Thoughts on life

In a way, it's strange that people even read this blog, I am not always sure why I keep it up. My Dad used to ask me to update it all the time, but now he is gone and I don't think about it much. My friend Nancy and I had some time today to sit down and talk about some books we have been reading and it all got me thinking: my life is not always easy, but I have it pretty good here in Lawrenceville, Georgia and I have very little to complain about. I truly believe in God answering my prayers in many different ways: through words coming out of friends' mouths, through songs I hear, through birds tapping on my window, etc. God has been so good to even CARE about me, taking the time and effort to remind me of who is in charge and who gives me all these wonderful things in life.

When I entered 4th grade, I went to a Catholic school for the first time in my life and my 4th grade teacher, Sister Germaine (a large woman with an enormous backside who was nicknamed Sister "German Tank") told us a lot of profound things about God and a few of them have stayed with me for life. One of the most important is this: Your life is like one grain of sand. Think about eternity in this way: place your wet hand on a sandy beach and try to imagine how many grains of sand are on your hand. Now think of all the beaches in all the world and all the deserts and all that sand. Your life is just one grain. If you can obey God for your short, little life, you will be rewarded in heaven for EVER. Even more than a desert full of sand. Trusting in Him is not always easy, having faith that His will is PERFECT in all regards is not always easy to remember, but isn't that the point? If God knows all and He truly loves us, doesn't He mean GOOD for us? When we take the blind leap, God ALWAYS rewards us 100 fold, doesn't He? Can't we remember that and thank Him daily, allowing Him to use us any way He wants in order to do His will and bring Him glory?

I've had a few moments of miraculous "coincidences" in my life (haven't we all? Let's face it) and if anyone out there doesn't believe, I will be praying for you tonight and for the rest of my life because I wish heaven for everyone. Seriously, for Kim Jong Il, Hitler and Stalin. I hope to God you three did repent and gave your life over to Him at the end.

Saint Francis of Assisi (I believe it was) was asked once during a game of pool what he would do if he knew he would die the next day and he replied "I would keep on playing pool." What the heck does this mean, you ask? Hey, if you are not ready today, chances are, you will not be ready tomorrow. I watch a lot of medical shows and I am painfully aware of how quickly life can be taken away from any one of us, tonight, tomorrow or the day after. Have you ever known anyone who has died suddenly? Of course you have. We all have. Does the thought of dying scare the crap out of you? I am curiously looking forward to the day I get to go, but I hope the four of us Fays all get wiped out together, like by one big Mack Truck or Armageddon or .... you get the point. I don't want to leave my girls without a Mom. I pray that if death scares you, maybe you should do something about it right this minute.


Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the most comforting thing in my life. No amount of snuggly sheets, comfy slippers, drugs or a bank account full of money could make me feel better than that.

My favorite memory in the world: I was studying for some class behind Sever Hall, looking across at the Philosophy building which has a quote on the side of the building "What is Man that Though Art Mindful of Him." It took me about 5 years of searching to find out the origin of that quote: Psalm 8. And I discovered it while reading a quote from a Rabbi no less. I went to Psalm 8 and became obsessed with this psalm because I have always felt closest to God when I am listening to good music and seeing all of God's great works in nature. So about 5 years ago (I have mentioned this story before on the blog) my friend Noreen and I were camping, looking at the stars and I mentioned Psalm 8, asking her if she had ever read it. I told her the story and later in the evening after a few beers, she asked if I wanted to read her daily reading with her and she opened the page and shook her head in disbelief. Yep, the scripture she had never in her life remembered reading was right there for us to marvel over. Thank you Lord for all these coincidences.

I am looking forward to seeing my Grandma Egan Evrard again, of hearing my Uncle Bill laugh again, of seeing my hand-holding parents again and especially, meeting Jesus face to face. Wow, I can only imagine.

Nope, I'm not obsessed with death today, just thinking some thoughts about being ready and praying all my family and friends are ready too. I hope all of you are ready, wheather I know you or not. The more, the merrier.

Merry Christmas and Grace's Surgery

Grace is doing remarkably well. She basically had a little nose job. The doctor was able to split her front, top gum away from her lip and bring her nose together, basically giving her a nose job. She did great. Other than having some bloody scabs showing, she is on Tylenol now and eating like a true Evrard. I mean Fay (who are we kidding, the Evrards would squash the Fays in a noodle-eating contest). Here is the latest photo of her new button nose. Oops, she is sitting on the potty in this picture....

