Umm...ok, that was FAR from boring......I *wish* it had been, though!

We have our house on the market, as you may know. We can have as little as one hour notice before showings (which has happened only once, thank goodness!)


Every time I get a text, there's a moment of excitement/dread before I check it. Yes, I'm thrilled for every showing, but depending on how soon the showing is requested, or how messy the house is, there's often stress associated w/ hearing those texts notifications!


Imagine my emotions Tuesday night, when after finishing up at ballet clear across town, as we were all buckling into the van, & I heard “THE RING.” I knew the house wasn't "show ready," so I was relieved to discover that the request was for Wed. morning.


We often spend the couple of hours we need to be out of the house at my sister's home, since she lives less than 5 minutes away. She worked Wed., but I knew she wouldn't care if we spent the time there. After cleaning & staging the house, we loaded up (Ana's school work included-we homeschool, in case you forgot) & made our way over. Little did I suspect how quickly my plans would change.


All the kids tore in the house, intent on each individual agenda. Ruth & Nat love her back yard, & Ana knew school work lay in her future. I brought up the rear, w/ Ana's school books in tow.


I rounded the corner, & to my horror, there in the middle of her kitchen floor, I spotted a MOUSE! I hate mice.

Really & truly HATE mice.

I tried to scare it back into it's hiding place, but when I stomped the floor, it barely moved (but it moved enough I knew it was still among the land of the living!) Uggg.


I encouraged R & N quickly out the backdoor, but of course, they had to check out the mouse.


Meanwhile, I was beginning to feel a bit sick to my stomach.


(I have to say, I am not so averse to the critters-if they would only STAY in THEIR natural habitat-& not intrude on mine!)


After the two "littles" were safely ensconced in the backyard, Ana & I decided we HAD to do something about that THING. Shannon (my sister) had been trying for at least a month to get rid of them!


We concluded he wasn't going anywhere, since we had tried scaring him multiple times, & he'd barely moved.


After searching her house & garage, the best we could come up w/ was a flower pot w/ very tiny holes. Capturing it seemed to be the only option, since we couldn't come up w/ a way to get rid of it.


I moved in on my target, Ana cheering me on. (& holding the BIG rock we were placing on top).


In my haste to get it over him, I bumped his tail! & a tiny little “squeak” came out. Again, I say, “Uggg…”


But, the second attempt was successful, & Ana quickly plunked the rock down on top.


& I gave a HUGE sigh of relief.


BUT, I didn’t want to stay there, w/ a tiny trapped rodent that might continue to squeak.


Anyone understand my hesitation? I KNOW some of you have to agree!


So, we loaded everyone & all our stuff back in the van.


As I was backing out of the driveway (feeling really bad that my sister w/ no hubby would have to come home to this!), I sighted-SALVATION!!

In the form of a man working on the flooded house next door!


I walked up behind him & explained the dilemma…..& thankfully, he agreed to get rid of the mouse for me!!! WHAT a RELIEF!!


He & I entered the “danger zone”-otherwise known as “MY SISTER’S KITCHEN.” He, w/ gloves & a crowbar.


After he said that HIS wife would have run screaming from the house. But, no, not me!! (At least, not *this* time!)


He lifted the pot to examine the “monster” & asked me to open the back door. He scooted the whole contraption over to the door, lifted the lid & flipped the mouse out of the door w/ his crowbar.


Then, he slid the crowbar under the mouse & flung it all the way across the yard-into the neighbor’s!!


He chuckled & said, “Now, it can DIE-over there!”


As we left the house, I told him he had done all his good deeds for about a month!


& we left…..(no, I couldn’t stay in the house…..I was too distraught!)


But, the best part of the whole thing was the many times Ana said, “Mom, what’s the big deal? It’s only a MOUSE!!”
WHAT?!? How, I ask you, did THAT child come from MY body!?!

The Story of A Mother's Folly....,.

Let’s see…..how should I begin this post.

It’s really very embarrassing.

