The creation of Charity's lair! (Part 1)

So, I finished the wardrobe - see pictures below, and later this week we'll start the task of emptying out the room and begin painting. The colors we're using are Second Blush pink and Wildwood brown. The wood work will NOT be PAINTED!! Someone went through a ton of work to restore it and I'm not about to ruin it! The wall opposite the wardrobe will be painted brown (accent wall) and the other 3 will be pink. I'm thinking about sponge rolling the accent wall, so, we'll see. I'm having a blast just doing this! Once her room is done, then we'll start on Chance's room.

Remodeling Charity's room - or have I gone mental!

Well, today is the first day of my summer vacation and how did I spend it? Sanding, stripping and repainting an antique wardrobe! I must say, I did a pretty decent job on it - I need to post pictures. I added new harware to it, since the original hardware was old wooden knobs - Char picked out some frosted glass ones to match her room. All I have left to do is to reline the shelves inside the wardrobe and it's complete! Now, to go get shelf liner..

My first Mother's day

This Sunday was very special for me. It was my first mother's day! Charity and John went all out - on chocolate that is!! Charity got me a bag of Ghiradelli milk chocolate, Ghiradelli mix of mint, caramel and milk chocolate, perfume and a new make up bag! She also got me a card with her voice recorded in it, singing "Happy Mother's Day"!! I was truly touched! There are so many women that haven't had that experience, and it took me 6 years to get this, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! Charity is doing well, just your average 9 year old! I am looking forward to watching her grow into the wonderful young lady that she will be. I now know what it means to be "truly blessed".

Our family has grown, and will be growing again soon!

Well, a few weeks ago, I posted that we had some news.. well, here it is:

The Tuesday after Easter Sunday, we got "THE CALL" - in the world of adoption means we've been matched!!! Our sw (social worker) called me at school and told us that we were a prospective match for a sibling adoption. I get the call at school, in the middle of teaching 7th grade Social Studies (I have a phone in my classroom). They are brother and sister, she is 9 years old and he is 3 years old. So, we begin planning to meet them for the first time. The original plan was to meet them and have some visits, then by June, they would move in with us. Well inbetween the call and our first visit with Charity, we find out that Charity's family can't keep her and she needed somewhere to go. SO, since we are foster parents, we offer to take her and bypass the visits all together. We have 2 visits (the minimum the state allows) and then on April 24, Charity moved in with us. The past 2 weeks have been very busy and interesting. I have learned many, many things - and have been enjoying time with a young lady that I feel was meant to be with us. I can't wait to meet her brother!

If all goes accordingly, Char and her brother Chance will be legally ours in October!

Charity with Jonah

Charity with Kylie (aka "The Devil Cat")

Playing Tug of War!

I can't wait to share more of our growing family!!!!

We're still here!

Hi everyone!
Well, I let 4 months pass - but we're still here. We've just been nutty crazy. John is busy with his show, "Twelve Angry Jurors" - if you saw "Twelve Angry Men", it's the same thing, just the play version. I'm still going, busy as ever with school. I bought a new bike for Easter - I need to post a picture! And just a teaser here, but John and I have some pretty exciting news, but we'll share in a few weeks! Just want to make sure all is well before we "fess up"!

New Year, old thoughts - is it time to revamp them?

So, we enter another new year. Many of us have such hopeful thoughts for 2009, but are they truly "new ideas" for the new year? Most probably not. We all have our resolutions - to lose weight, quit smoking, save money, etc., but look at where we are not only as individuals, but as a nation. The economy is in the toilet, unemployment is up, businesses are closing due to a bad economy. Cold Stone Creamery opened up a store in Manitowoc in 2005, and they are closing as of today. Granted, Manitowoc has 2 ice cream shoppes, plus Culvers and a new A&W to open soon, it still stinks to see something close.

So, about those old thoughts - of saving money, better health, and such - it's a good thing to do, but maybe we need to improve upon these old thoughts and add to them. For example, living healthier. We all want to lose a little weight or tone up, but the money to join a gym might not be there. Suggestion - find a friend and start a workout routine, join somewhere that is not as expensive, such as the YMCA. We have a family membership and no contract. That's what tends to sink people. If you can't afford a month, then you don't have to pay. Rejoin when you can.