In case you have not seen this movie, take the time to learn about this incredible story, about which we don't hear enough in this country. Instead, on the "news" we hear about the latest on Brad and Angelina, but not about important information like this. Unless Charlie Sheen mentions it on the Academy Awards, no one seems to care enough to read what is going on in the world.

I love this video

Look how little these little peanuts were (in China, Grace still with St. Francis hair):

Being pulled all over

Frannie has strep throat, home from school today. My student of 3 years was adopted (yeah!) by a woman in Missouri and I was much sadder to see her go than I anticipated (boo!). Frannie is gearing up for her big appearance in the Nutcracker and Grace is gearing up for her appearance in the O.R. on December 21. It's a GO. I will not talk to her about it until a day or two before so she doesn't get too freaked out. We are meeting our digit friends on Sunday for our annual Christmas picture! So much fun! I love this tradition! We've gone from 4 woman with 6 kids and here we are, four years later, 4 women with 15 kids and one on the way!

Okay, this is a little questionable in taste, but.....

Grace should be having her next surgery a few days before Christmas (around the 20th, we should hear today). Not my idea of a good Christmas gift to her, but in the end, she will be glad we did it. She is going to have the skin clipped under her top lip because it is attached to the gum (like being tongue-tied only Grace is lip-tied) and she is having some cosmetic work done on her lip and nose. Poor little bugger.

My little tiny girl

Happy Birthday to my biggest fan, Frannie. She always says the nicest things to me, how good I look, even when I don't feel quite so lovely. She loves to sign "I love you" to me, like it's a special code just between us. She truly wants to be right beside me at all times of the day and night (oooh boy) and even when I have to run 43 errands on Saturday, she would rather do that with her Mamma then stay at home watching tv. I am thinking about and praying very hard for her Mom and Dad in China, hoping that somehow they know she is okay and maybe, just maybe, we can go there one day and let them know who she is and how gorgeous, funny and smart she has become. Look how tiny she was!!!! She had not yet turned two in this picture.

Big, big news

I know, it's the moment everyone has been waiting for, Frannie lost her front tooth. What a life-altering moment. Ha ha

I wasn't feeling so good yesterday and with Kevin out of town, my friend Nancy came and got the girls for me and kept them for the entire day! You rock Nancy! Today happens to be her birthday too. You rock birthday girl! They had a blast at a farm, as shown above.

Thank you Lisa for your friendship and patience with me yesterday, you know me so well :) Love you my friend :)

Bathroom Done

I need to get some pictures together from our weekend (not done yet) but we had such a good time at our school yard sale (the girls ran around playing for 6 solid hours and my buddy Kim and I sold hot dogs) and next we got to go over to Donna's house for an adoption potluck. Such a blessing to have such good friends and great weather! The girls jumped on the trampoline until it got dark. We met a woman who has two little cuties from China who is facing similar palate difficulties as Grace. We are having ANOTHER consult with the doctors on November 4 and Grace will probably be undergoing a surgery at Christmas-time. More later on what part of the anatomy and when...

Home Improvement/Adoption Blog

Lots of home improvement going on lately: I went out and bought a claw-foot tub for a future master bath renovation and this weekend I worked a lot on our half bath floor. Not completely done, but the trim and the paint should be done this week. Here are some before and during shots.

The surgery saga

Grace is facing 4 separate issues in her mouth and face: shown here, she has a HOLE behind her two front teeth -- not a true fistula in the sense of a palate re-opening, but a new hole formed due in part, (my professional opinion yuck yuck) to her palate being pushed apart too abruptly after last year's surgeries. The plastic surgeon, Dr. Williams at Scottish Rite, is also proposing to do another corrective procedure on her palate, a frenotomy (frenectomy? frenotomy?) (separating her front lip from the gums because hers is completely attached thereby disabling her from puckering her top lip at all) and doing some cosmetic work on her lip. The scariest part of this to me (other than her risking life and limb) is the repair to her hole: Dr. Williams wants to cut a flap in her tongue, sew it to the hole above, wire her teeth together for 3 weeks and, in a follow-up procedure, snipping the two apart. I was nervous about the possibility of the palate rejecting the tongue flap/graph and/or deforming her tongue and screwing up her speech even more.

