Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Can You Say Overwhelmed?

People always laugh when I say I am busy from October to January. It's true, but this year its even more true with Little Guy in Gymnastics. We have practices and meets to go to. Our weeks are full, and our weekends are filling up as well. Throw in birthdays, cookie exchanges, Santa Breakfasts, Christmas, Parties, and whatever else comes up and I am surprised I am still standing when January rolls around. So let's add on top of that, the fact that next June, we are planning starting the adoption process. Seems like it should be simple enough, right? You pick a country, pick a child, and bring them home! Nooooo.... I knew it was an involved process, but until I started researching it, I had no idea how involved. For years I have always wanted to adopt a little girl from China, but as I read more, and pray more about this decision, I find my heart led to Africa. The past month or so, I felt like a slightly deranged person, China! No India! No, Romania? Ethiopia! Wait... Haiti? It is HARD. And I wondered how I would know when I hit the right country. My first inclination, since we put an 8 mo waiting and praying time frame on ourselves before we officially start this journey, was to pray, and work on our finances, pay off bills, and starting an aggressive savings account to put us in a good starting position. That is what my brain wants to do. My heart wants to look, and read, and research children, and their countries, and the laws. I have signed up on websites to receive emails on waiting children. Typically that is 2-3 emails a day. Today, I opened one for a little 4 yr old girl, from the Congo. I am pretty sure she didn't mean to, but she climbed inside my heart. How does that happen from just a photo? Adding planning to adopt to our plate is overwhelming enough, now add in the financial aspect of it! $33,000 That's the amount it will take. I can't say I understand the purpose of a lot of the fees. I feel like it should benefit the child, maybe the orphanage, but instead I feel like the country is using it for its own purposes. I could be wrong though. It makes you think about all those commercials, where they talk about how for $1 a day, or .50c a day you could feed a starving child, or provide fresh water. But it takes $33,000 to give a child a loving forever family and home?? Shouldn't that go to build another building, or dig a well, or make the country a better, cleaner, better fed place? It is overwhelming because I wonder how we will raise that much on our own. And that is when God reminds us, we won't be. He is going to provide for us. Through donations, fundraising, and however else He sees fit to lead us! Pretty awesome if you ask me! Bookie asked me this morning, "So, how far along are we in our adopting a child?" Today I didn't have much of an answer, hopefully that changes very soon! Questions like that? I am overwhelmed, but with love and awe that our children want to open our home to a child who has none, and I want to be overwhelmed like that every day.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Pudding In A Cup

I find it so hard to believe these days that I have a 4th grader! My oldest is going to turn 10 in less than a month, and frankly that makes me feel old. I used to refer to him as Tj, or Train Junkie, but now his interests have turned to other things. Video games, Nerf guns, and reading. The last one makes me really happy, he loves to read, maybe I should start referring to him on here as Bookie! He has always been a little shy, last year was really tough on him as we were going through another deployment. Big surprise right? This year, he has turned it around completely! And I am so proud of him. Bookie has more confidence, I chalk that up to the twice a week when he practices his front kicks and tiger claw! I love to watch him spar, he giggles through the whole thing, and when he gets paired with a girl? Well, lets just say I really don't have to worry about him ever hitting one! Now we have always consider my Little Guy to be the ladies man, he is charming and silly, and really good at getting attention. That has not changed at all. And we have always joked about how Bookie will be the strong, silent type that the girls would all go nuts for because he does not wear his heart on his sleeve. Still the case for him as well, and it is working for him! About a week ago, Bookie came home from school telling me he thought a girl in his class might like him. All kinds of happy faces and an orchestra swelled in my head. I calmly looked at him and said, "What makes you say that?" Apparently another boy was picking on her and she told him to go away, so Noah told her he wouldn't bug her, to which she replied "Oh, I don't mind if you talk to me." Hmmmm..... Then this week, Bookie asked me if he could bring an extra pudding cup the next day in his lunch. Um, no, you don't need to eat 2 cups of pudding! If you're hungry we can pack more fruit, not more pudding! Yeah, my brain isn't always working at full speed these days. It didn't click until the next morning as I was getting the kids up and ready for school. Me: "So, why did you want another pudding in your lunch, did someone ask you for it?" Bookie: "Yeah..." Me: "Was it R?" Ding, Ding, Ding! Guess who went to school with 2 pudding cups?