Our economy needs to reevaluate how we function. We've always been a contract world - maybe it's time that we learn to pay as one goes, which could allow us to save money. That's how many companies make their money. They charge you up the ying-yang with contracts and fees, and that can make a person not want to spend money. If companies would cut their cost, then the consumer could use more of their product.

I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on TV, but something has to be done to revitalize this country. I'd hate to see it go the way of the Doo-Doo Bird. If we're not careful, it might.

A Merry, Yet Bittersweet Christmas

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is delightful,
Oh, there's no where else to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow"

Those would be lyrics I would NOT sing around John right now! Wisconsin is looking at a record snow fall in December alone in comparison of entire years past! It's nuts I tell ya! Someone on John's favorite message board's - Troll Lord Games - made a comment, "Someone call Al Gore and tell him, 'never mind'". Well, not exactly. Global Warming does not mean that the world gets hot and muggy. Go back and watch "An Inconvenient Truth". It means that weather patterns are changing severely. More snow, and now freezing rain for tomorrow!

Jennifer had a wonderful Christmas, as did we! On Christmas Eve, we went to 7:00pm Mass, and it was lovely. The Church is so beautiful, and my camera died so I didn't get pictures! I do have pictures of Jennifer that I'll post tomorrow, since I have no batteries for my camera. She looked so cute! We had jambalaya afterwards and then Jennifer went to bed. Low and behold, Santa arrived last night and left Jennifer some wonderful gifts! Hannah Montana and Barbie dolls!!! John gave me Guitar Hero, Food Processor and Sex and the City Movie!! I can't wait to watch it again!! I gave John a WWII fighter pilot game for the Wii, The West Wing Season 5 and the Simpsons Season 11. Needless to say, we were rocking out and flying around this Christmas Day. Jennifer got to talk to her siblings, which really made her day! I know how she misses her family and hopefully that can be resolved in the future. I just pray for her every day. How she copes amazes me. She has rough days, or rough patches throughout the day, but they do get easier and we see such improvements. She'll make it, no matter what.

Yesterday was also very bittersweet, not only for Jennifer, for myself and many others who "knew" one super person. When John and I got married, and before my hysterectomy - we suffered with infertility. Basically, I could get pregnant but not sustain it due to endometriosis. Eventually, the endometriosis attacked and ate up my ovaries, which led to the hysterectomy. But during the time we were trying to have a baby, I joined a message board for women that have infertility issues, mostly to comiserate, but also to support and help out. I've "met" many women over the past 5 years on these message boards, some of which I call good friends and still keep up with today. Some of these women were able to have children and move on, some are still trying and some (like me) have moved on to adoption to make their family dreams come true. One of these women that I met along the way was Emilie Lemmons (ChocolateEmmyCakes to those of us on MSN). Emilie had her 2 beautiful boys in her early 40's, her youngest just 8 months ago. It was during her second pregnancy that she was diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cancer. Emilie, who was also a free lance journalist, wrote articles for magazines, newspapers and had her own blog. Well, after a long and lengthy battle, Emilie passed away in the early morning of Christmas Eve, leaving her husband, Steve and two sons, Daniel and Benjamin behind. I remember her posts of hope, fear, triumph, love and compassion. When my mom died, I remember that she sent me a message of prayer and hope, since my mom had died from a long battle with cancer.

Emilie, I know you are in a place we all long to be. But rest assured, you will be missed. Your advice and input helped so many and you were such a wonderful, loving mother and wife. Your family was so lucky to have you, even for such a short time.

I don't know how long her husband will keep her blog up, but she has them available to purchase as books - she did this in the event that she was to pass away, that her boys could look back on her thoughts and views. The site is http://lemmondrops.blogspot.com/ and the books can be purchased through http://www.blurb.com/, and there is a link on her site. I plan to purchase the 2 books, and hopefully her husband will put 2008 into a book as well. Emilie was a woman of faith and reading her blogs would help boost mine at times - knowing what she's fighting and how she kept her faith amazed me. It still does.

Emilie may be gone from this Earth, but she will not be forgotten. Rest with the angels, Emilie.