After asking for everyone to pray and receiving a 2nd opinion from another oral plastic surgeon, we are all feeling a lot more confident in the procedures and our faith in Dr. Williams is renewed. Sorry dude, I love ya, but I need to know God wants this surgery too.

I will post the date of impending surgery once we have any specifics. All the prayers are keeping her brave and funny as always. My favorite Grace story of the last few weeks: we were standing in the bathroom and I was brushing Frannie's hair. I got a whiff of gas and asked "Whose got the toots around here?" Gracie immediately pointed to her head and said "I got toots. I got ear toots." She means ear tubes. She's just so deadpan, it's hysterical.

I don't like BUSY

We do have lots going on. Grace is going to have to endure more surgery. Details are sketchy because although I love her doctor (her plastic surgeon), I have some concerns about his plan for repairing the hole in Grace's mouth (see attractive photo shown here). Donna gave me the idea to apply to Shriner's who will evaluate and treat for free. Grace also needs to have her p-flap evaluated to make sure it's working, which is possibly the cause of her continued speech problems (she sounds so nasal still). Kevin started SEC football work which takes him away for 2 or 3 days every week, not so fun. Well, it may be "fun" for him, but his family misses him. Today I have to take a Saturday class at school for the WHOLE stinkin day. The consignment sale has not been too successful despite working 4 thousand hours preparing for it. So far in the sale I've made $54. The sale is over today and I will know by 3:00 how much I've made. The girls both started ballet classes and I'm supposed to be tiling the half bath tomorrow. Right now it's lumpy concrete and aluminum mesh poking up in spots. By the way, I do love my kids and wouldn't trade them or my dear dogs for the world. Kevin also is a keeper.

Thanks be to GOD

We had the best week with so many obvious blessings -- my Dad's house went on the market on Friday and there was an offer by Monday and a contract by Wednesday -- Grace's birthday was so joyous and truly fun for me. Frannie in particular impressed me with her mature selflessness during her birthday weekend -- celebrating with her rather than express jealousy. We had a great time celebrating our friend Danielle's 5th birthday today too -- I pray that both Grace and Danielle's Moms receive some peace on this day, somehow knowing that their girls are loved and happy. Thanks everyone for the fun times and gifts!

Frannie's First Day of School and Kevin's B-Day

We had a more relaxing few days (getting prepped for school stressed me OUT) and putting Frannie on the bus made me only slightly weepy. She got all gold stars for the week! Meanwhile, Grace and I surprised Kevin at the Braves game with a cupcake and lots of hugs.

What a Great Summer

Too much to say, but not enough time. Due to an aching back these days, I've spent very little time online. Back to school after a GREAT trip up the east coast to visit our beloved family and friends. What a rare treat it is to see about 40 people that you truly love within a few weeks of each other -- like attending a happy wedding only EVERYONE is invited and it lasts 3 weeks! My Weight Watchers Leader would probably not approve of all the beer I drank over the course of this 3 week sojourn, but that's her problem and she's just jealous.

And the Mystery Photo Reveals....

Yep, Grace got a haircut. In case you didn't notice. Not professional.

Frannie and Grace don't know it yet, but we are going camping this weekend up on Lake Lanier. My friend Shelley and her daughter Sophia (above) are joining us! Frannie was just obsessed about camping a month ago when I mentioned camping this summer and she is just going to SQUEAL when she hears the news. Don't tell her until Friday! She will drive me nuts if you do! Susan M, for the first time in my life I'm bringing a blow-up mattress to camp! Am I a whimp or what?! My back aches and I'm getting old, get off my back (ha ha). Ah, peeing outside and drinking beer around a campfire, nothing like it.

Before and After

Okay, so I'm feeling a lot better about life in general. Kids tend to snap you out of it, right? I thought I would show you some before and after photos of Grace. Notice something different?

We are going on a trip to visit some friends and I am not exactly looking forward to the MILES, but visiting all our buddies will be worth every second of the gas money spent and the aching back from driving in the car. The girls are so good about long trips, that part doesn't bother me.

Sometimes I just want to curl up in bed

How is it possible that losing my Dad seemed so much worse than losing my Mom? Is it just that it's so final to have no more parents left? Was it more emotional because it was a military funeral? Did I somehow love my Dad more (or differently) than my Mom? Was it because my Dad seemed so much more "with it" than my poor mentally unstable mom and it was actually a relief to see her go? Am I destined to kill someone off every time I go on a cruise?

