleep.

So, Fawn has always been a blessing to me, in ways I can't even begin to describe.  And though she doesn't know it, she continues to be a blessing & an example of selfless living, and energy.  All I have to do is call her, and her excitement comes through those phones lines as though she was standing next to me, jumping up and down with anticipation.  And yes, truly, she would literally jump up & down.  :)  

Isn't it amazing how our Lord so intimately knows your needs before you ask HIM to help you.  It has been a rough 2.5 years.  It has been the deepest longest valley I've yet had to walk.  As a result, depression, self pity, heartache and general hurt have been my constant companions.  And man, I can't get rid of them soon enough.

I am tired of the battle.  I am ready for a break.  But its not really my call.  Hindsight, I see God's hand leading me in the darkness.  HIS promises are true.  Not that I doubted, but every so often I wished HE promised to make it go away.  

During church service yesterday, the pastor was talking about something C.S. Lewis said.  If only I had heard this years ago.  But then, it wouldn't have mattered years ago.  These ignorant ears would not have understood the wisdom.  Its the walk the made the words real.

On another note.......

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND FOR FOOTBALL!!!!

My rear end decided that only the basic of chores were merited.  So, my bed was made, the floors were vaccumed, and my family was fed.  Oh, and the kitchen was cleaned up.  Other then that, I was not moving from that couch until the last minute of that time clock ran out.

And it was all worth it.  :)

And the man of the hour is........

I have liked this kid from the start.

Though I am not a die hard Giants fan, I like his temperment, which contradicts the heart of football.  I like his style, I like his quietness.  Yes, I know I am the only one, but it paid off.

Great job Eli!

Until next year deah child

Annalicia & Chloe have been best friends since they were 4.  They are as different as could be, and yet, they have survived many/most moments in life together.  Even though Annalicia is this incredibly smart child, for some reason, anytime Chloe came up with a hair-brained idea, she took off running to execute it.   With Chloe at her heels.

Yeah, they are a team those 2.

Annalicia goes to college in FL.  They miss each other, but are but a phone call/text message away.  But Annalicia left for Austria on Wednesday.  She will be there for a semester, and then she will go back to FL for a job she has for the summer & summer school.  So they wouldn't see each other until NEXT CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Chloe misses her tween.  Even before she left.  

When I made a life collage for Chloe's quincenera, I realized just how close these 2 were.  They are like Joe & Samuel.  She was in most of the pictures.  She is in most of the memories.  Funny thing:  Joe is Annalicia's brother.  :)

And now we are back to school.

He has an Eagles' pencil.  Somehow this will make him smarter.        Yeah........

MT

Today is our Mock Trial competition.

I coach the homeschool high school Mock trial team.  Today is out first competition.  We have been working 4x a week since late September for this day.This is the 3rd year I am coaching, and the first year I don;t have my own kid in it.  It has been a delight to work with all the kids.  They are as different as could be, but get along wonderfully.  

The last 2 times we competed, we went to county champs, beating all the public & private high school in the county.  Which is about 17 or 18 schools.  The kids really want to live up to the "fame".  All I want them to do it their personal best.  And I expect their personal best.  If we win, but they didn't do their personal best, they will hear about it.  And they better shape up for the next competition.  If we lose, but they did their personal best, then I am okay with that.

I am nervous for them.  My love  & my kids are coming.  YIKES!!!

We will spend some time in prayer, for we all need it. 

Boo-boos &Playoffs

I love to ski.  I don't ski anymore as my knees are shot, but Samuel loves to ski.  He & John go every Friday in the winter, and maybe some Saturdays.  That little kid flies down black diamonds with his daddy behind him.  I am totally jealous.

When he started, I tried to get Chloe on the mountain also.  She said no.  How about snowboarding? Ummmm, no.  

For those of you who ski, and I imagine those of you who snowboard, for I have never been snowboarding, you understand the thrill of the ride.  The excitement of the wind and speed.   The cold air filling your lungs and the quietness of winter.  You are in a world that is all your own, conquering the mountain and its a fabulous feeling.

Josiah is a snowboarder.  He accomplished ( to my delight) what I was not able to.  He took Chloe snowboarding.  She pretty much went kicking & whining.  But, so what.  She went. 

And you know what??

SHE ENJOYED IT!!!!!

Go figure.  duh

Here is her battle wound.  It looks worse then the picture.  Its pretty gross if you ask me.  Its actually a hole.  3D-ish.   The scar will be pretty nasty, but nothing a decent pair of dance tights won't hide. 

Still when asked, she said she would do it again!!!

Playoff season have begun.  So, Steelers have made it to the playoffs.

*****YES!!!!!******

Have I ever told you how I bought the NFL movie of when the Steelers won the SuperBowl 2 years ago.  I did.  And I watch it.  Often.  Sometimes, when its the middle of the summer, and I am going through football withdrawls, I pop that baby in there and then life is not so depressing anymore.

Yes, I need a life.

My husband is not as big a football fan as I am ( But remember, he is a Bills fan, so its understandable)  ( ouch!)  ( sorry honey)

So tonight, at 8pm , you know where I will be. Do not talk to me.  Do not ask me any questions.  Its do or die time.

Welcome to Steeler Country.

Have a beautiful  Lord's Day tomorrow.  May you seek HIS face with all your heart.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Wow, so yesterday, we finally decided that yes indeed, we would go over a friend's house to celebrate the new year.  But then John came home from work at 8pm.  Exhausted.  We then decided maybe staying home was not such a bad idea after all.

It took Samuel absolutely NO EFFORT to stay awake.  I guess being 9 has its advantages.  I played Bible Baseball with him until it was almost midnight.  And can I say, I rock!!  Its a Bible trivia game and the more you know the better score you get.  It also helped in keeping me awake. 

Chloe & Josiah were downstairs watching a movie, and if we joined them, I would have fallen asleep so fast, I would have been in my 5th dream well before 10.  

John fell asleep right after he ate dinner.

Wow.  We are getting old.

Since we were not planning on being home for the midnight hour, I had no sparkling apple cider to toast with.  I had some seltzer water, but no one was interested in that except for me.  Samuel did have some fire crackers my sister got him for Christmas, and we went out side and enjoy them.

Well, as much as one can enjoy being outside while freezing.

John went back to bed & Samuel followed right quick.  Then came my favorite part of the evening.  Chloe, Josiah & I decided to spend some time in prayer together.  It was amazing and I had never done that before.   Bring in the New Year wrapped in prayer.

Which leads me to my next point.   I started a Bible memorization challenge for the new year!!  It started to day, and I already learned my first verse!!  Okay, I already knew it so it wasn;t too difficult, but its 250 verses in a year.

http://www.scripturememorychallenge.org

I desire to spend more time in the Word, in prayer, and in general presence of my King.  I am reading Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit by Terry Maxwell.  I have read it before and enjoyed it. This time around its convicting this crusty soul.  

I was reading this verse today, and came out and shot me right between the eyes!!

Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  Galatians 3:3.

This is the story of my life. 

Which probably explains why I feel so behind the eight ball constantly.

So, for the new year, my goal is to seek HIS face.  :)