But, in the interest of being transparent (& in the interest of my kids, who will hopefully one day read this digital scrapbook!), I thought I should reveal what happened to me this afternoon!

My children have lately been terrorized by a few pests in our backyard.

(Yes, snakes are one of those things, but, thankfully, this story has NOTHING to do with those messengers of Satan!)

In this case, my precious children are being dive bombed by wasps. So far, we have escaped any stings, but, the way these things circle & hover by your head is down-right scary!!

So, this afternoon-I finally had HAD it!!!

I successfully used the can of RAID on one nest, & decided it was time to tackle the one that was up high at the top of the chimney. (MISTAKE #1)

(The other day, the wind had been too high to actually hit the nest. It kept blowing the poison away before it could reach the nest-which was at least 15 ft in the air!)

(We will ignore the fact that I COULD have just called TERMINEX-since we have an account with them. “I can handle a simple wasp nest. I am WOMAN. Hear me roar.” -just kidding-last time I think something like that!)

Well, wouldn’t you know it-the wind began to pick up as soon as I decided to spray at that nest again!!!

I thought, “All I need is just a few extra feet. Maybe if I stand on one of the patio chairs…….?!? No, better not try that. My foot might go through the lattice work seat.” (my one smart thought of the afternoon.)

“Maybe if I turn this RUBBERMAID over & stand on it?!?” (MISTAKE #2)

You guessed it. My leg split through the bottom & I ended up with scratches all up & down that leg.

But, did I learn my lesson? NOPE. Not yet, it seemed.

Being the brilliant blond that I am……the next thought I had was,

“How about that Littl@ Tyk@s slide? Bet that would be perfect!”

(You know where this is going, right?)

Moving it over there, I did have a passing thought, “Maybe I should just call TTERMINEX……nah. I can do this! I have got to KILL THE WASPS that are terrorizing MY CHILDREN!!!”

After placing the slide carefully on the slight hill, & testing my weight gingerly, I stepped with both feet on the top of this little, plastic slide…..& knew almost instantly that I had just committed-(MISTAKE #3)-& my last one.

The slide began a slow tilt to the back-while I (with nothing to grab but the wall of the house) began a slow tilt to the front.

It was slow enough that I had two thoughts before I hit the ground,

“THIS is gonna hurt.” (It did-more on that in just a bit)
&
“I hope there are no neighbors watching this inglorious feat!” (there weren’t-that I know of!)

I landed on my hands & knees-thankfully-but there was a sharp, almost instantaneous PAIN in my other foot (the one that HADN’T just gone through the Rubbermaid).

I stood up & felt sick to my stomach with the pain.

& the blood I saw gushing from the bottom of my foot! (seems my foot landed on a rather sharp stick....)

But, the moral of the story is:

ALWAYS CALL TERMINEX IF YOU CAN!!!

(I was gushing so much blood & I felt so sick to my stomach that I called my RN sister to PLEASE come rescue me & help me clean it out. She did, & she thinks I may have punctured a small blood vessel-which would explain all the blood & pain. I now have a bandage & a HUGE bruise on the bottom of my foot-guess I won’t be at the gym for a few days! Ha!)

Hope you get a chuckle out of this-sure didn’t take me long to be laughing at myself!!!



(I just have one question, "If 'Third Time's a CHARM'......what do THREE MISTAKES EQUAL?!?)

(Please ignore my pathetic pedicure!!!)

Bedlam……errr….uummm I guess I mean BEDTIME…

It goes something like this at our house:

Along about 7pm, Mommy has a realization… “It’s been a loooooong time since the kiddos got up from their ‘rest-time.’”

(Yes, we are making a transition w/ both of the “littles” out of a true “nap-time.”)

So…..here is what a typical evening might look like in our house after my awareness dawns:

“Ruth & Nat-I’m setting the timer! Anyone who has their jammies on & their teeth brushed gets a story before bed!”