Note to my family and to anyone attending the funeral: when you saw the little box of ashes at the funeral, did you picture six guys hoisting that little, two-pound box on their shoulders or was it just me?

Thanks goes out to my friends who all came forward and took care of the girls (Laura and Kerri especially) surrounding all this. I actually left church a tad early yesterday, wanting to cry on Father's Day. I'm so happy for my Dad and for his reunion with his family, especially my Mom, but Father's Day this year was just yucky and despite celebrating my daughter's wonderful Father with them, I wanted to just curl up in bed all day. Kevin is a great, great Dad and an even better husband to me -- he drove almost 400 miles to attend the funeral with me -- a surprise because he needs to work and turned around and drove 400 miles home, alone to get up and go to work early. God bless you my dear.

Yeah, What She Said

I was JUST mentally composing this exact article and Tara beat me to the punch (just kidding, she is WAY too articulate and educated to be compared to little ole me....)
See page 32 for her article on our President B. Hussein and the role he is playing in the start of all hell breaking loose in our world....click back there <--

To digress (a lot) and to zoom into our own tiny corner of the universe, I am getting prepared for Friday's departure and my own separation from my two little ones. Didn't think it would be so hard, but ... PARTY!!! Really, I am not looking forward to seeing their reaction when I tell them and they realize I will be gone six whole days, whoa. Pray for my little ones and for Kevin to have fun with them. Hide the scissors, Kevin, I found a chunk of hair in the trash and Frannie's princess dress has undergone some experimentation with "little girl scissors" as she put it. Egad.

Me and the Pops

I love my Dad, really, but we are an awful lot alike - not always a good thing. He is pretty sick and I want him to be happy, but I would also like to see him live another month or 20. Not sure if that will happen, so please pray for him.

Sorry, I love watching these short clips

Dear Diary

Philipians 4:something. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. No kidding. I used to think I would be a single, fat smoker who died alone with no one to find my decomposing body. My aunt, Sister Marie Therese who is a Sister of St. Joseph (ha ha Tara) used to bother me about my calling to be a sister. I knew that was not in the cards, but I never knew that I would end up so blessed with my job, my family and in better health than I was 15 years ago. I went yesterday to have an ultrasound on my thyroid and ended up having a funny conversation with the tech who was so interested in my job and the kids and my buddy BC who, I believe, has a bright, bright light shining in him, but his poor little body will not allow him to tell us or show us. My girls are doing great -- Frannie and I talked about going camping this summer (big mistake) because she wants to go camping RIGHT NOW. At 8:30 at night. Please Mom? When are we going? What should we bring? Can I bring my Dora sleeping bag? Pretty please Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM, MOM!

I started working on a new vanity for our half bath and now my OCD brain won't let it go. I'm working today, but I just want to be home working on cabinet doors. I love working with wood, thinking of Joseph and Jesus. Hokey, I know.

My Dad is staying in a rehab place to help him recover from his last hospitalizations. I have been talking to Frannie about him and making sure she understands that he is sick and he may be going to live with Jesus one day. I don't want to scare her, but she talks about him a lot and I don't want to confuse her either. I know my Dad will die one day, and I'm not saying it will be soon, but my Dad thinks it might be so I'm preparing Frannie. By the way, my Dad was the first one to get me interested in carpentry and bought me my first drill when I lived in Beacon Hill. Thanks Dad.

Grace has this strange-looking hole in the roof of her mouth, right behind her two front teeth that needs to be blocked up in order for her to stop shooting milk out of her nose. Last week, the hospital pic was just a procedure where they knocked her out for a few minutes to make an impression of her mouth. She will be fitted with this device in the next few weeks and I pray she will miraculously start to sound less nasal when she speaks and no longer shoot STUFF out of her nose.

Six more days of school for me. I love my students and I love my co-workers and all (bless your hearts) but get me outta here. I want to sleep in. I love when the girls toddle downstairs with messy hair and crusty eyes, and we watch cartoons and eat toast with butter and honey in bed. Meeting friends at the park and having cookouts and going up the east coast to visit friends! If the Apocolyse doesn't occur this Saturday, that is what we will be doing.

My friend

I have this friend from Massachusetts, Tara, who is such a strong, strong, wonderfully intelligent Christian, mother and friend who should be famous for her writings. I love how she speaks out when it's not popular, she speaks the truth and most importantly, she does God's will. She reminds me of the analogy Mother Teresa made about her life: she compared herself to a mere pencil that God uses to create His works. She allowed herself to be used by Him without question, as does Tara. See here.

