OPENING DAY!!!

Lets go Mets!!!!

dust & dirt

We are in a bit of a mad scramble to deep clean this house.  And its not working. LOL

The social worker is coming to the house on Saturday.  For the adoption. 

 Part of me wants to say, this is who we are.  So, we may have a little dust in the corner.  Deal, babe.  But then, what if that dust doesn't get us the baby?????  So, I am driving everyone a little nuts.

I can finally get John to finish the bathroom!  And hey, that touch up painting that has needed to be done for forever?  Thats getting done too.

I don't have time to get to the garden and plant anything.  Its still a bit too cold for annuals, and the perrenials are just in the THINKING stage of  making their appearance.  Bummer.

Speaking of gardening.  This new catalog came in the mail. Well, its not a new company, its just the first time we have gotten it.  They have this thing, bricks made out of tires!!  I am seriously considering getting them for our patio!!  They have alot of cool stuff .  

They seem to take their tomatoes seriously.  Like they were  a Jersey company or something. After all, it seems to be the law here in Jersey, that if you have a little patch of land, there better be some tomatoes growing on it.

I cannot wait to get my hands in the dirt.  :)

So, this was a nice break.  Back to the cleaning.......

EASTER!!

Yes it was still a bit nippy enough for coats when we left for church.   Lance went to church with Heather.

My parents with the grandkids who were there.  Wesley was at college in MA, and Natalie & Alexis took forever the get there!!

The Bucket Brigade!!!! Natalie & Alexis ( the other cousins) finally got there!

So, the older grandkids, which is everyone but Samuel, were not to interested in egg hunting anymore.  Samuel was so disappointed, so my dad put some dollars bills in some eggs.  That got them running out the door!!

John & Chloe.   They pretty much were in charge of all the fun activities on Easter. .  

I hope you all have a blessed time with family on Easter as we did.  Oh to really remember the sacrifice, the love and the mercy of our Saviour.  THAT is the treasure of life.

Spring time!

With Spring time, comes being outside as much as possible!

Such was the case this week with Stevie & Samuel.  So much so, that they kept forgetting to close the back door as they ran in and out.  Of course, I kept reminding them that it was STILL COLD outside and to stop letting the heat out.

The other thing that happened with the door constantly being open is......

we got a squirrel in the house!!!

Yeah.  Not good.  John & Samuel finally caught it....

And let it go.....

About 20 years ago, John saw this used tandem bicycle at the bike shop.  He quietly saved up and one day, bought it home for me!!  

First time we got on it, I panicked because I couldn't see and had no control.  Once I gave up the control, it sure was fun.  About 8 years ago, when Hurricane Floyd hit, it was buried in the flood.  I have been wanting to clean it up, paint it, and get it back on the road again.  But you know, its one of those things that you do in your spare time.  Which I have none of.

Josiah found it in the back of the garage, and it was like a kid in the candy shop.  He and Chloe are getting it ready for real use again!!  They went out and bought new tires, got black paint( the color I have always wanted) and started to clean it up.

They got it functioning, and couldn't wait to try it out.

They rode it all over town.  They said people stopped and stared.  They just waved back.  Kids were amazed when they rode by, never seeing such a contraption.  They waved to them too.

And Samuel, so as not to miss out on the fun.

Spring is here, and I am so thankful.

And I pray you all have a blessed, beautiful, meaningful Resurrection Sunday.  :)

Stevie

My sister's middle son is a functioning autistic.  

Stephen is going to be 18 years old in May.  He is a delight and a challenge.  And we love him dearly.  He comes and stays with us every Spring break and a few weeks in the summer.  It is fun having him, and it gives my sister a small break.  Not that she asks for one or even thinks of it that way, but, it helps.  Her oldest, Wesley is in college, and Elizabeth is 16. She does it all herself, for she has been a widow for almost 12 years now.

Stephen is at about the same mental level as Samuel.  When we take the boys to the park, the other kids that they play with are sometimes puzzled at the big man acting like they do.  But somehow, they get over it, and enjoy the games anyway.

Samuel has adored Stevie since he was about 2.  It did not work out well for them until recently.  Stevie didn't know how to deal with him, yet Samuel would follow him, adoring him and wanting to be just like him.  Like I said, now it is working out well. 

Stephen has some social graces.  He is working on it.  And has to be reminded often.  Sometimes it is comical, but sometimes, it hurts people because they don;t understand. He is very good about trying to fix it.

Here they are after a wrestling match, in which Stevie was very gentle, knowing he had about 150 pounds on Samuel. lol. 

Have I mentioned, I love this kid????

HAPPY ST PADDY'S DAY!

HAPPY ST PADDY'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

So being a hispanic, I never remembered when it was St Patrick's Day.  I didn't even get it. If someone said to me " Tell me when St Patrick's Day is or you will die"  I would have said,  "Well, just shot me now."  