This usually works-usually. But, every once in a while, either one or the other will take a side trip to run careening through the Living Room with a stroller & a doll-baby dangerously close to tumbling headlong on the floor. Or perhaps a better idea that night might be to stop & eat an appealing looking crumb off the floor on the way to the bedroom. Any number of things are good for a distraction!

Ana, meanwhile, being the mature 9 year-old that she is, has gotten herself ready for bed & brushed her teeth-with little or no direction from either parent. (unless she gets distracted by the latest book she’s reading).

If things go well (& no-one has to go to bed without a story), then Nat & Ruth each pick a book from the box-without fighting over the books-or, you guessed it-to bed with no story! (I’m so mean! wink!)

After the stories, though, things really get interesting! (while I am trying to read a “big-girl” book to Ana).

Kisses, hugs, prayer-time with Dad, “tish-tish…..poom-pooms” (don’t ask-I couldn’t explain it even if I tried!!!)

Ruth-potty (sounds simple, right?). Not around here.
Me: “Ruth, how long are you going to be washing your hands?”
R: “Mommy, I am putting water in the soap container for you!”
Me: Thinking: HUH!?!?

R: “Well, the soap is running out!”
Me: “I’ll take care of it in the morning. GO TO BED! NOW!!!”
R: “Ok, Mommy.”

A few minutes later, after going to check on her…..you guessed it-usually NOT in bed yet. Instead, she has chosen then to pick up all the trash on her bedroom floor…..or to organize all her stuffed animals……or she is headed back upstairs ‘cause we forgot her drink. Sigh…..

Then, we have Nat….

Same song-different verse…..employ any/all stall tactics he can think of to avoid going to bed-including the afore-mentioned ones Ruthie likes-the drink, the stuffed animals…..

He also likes to wait a while-then get out of bed, turn on his light & start playing. How’s that for subtle? “Gee….I bet Mom & Dad will NEVER notice that!!” Kids are so funny!

But, tonight he decided to try something new.

He took on “organizing” Daddy’s mail for him.

Yep.

He even managed to somehow get it in his room unnoticed–until the crackling noise of envelopes alerted his unaware parents.
Wish I had a picture…..it was pretty funny.
Boy, was he mad that his little play-time got interrupted!!

In our house-even bedtime isn’t a bore!!! How about you?

PS….I just went to check on the little hoodlum (a person who engages in crime-in this case, against Daddy's mail!) right now…..& this is what I found:











PPS....this post took a bit longer than 30 minutes, because, you guessed it-the bedtime bedlams are getting to us!!

In Honor of April Fools........ ;)

Guess which of the following is true:

1. A trip to Disney for the Dillons!!
2. A new arrival for the Dillons?!?
3. A job change for one of the Dillon parents??!
4. A move for the Dillons?!
5. Ana is going to a hairstyle competition!

What do you think?

Well, This Was A Delightful Discovery!!!

You know how it is……

When you started out on your parenting venture, you were sure that you would be the kindest, most organized, devoted parent.

Although I still try to be kind, & devoted…..

I have lost all hope of being organized!

I can’t tell you the number of times we have missed appointments, forgotten to take medicine, left special blankets places, & lost shoes, toys, books or clothing. (sometimes all in one day! Ha!)

*Please tell me some of you can relate-or else I might just fall down in a heap & cry!*

But, a few weeks ago, when I went on a weekend get-a-way with my honey (love you, Dear-I know you read this every day!)…….

& I astonished myself by discovering (wonder of wonders)

I do, in fact, still have most of my brain cells intact!

In the course of the weekend, I:

~Kept the bathroom counter organized & free of stray hair pretties flung down by little hands & free of goobery, toothpaste covered toothbrushes.
~Found it easy to keep clothes hung up & put away.
~Never lost my room key.
~Always made it out the door with everything I needed-(I never got that *feeling*-you know that awful feeling the split second after the heavy hotel door slams shut, just barely missing your 2 year-olds fingers!-“doggonit! I forgot to grab the diaper bag!”)

In the interest of full disclosure-yes, these things all DO happen just about every time I travel-but, without the kids-I suddenly seem to have gotten my brain back!