I hope you don't mind that I posted this, Tara. Kevin, the girls and I will be blessed enough to visit Tara and her family this summer and I cannot WAIT to hug this tiny lady. Like Mother Teresa, Tara is elf-sized (I think she's actually a Lephrechaun) and a powerhouse to boot.

Ballet Recital, Anesthesia, Life

Busy Day

Emotional Day

I woke up to read an e-mail about my Dad being in the hospital again with an irregular heartbeat and breathing issues (again). Poor guy just can't stay away from the hospital. When I got to work I read that my AP, Deb's Dad died over the weekend. We all thought it was imminent, but horribly sad nonetheless. About 30 minutes later, an e-mail popped up on my screen from my co-worker and buddy, Eileen marked "Kevin." Eileen and I have a lot in common -- we are both Irish Catholic, we both have Kevins for husbands, we share the same humor and we are both blessed with girls who happen to have been born in China. Her daughter is also a ballet dancer. My dear friend Eileen lost her Kevin this weekend in a tragic accident. He was a mere 51 years old. I wanted so much to jump in my car and speed right over to her, just to wrap my arms around her. But I knew she did not need that right now. She needs to be with her kids. My principal's retirement party was all set for 4:30 and I had signed up to help set up. On my way out the door to get some more soda, I got a call from my dear friend Norma, informing me that our neighbor had fallen over, apparently having a heart attack. His wife was at the hospital near my school, could I go over and sit with Rosemary? I love Rosemary dearly and would have run right over if I could, but I felt like I could not run out of school. Norma called me 30 minutes later to inform me that our dear neighbor Ron had not even lived to make it to the hospital. Dear, dear Ron was just this month retiring from the Army after serving in Iraq and spending so much time away from his family. It's so strange how it happens like this -- so much in one day. Fast forward to the retirement "party," with Kevin and the girls along, I cried to see dear David leaving us, albeit for less stressful and more relaxing times FOR HIM, but with broken hearts for us. My Kevin was grieving for Ron -- I was grieving for Eileen, Ron, Rosemary, the loss of David and worried about my Dad. Give me strength and the right words to say to all these friends, Lord. Protect these families and be with them on this day.

Dear 16-year-old Me

Take a few minutes if you are fair-skinned or love someone who is.

Thirty Days

I am leaving one month from today for my cruise! I can't believe it's actually going to happen. I'm leaving my girls for 5 days? What?@! Can I do it? (YES, we can!) I love my family and all .... but... we are talking Mexico and Grand Cayman! And lots of buffets and conga lines and fun girlfriend time (sing Copa Cabana to yourself and get a mental image of me on the LEDO deck with a colorful drink with a little umbrella sticking out....)

We attended the UMDF fundraiser/walk this weekend in lovely downtown Norcross. (UMDF stands for United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, is that right?) which is a dreadful disease which affects a lot of my students. The day's events helped to raise over $100,000! Frannie was cheering the walkers across the finish line with the Georgia Tech cheerleaders (Doug H eat your heart out) and having a blast visiting with friends and playing lots of fun games. Grace managed to toss her bean bag, not into the target hoola hoop, but across the game into the duck pond game, splashing a lady and making everyone around laugh at her aim. When she got to the ring toss game, she overthrew it again and hit the same lady in the leg, prompting the lady to yell "that little kid has it in for me today!" Grace was giggling, but embarassed :)

I'm sorry to state my unpopular opinion on Osama bin Laden's demise, but I must say I hate to see ANYONE burn in hell. Yes, I lost no one on 9/11/01 and he would probably have strangled me with his bear hands just for holding my Christian beliefs, but I still feel bad for the guy, spending all of eternity without any virgins for company and far worse, without the love of God. If my parents had raised me as a neo-Nazi, chances are, I would have turned out to be a neo-Nazi. I'm blessed to know the TRUTH and feel bad for those who don't.

So much Fun

What a great week. Only thing missing was Kevin (he was in Chicago for the weekend)

So Happy to be So Blessed

I usually get choked up at church on days like today -- I'm feeling so blessed -- not just for my family, but for my faith and our God! Simple as that. I have a new student this week who is dying of a brain tumor and just breaking my heart. There are lots of ways for people to go, but this particular scenario has me so grateful for every stinking minute with my girls and Kevin and friends and our country and our weather and my job and the strength God gave me to lose 36 pounds and chocolate Easter cupcakes and raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens....