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Years Later

I thought long and hard about whether I should ever blog here again, I do have another one, but it's a Pinterest food blog. Which much like this one, I abandon on a regular basis. But I have so many thoughts whirling around in this head of mine, I really do need an outlet for them. What prompted this you may ask? Not that I even know who you are, I was really surprised to see this even gets visitors! 3 words. One Tree Hill. Yep, a television show that ended last year, crazy right? For those of you not familiar with it, it aired on the WB/CW and is one of those teen/drama/angst-y shows that for a lot of us are a guilty pleasure. I had never watched it until just recently and over the past few months, I have watched it from beginning to end. Not all at once, although thanks to Netflix, I could have! This show, in all of its silly, crazy problems and solutions, had made me think about what I want. I have an amazing husband, 3 crazy kiddos, and a sweet dog. What else could I want? The last time I think I was here, I owned an Event Planning company. I kind of still do, but since we have moved to middle America and back to the East Coast, I haven't done a lot with it. The website is up, but needs to be updated. I graduated Cosmetology school, really proud of that one. I love doing hair and makeup. I almost opened a bakery. Almost. So, what does all that mean? All 3 of my kiddos, are in school during the day. I work a little bit from home, doing hair and makeup for various clients, and the occasional events. It's perfect because I can make my own schedule. I always say I am an Empire kind of girl. I want to take all of my business ideas and merge them into one. A Salon and cafe, with an attached Event Planning business. And watching One Tree Hill has sparked all those desires in me again. Watching each character realize their dream and bring it into fruition. Probably a lot easier for them since there was a writer spinning their dreams out, and backers, sudden windfalls, and wealthy families written into their story lines. Anyone want to do that for me? I kind of feel a little lost these days. I am happy and blessed. I just need to be busy and contributing. Well, busy with my own things. I am SUPER busy with cleaning the house, when aren't I cleaning? Busy with carting kids to activities, my middle guy is in his first year as a competitive gymnast, my oldest, almost 10, is in Tae Kwon Do, and my girly girl is about to start ice skating. I am one of the Fundraising Directors for my sons gym, and the Chairperson for one of the committees for the PTA. So yeah, busy. Just not busy for me. We are still a military family, that kind of ties my hands on some things. Do I establish my business again, only to have to up and move it in another year or so? I want to for some odd reason, move to a small town, with a great community, small business friendly, where everyone knows everyone. Doesn't that sound appealing? Oh, and in other big news, we are getting ready to start the adoption process! I know, 3 kids and we want to add another one? Adoption has been something I have always wanted to do. And by always, I mean since I was a kid! Children have always been my heart. The thought of being able to help a child who was abandoned, to show them love, and what a family is, that is my dream. Maybe growing up in a church that had a lot of families who fostered and adopted, could have something to do with it I suppose. My kids are so excited, my daughter specifically since we are planning on adopting a girl. Trying to pick a country is intense! So many rules, Japan has one for BMI! I think we have narrowed our choices to Ethiopia, India, or Haiti. But we are open to whatever God has in store for us. And I am so excited about this journey we are preparing for. We plan to put in our application in June 2014, between now and then, we will be praying, seeking God's will on all of this, and to get all our finances in order. Adoption is a great thing, but it is EXPENSIVE! Another reason to really kick my rear into gear with starting my business. I know we can get donations, help from our church, fundraise, and apply for grants. All of which we plan on doing, but I want us to be out of debt before we start, and not go into debt doing it! Look for more posts in the future, I am going to try and post more often. If I can remember to that is!