(Breathing a huge sigh of relief that one day, I might not be such a flake…..signing off for the night in 25 minutes for Steady Mom’s 30 Minutes or less blogger challenge!)

Blast from the Past....

(From a blog entry-with pics!!!!-all the way back in the first month of my venture into the blogosphere!)
This was very funny, in a twisted sort of way:

Yesterday morning, I asked Ana to clean up her breakfast spot, like I always do. She broke down in tears, crying that,"I always have to do ALL the work around here."

She first informed me that she wished she was a princess or a queen so that she wouldn't have to work.

But the funniest thing was what she asked next, tears still STREAMING down her face. She asked, "Are we too poor to have a servant? Is that why we don't have one?"

Oh, it was all I could do to hold back the laughter!! :-)



We had a long chat after that about how important work is to the heart of God. Did you know that work is mentioned in the Bible 717 times? God prepared good works for us to do before the foundation of the world.


Here are some of the verses we talked about:

Eph. 2:8-10:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

She saw that even though we are not saved by works (according to these verses), doing good works is still very important to the heart of God. And, yes, cleaning up after yourself (w/ a good attitude) is a good work.

Anyway, life soon returned to normal, w/out any more complaints on how hard she has to work. As if I really am a slave driver :-). (& you all should be proud of me-I didn't mention once how much work I do EVERY DAY!!)

Hope this gives you the chuckle it gave us!!

Here is a picture of the princess-wanna-be! (Don't we all want to be princesses? )


Even though she obviously needs a little work on applying her make-up, she is still beautiful, don't you think? I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Love to all!

Kim

My Sins Come Back to Haunt Me…….

Or, “what goes around, comes around……”

When I was a child, I tried some bizarre things to hide food I didn’t want to eat. I think I figured out pretty fast that hiding it under the lip of the plate didn’t work, so I resorted to much more elaborate means.

(My mom, bless her heart, made us eat EVERYTHING on our plates-which today , has made us non-picky adults, but as children made us try all sorts of things to got rid of the food.)

HOWEVER, I made the mistake of telling one of these stories in the presence of my children. (Don’t repeat my mistake, I tell you!)

Last night, the results of this mistake were made clearly evident when I felt something fall on my knee, while it was scooted up under the table, during family dinner-time.

A crispy, half-eaten peanut-butter & jelly sandwich landed unceremoniously on the floor-& promptly broke in half.

The offending party (who shall remain nameless to protect their identity) looked suspiciously innocent (you know that look-“Who, me?” They don’t even need to say anything!)

I pulled the weeks-old sandwich up on to the table, & reached my hand under the table to see what else might have been shoved in the hole where a table leaf should reside (but doesn’t in our table’s case-leaving the space wide open to all manner of possibilities, I guess! Yuck!)

You guessed it! Another sandwich! Or two or three more.

Finally, Dave (my hubby) looked at her (yes, it was one of the girls-Natty is still in a booster & buckled in at mealtimes!) & said, “You get under the table & pull out every piece of food stashed under there!”

This was the pile that finally appeared……After a while of looking at how HUGE the pile was, Dave & I both began to laugh. Imagine how long she must have been doing this!

There is food I recognize from a few months ago, at least!

Yes, this little “food-hiding party” had reached an inglorious end. & I believe the offending child has been sufficiently warned against such activities in the future!

That’s what I get for not being careful who hears my stories!!! (yes, by now I’m sure you have guessed-she learned this stunt from me, her dear mother!)

Have your kids tried things like this? I'm pretty sure some of them have!

This post was created in 25 minutes for Steady Mom's 30 Minutes or Less blog challenge.

Update (or today's visit to the pediatrician)

Another busy day……..

What’s new, right? (Ha!)

We home school & have three kids.

I knew it would be unwise to take all three kids to the dr today. Why, you ask?

I attempted it before……..& hearing ANYTHING the doc said over the screaming

(from my dear second child) was IMPOSSIBLE.