I couldn't even tell you what month it was!!!!  I felt like people would just show up to school dressed in all green, random-like.  Then people would ask me why I wasn't wearing green.  For years, it was like.....HUH?

Then I married an Irishman.  Both sets of his grandparents came off the boat.  One of his grandmas smoked a pipe.

Yeah.

Forgetting this day is NOT an option.

This is a holiday. A feast day.

So, can I say, my parents have learned to love this day!!  They love the food and the traditions.  Adding to the quote..."Everyone is Irish today!!"

When Chloe was about 10, John & his dad suggested she start irish dancing.  I had never heard of such a thing.  What does that mean?  So, after a bit of research, I found a school.  She quickly danced her way to national champion level.

Can I say,  what a nightmare?  lol.  Who knew so much was involved?  Required? Expected? The competition dress alone was a pain the neck to find.  The wig!   HAHAHAHAHAHA.  The wig.

Okay, I will stop now.

Chloe competed for years.  Here she is with my mom at one of the competitions.

Here she is at an irish tea.

She quit after her junior year of high school.  She had enough.  Plus having to dance ballet 5x a week didn't leave too much room for much of anything else.

So, her granddaddy, actually both of them loved to watch her dance.  Even the hispanic one.  :)

I need to go out and get the butter milk for Irish soda bread ( my mom's favorite) start boiling the corned beef, and get some celtic music on.

And to all of you, remember that Italian man, who had a heart and love for The Saviour, and it came out with compassion for the Irish.  May we follow his lead.  Happy St Patrick's Day!!

girlfriends

Last night, I went to the movies with an old friend.  We had just such a fun time.  We laughed, we cried, shared wisdom that our Lord has taught us in the past few weeks.  We prayed.  

All to say, I believe those friendships with our fellow sisters in Christ are a gift and a blessing from our King.  And I am so very thankful for them.  We need to take the time out for them, cultivate them, cherish them.   

And the rewards are worth every sacrifice.

I think God meant it that way.  Not to take over, but to enhance our lives.  Girlfriends to come along side your struggle.  To point to the light when you can no longer lift your head, to sit with you while you rest.

Yup.  God knew what he was doing.  :)

And I am thankful for those beautiful sisters.

WOW!

Its been a busy time.  So much has happened, yet not enough time to be thankful for it.  

My friend just got back from Colombia. She was there for a month.  She adopted 3 children.  They are a sibling group of an 11 year old daughter, a 9 year old son, and a 7  year old daughter.  They had 2 birth daughters who are 11 & 4.  So they went from a family of 4 to a family of 7.

Within a month.  

Yeah.  

I get those phone calls in which it is required from me to say, "Lisa, you don't want to be bald.  You have to stop pulling your hair out."  It is going to be a couple of months of adjustment.  Both emotional, technical, and of course, the language barrier.  But they have no regrets.  Just trying to figure it out.

Lance started courting a young lady.  He is 22 and a half, and he spent much time in prayer before he took this step.  He had actually considered a single life for the Kingdom.  He prayed for over a year about it, and I think he really desired it.   After the initial shock, I came to accept the possibility, and was at peace about it.  I think our Lord had different ideas though. 

She is a lovely child.  And shock of all shocks, she also was homeschooled her whole life.  We really couldn't or wouldn't  say or demand they only court homeschoolers, we just ask them to be in prayer for God's will.  I know friends who think differently.  But in the end, if you give God room to work, its going to be amazing!!  

On another note, having an Apple with photobooth is WAY TOO MUCH FUN.

We have a ton of pictures of the kids like this.   OH we laugh so much!!

And Samuel had biography days the other day.  He did one of his favorite historical figures.  He knows more about this guys then the average high school graduate.  I know, sad but true. This kid is what would be considered hyper-focused.   Funny part:  He started his speech with " My name is Thomas...."  The rest of the kids were suppose to guess who each other was according to the information.  Everyone guessed Robert E. Lee for him.  He was like.... " I said my name is Thomas!!!!"  He was Thomas Jackson.  Also known as Stonewall Jackson.

The little girl next to him is one of his best friends.  Rachel is but 2 months younger then he is, but don't let her peanut size fool you.  She can climb, run, laugh and  build with the best of them.  And mud pies are her specialty.  Last year, he was a little  embarresed to have a girl as one of his 3 best friends, thinking that the other boys were going to laugh and mock him.  He missed her very much, decided that it was not worth it, and got over it.  

They are a panic together.  And her mom is one of those spiritual giants that you want to sit next to all the time, hoping some of her grace and wisdom will pour out on you.   :)

And so, life goes on, the adoption is slowly moving forward, we are still looking for a home church, school is fun.  Most of the time.   and last but not least, ITS GETTING WARMER!!!