Lifetime!

I finally made my lifetime goal with Weight Watchers and here are my actual before and after photos!

The Ultimate Peep Show

The Ultimate Peep Show

I used to be into all sorts of cerebral stuff....

I used to be into all sorts of cerebral stuff like reading grown up books (I started to write the word 'adult' books, but that sounded wrong ...) and watching the news and attending speeches on topical political events.... now I think about show and tell (sea shells), insurance claims and pre-k registration, among other things. I also think about my child going through anesthesia, like this morning, when I couldn't be there for her! I know her Dad was there, taking care of her, but I still want to be there to cradle her and give her kisses all over before they wheel her back -- okay, okay, so it's just an ear tube replacement procedure, but STILL!!


Little Peanut playing peekaboo with Dad

Such a Perfect Day

We had such a good time at the Braves game yesterday! The girls are getting older and not quite as needy at the games so I could actually watch the game itself. If you want to find bargain tickets to ANYTHING, go to wwww.stubhub.com. We got last-minute tickets for $3.95! In total, we paid $21 for our tickets and the Braves website wanted us to pay $27 each for crappy seats.

Such sweet Turner Field people let us into the Golden Moon Level (thanks Jamie) and the usher let us sit next to Kevin (thanks Kathy) and Noreen joined us for a beer too! The weather was actually chilly, a far cry from two years ago when Frannie and I both almost upchucked from the heat. It was a double header and the girls were starting to tire out so I packed them up during the 9th and Grace started crying, she didn't want to leave her Dad OR MISS THE GAME. She is so related to me. PS She now asks to watch the "blood show" because she also likes emergency room shows. She pulled up her little mini Victorian chair in front of the tv and sat transfixed while they shoved some guy's brains back into his head, I could weep with pride.

Making the most of Spring Break

We went to church yesterday early, out to our favorite Eagle's Landing for breakfast, shopping, to the park, home for nap, to the carnival for a few fun rides (thanks Dawn) and Kevin came home for dinner, yippee!!

It's Always Nice to Be Home

We had a very, very good time in Florida (I don't always say that), but my ailing father and I got to spend some good time together, discussing the meaning of life and how everyone would be so much better off if they would only follow OUR advice and be more like US. Ha ha. My Dad really misses my Mom and is not too sad about the prospect of leaving this Earth to be with her and Jesus. I'm so blessed to have two parents with such strong faith - neither one ever had any doubt (in the slightest) about where they will spend eternity, thanks be to GOD.

We stayed with my cousin Denise and her very thoughtful family. We were treated like royalty! We got to spend some time with my buddy Laura (my friend for 33 years now) and the girls are still covered in tattoos, thanks LaLa (ha ha).

I'm so thankful for my husband, my girls and all my blessings. I wonder what I've ever done to deserve such a rich life. All the hugging and giggling and love we get to share blows me away sometimes. Grace really loves to look at pictures of Jesus and studies him hanging on the cross, so innocently saying things like "his head hurts" (oy, you're not kidding) or she points to her own hand and says "ouch." I bought them a book of saints for girls and Grace went immediately to the page on St. Terese and squealed "Jesus!" pointing to the crucifix she is holding on the page. When she leaves church she always waves and says "Bye Jesus!" Both of my girls teach me a lot.

Today is a snow day. Nah, it's not snowing now, but I'm at work (working real hard, as you can tell), making up for the week of the snow storm we had in January. Our principal gave us the option of making it up as we want, which was awfully nice. He is retiring in May and I for one am going to be sad to see him go. See pic here


We do have a wonderful replacement in Sara Clifford, also an adoptive Mom, who knows and loves our students like David. Bittersweet. Only 7 more weeks of school (then I get to cruise on Carnival .....yeah! Ooops, I mean, I'm going to miss my husband and girls horribly...)