They look remarkably similar, don’t they?

~~~~Just as an aside, this was taken after I took lip gloss away from her. I discovered her w/ the wand hanging out of her mouth, & the tube in her hand, the evidence of her sampling all over her face. I’m such a mean mom, I took it away from her, took a picture of her crying, & posted it on my blog for all to see! Hee!!! Hee!!! I did love on her a bunch, until the tears were gone, just in case you wondered!~~~~~

So, last night, I put in a quick call for a babysitter for said second child,

since she wasn’t one of the lucky ones scheduled to be seen!


After dropping her off……

Driving the short distance from there to the office……

Hoofing it through the parking lot w/ 7 year old carrying diaper bag, mom lugging purse, 15 lbs of baby & 5 lbs of car seat (whoever said that was a LIGHT WEIGHT car seat never tried it like a mom does every day, with a BABY actually in it, did they now?????),

& Arriving breathlessly on the third floor…….

I discover, to my delight, that we are actually 20 MINUTES EARLY for our appointment!!!

This NEVER happens to me, & wouldn’t you know, the Doctor was 15 minutes late to our appointments (one for Ana & one for Natty)

************************************************

The big news of the morning was:

For the first time EVER:

Ana decided on her own she wanted the last of her booster shots & DID NOT CRY!!!!!!

Once more, we are reminded-she is growing up!!!

Everything else looks great for this newly 7 year old.

She is in the 97th percentile on height (no surprise there!) & the 75th percentile on weight.

***********************************************************

This was Natty’s initial evaluation after coming home.

We had several minor concerns going into this appointment, keeping in mind that he is 8 months old, & was born pre-maturely at 34 weeks:

1. Until just recently, he couldn’t hold up his head very well.

2. He does not tolerate being on his tummy.

3. He can’t sit up at all.

4. He doesn’t cuddle much, which may not really be a problem, but w/ all the other issues, we wanted to address it.

5. He has no interest in solid foods yet, & chokes easily on his bottle.

The Doctor agreed that we should have him seen by an Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, & a Speech Therapist.

The Speech Therapist puzzled me at first.

But, I learned something new today, because the Doc. Said that speech is related to the tongue movements a baby makes while eating.

Interesting……& I’m sure it’s true…..just never occurred to me..

Anyway, soon, those appointments will be scheduled, & I’m sure everything will be fine, but it will just relieve us to know if we are on the right path or not.

Although, my mama’s instinct says we are-w/ the stuff we are already trying……

And who can argue w/ a mama’s instinct, right? (Wink!)

……& I’m off to bed.

Have started back at the gym…..felt good when I was DONE this morning!

The Answer

So many good guesses. (love, kisses)


And so many “bad” guesses…

I’m so glad it wasn’t, say….


Formula…..

Or….

Salt & pepper


But….while the “secret ingredient” was really quite tolerable…..

The moment of DREAD (while the answer was forthcoming) was far from tolerable.

I thought her answer might make me feel like loosing my supper.

But…..

It was only……orange juice, fresh squeezed into the milk….

Whew!!!

Tangible relief!



(now, please don’t anyone ask me how the juice was squeezed…..

I’m not sure I can handle her answer! Ha! Ha!!)

Love, shining out of a childs eyes, makes it all worthwhile, doesn’t it!

Thanks for all the guesses!

Ana really enjoyed the game!

"Who Died & Made You God?"

Ruth & Ana w/ my sweet cousin Petrina, who spent Friday afternoon w/ us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you are wondering where I have been the last few days, I have been struggling to put something into words that is almost impossible for me to see in print.

God is allowing an adoption delay. There. I have said it.

There is no easy way to explain this-as everything about international adoption is complicated.

Basically, Guatemala is playing hard ball & we are getting hit in the head w/ it.

Our case worker is about 80% sure that it should only delay us until maybe the end of January to exit PGN.

However, there is that 20% of her that thinks we could be delayed by 3-4 months.

While this is certainly not the end of the world, it is a huge disappointment……..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But, God gave me a HUGE glimpse of Himself today-just when I needed it most.

At (of all places) my nail appointment.

The next client my nail tech was servicing , was a woman she has wanted me to meet for a long time, due to some other things going on in our life right now. She has insight into a possible upcoming change in our lives.

Sorry to be a bit cryptic here, but she is the wife of someone well-known & I think I need to respect her privacy.

Anyway, she asked me how I felt about this possible change……& I told her I was pretty stressed over it.

She looks me directly in the eye…..& says, “Are you a Christian woman?”

I nodded….cause I was too overwhelmed to speak.

Keep in mind……

1. I have known about Natty’s case for a few days now (which is just slightly stressful to us)

2.. I am talking w/ the wife of a fairly well-known man.

3. This other possible change is what I was talking w/ her about & it has really been a source of stress as well.

She then says, “You need to let it go. I can tell you’re really worked up over this.

WHO DIED & MADE YOU GOD?”

I nearly fell over! It was a funny way of putting it, but exactly what I needed to be asked.

Basically, she was telling me I need to let go & let God be God.

She had NO IDEA about the adoption stress we are going through, but I heard God speak to me heart in BOTH areas!


But, then, (& this is where my story gets almost funny) she quoted:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:1 & 27

Right there in the salon, the fountain was opened & the tears began to fall!!!! (did you hear me???? I said, "IN THE SALON!!"-in front of like 10 other people-who all got strangely quiet at this point! )

But, she proceeded to go even further!!!!

She says…..”Oh, sweetie. God wants you to have peace. Come here. I’m going to pray for you right now!”

This woman…..who if I told you her name, most of you would at least recognize, placed her hand on my heart, & spoke to her Heavenly Father & mine……like this,


“Oh, Father this dear child of Yours needs Your peace RIGHT NOW, & I am asking You to give it to her. She is trying to be all that You want her to be-a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend…..Please giver her Your peace as she tries so hard to do the things you have given her to do. Her heart is racing, Lord (keep in mind her hand was on my heart!!!) We are asking you in Your powerful name to bless her & give her comfort in her soul.

Please keep her husband & their daughter safe as they ski today & drive back. Please bless her husband for wanting to spend time w/ their daughter.”

She prayed a few other things, too…..but I’m just so blown away by the whole experience-I can’t remember them!

She took her hand off my heart & reminded me that I need to let go. And she said she would continue to pray for me. Me.....just Kim Dillon (& she probably doesn't even know my name-but she's still gonna pray).


WOW!!! That's the only word I have-just WOW!!!

The emotions/thoughts running through my head at this point:

~I can’t believe God allowed something so cool!
~I CAN believe God allowed something so cool! (& yes, they were BOTH going through my head at the same time)
~I’m so embarrassed I’m crying in front of all these people!
~It is so COOL that she is praying OUT LOUD for me in front of all these people!

Do you ever feel God is LITERALLY pulling your eyes up to Him & saying, “Look, My child. I do care & know & see!”

He spoke directly to me today! Thank You , Lord.



By the way, at this point, when we hear any new info on the adoption, you all will be the first to know……but you can assume things haven’t changed (it’s gonna be a while) unless you hear other wise!

(Tune back in tomorrow-Ana & Dave went skiing today!)

A Christmas (cell phone) Story

First, PLEASE make sure you scroll down, because I posted 3 NEW POSTS today!!

In February, Dave & I exchanged our old cell phones for new ones. We had reached the end of the 2 year agreement, & they would give us free new ones.

I broke out of my comfort zone (being more of a black/grey color girl) & came home w/ a RED, camera phone.

A few months ago, the new RED phone (which, by then, I loved) took a rather unfortunate tumble into a pool of water!

I scooped it up as quickly as I could, but of course it was fried!

I kept the phone, & over the next few months, tried several times to turn it on & heard a horrid fuzzy noise every time…