Spring Break

We are counting down the moments to departure -- we leave for St. Augustine on Saturday morning to stay with Cousin Denise and visit friends and family. I lived in St. Augustine from 1978 to 1988 and sometimes I feel like a local, but my buddies who still live there sometimes unknowingly remind me I've been gone for over 20 years! I was a mere 22 when I left home for Boston and I LOVE St. Augustine now (when it's not stifling hot). I love seeing the old girlfriends and spending time with my sister in her bead shop, eating at the best seafood restaurant in the world, Schooners and watching my crazy girls run around my Dad's backyard, feeding the ducks in the pond. I asked Frannie about going to St. Augustine the other day and she said "We love Papa (my Dad), he loves me soooo much! AND he likes Ariel too" He put The Little Mermaid on his tv once for her and she never forgot that.


Grace is in heaven with her favorite teacher, Miss Stephanie.

We can't wait to meet my friend's new daughter, Elise. Isn't she just gorgeous! They are still in China, working on paperwork and bonding. We are praying for you Donna!

Here's His Mug Shot

Here's the guilty culprit to the vandalism charges. Looks like a hooligan, doesn't he?

I've Got to Go With my Gut

My WISE friend Lisa told me to always go with my gut and that is what I had to do this week. Grace has been suffering from continual strep infections and very high fevers so juggling that and work has not been easy for either one of us. The teacher at Grace's school who has been preparing the kids for Pre-K (like a Nazi if you ask me) gave us a bit of grief about how much school Grace has missed (yes, folks, she is 3 and a half and not really in school yet) so after some deliberation, Kevin and I both agreed that Grace needs to be with the one who truly loves her and to heck with Pre-K prep, we held her "back" and asked for her to be moved back to the baby class with her (and my) favorite, Miss Stephanie! Pictures to come. She hugs Grace all day long and looks out for our little Peanut like a Mom would. Clancy is working off his repair job by taking a job at a rock and gravel plant. He has to repay the drywall and the labor and owes us $267.64. Plus he had to buy a hard hat. Anyone see the Youtube movie with the guilty dog Denver? Priceless

Five Kids?

My buddy Donna (seen here on left) is leaving tomorrow for China for child #5 (lucky number 5), can you believe it?@^&@ She's getting Elise, who will join her family while her two brothers wait here with Grandma. Doesn't it make you want to go get a baby from China?? (I've prayed about it and I'm pretty sure God told me FINISHED!) The girls are outside watering the new azaleas with Kevin, enjoying the gorgeous weather while I count the days to spring break.
Wish I had taken a picture of this, but the strangest thing happened last night. Frannie told me something like "Clancy wrecked the wall" and I had no idea what that meant, but she showed me a corner of her room where a hole had been made right through the drywall into our unfinished space! Shreds and chunks and insulation were everywhere. Nearest we could figure, the dog must have heard a squirrel and was trying to dig to get him, either that or there is a secret treasure back there that is emitting a sound only a dog can hear....

Yesterday was my 11th anniversary

Only by the GRACE OF GOD was I able to quit smoking, 11 years ago yesterday. I prayed and prayed and asked all my friends and every saint that ever lived to pray for me so I could kick this evil habit and it worked. Thanks God for showing mercy on me to help me do it. If I still smoked, I think I'd be paying $5? Is that right? For a pack per day? Wow, that's incredible. We used to drive 20 miles to Idaho from Spokane to pay something like $15 for a carton of generics.

Some days, like during this week in particular, the hardest thing you will do is to stop yourself from hitting your child. Seems like we have had a particularly rough week and on more than one occasion I have had to put the girls in their room and walk away for fear of my temper. Just walk away and pray. It's only nail polish on the carpet, it's not the end of the world. My Mom said to me once, which truly has helped me (when referring to Casey at 3 years old), "She is far more important to me than anything she can wreck in my house." Wow, Mom, that was pretty wise. The girls flooding the bathroom this week or stubborn Grace telling me NO! three hundred times or shampoo being intentionally dumped is not really that important. Is it attention they are after? I'm too stubborn a Mom to give into THAT ole trick. I know the ABCs of behaviorism. Let their memories of this week please be the Gators winning the SEC championship and not their Mom loudly screaming things like "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME CRAZY?!!!!!!" The Lord is my shephard....

Frannie's First Formal

Frannie's teacher, Miss Alexia, is so creative with the kids. They had a Valentine's dance with formal dancing and some line dancing too. Her dancing lessons are paying off BIG TIME :)

Climbing a Mountain

The girls and I climbed Stone Mountain yesterday (Grace rode on my back) and YES, I am out of shape. Can't believe Grace weighs 30 pounds (she felt like 50). Frannie did GREAT! We will have to plan some more real hikes!