We switched the service back to my old phone, which after two years of use, was a little worse for the wear.

Fast forward to yesterday, when on the phone w/ my sister, the phone split in two in my hands!

Have you ever had something like that happen to you??? Shocked me!


The rest of the story……

Thinking it might be a NO PHONE next year & half (& as anyone who knows me, knows-this cannot happen to me) I started thinking desperately about how to remedy this horrid new development!

Could I Gorilla Glue it?

No-the way it was broken, the phone would have never opened again!

I had a small amount of money in my personal savings account-should I use it to buy a new phone?

Nope, not exactly what I had planned to spend my money on.

At this point, I am RACKING my brain to try to come up w/ a way I won’t have to go cell-phone-less!

The same moment in time, Dave & I realized, “Wait, before we do any thing drastic, we should just check the old phone, on the OUTSIDE chance it MIGHT work!”

And……you’ll never believe it!

IT WORKS AGAIN!!! YEAH!!!

So, the old phone is back in storage & my new RED phone, (which, did I mention, I LOVE?), is back in it’s cell phone case!

So, Merry Christmas to me!!! I have my new/old cell phone back!!!

Oh, my heavens!!! How WILL I eat that????

What do you do when your child makes supper for you?

Thank her & eat it, right????


Well, what if it is CORN & CHOCOLATE ICING??????

Yes, that was Ana’s masterful attempt at being Rachel Ray tonight…..

Ugggg…..The first bite I took was, ….well….let’s just say…..DISTATEFUL!!!!


These experiences are ones I’m sure older parents look back on fondly…..I know I have heard stories of my childhood cooking experiments.

Meanwhile, I am beginning to wonder if I will survive this adventure of parenting…..(just kidding…..well, maybe not )

I know many of you, my blog readers, have had had similar experiences, so just for you, here are the pics!!!


Yumm, yumm!!!

BLEACH, part #2

Ok......after cleaning up what I could of the laundry room last night.....& examining the laundry for bleach spots, I thought we were OK.

but......as it turns out......there were a *bunch* of ruined clothes...

How do I keep from being FRUSTRATED????

Do you ever LOOSE IT when these types of things happen?


How can I make us feel better about this whole situation????

.....she feels bad, & I am barely holding back my frustration!!!!

BLEACH, or the story of a child's disaster

But, first, the pictures you all come to my blog to see. :-)

Ruth's first view of the Christmas Tree.

I love this age.....the wonder in her eyes at everything new.
Decking the tree.
The pregnant ballerina????? Don't ask....Heee!! Heee!!!
Leaning how to make snow flakes.


Make your own grape juice.....oh, the joys of home schooling!!




Ruth says......"LOOK!!! I can take off my own diaper!!! Mommy doesn't even have to help me!!!I am so pleased w/ myself!!!"
By the way, these are the censored photos! :)


And, finally, sunset, out our bedroom window yesterday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, Ruth is snuggled in for the night…..


Ana’s brushed her teeth & gotten ready for bed.


Dave? Working furiously on his class.


Me? Cleaning up from supper, pondering what still needs to be done before my head hits the pillow. Realizing that there are still groceries that need putting away, I ask Ana to start on this project.


She, being the thoughtful daughter she is, trying to save me time…..decides the best method for getting bleach down the stairs is THROWING THE CONTAINER!!!!


I hear:


THUNK, THUNK, THUNK!


I think:


“I wonder what she just threw down the stairs?”


I see:


a slinking child coming back up the stairs.


I then hear,


“Well, I’m sure not trying that again!!!”


I start to think,


“Was it the Downey? There goes the $4.95 we spent on it!!!”



But, as I reach the top of the stairs…..the smell consumes my nostrils & I KNOW!!!

…..it’s WAY WORSE than Downey!!!

It was the GALLON of bleach. ALL over the laundry room, fortunately, missed all the CLEAN clothes….but sadly did not miss some of Ruth’s cute, DIRTY clothes on the floor.

As I sit here in my clean-smelling house (don’t let the scent fool you, BTW), I am so thankful that the Lord reminded me (BEFORE I LOST IT), “These are just things. Ana is your precious child.”


We spent the last ½ hour (all 3 of us still awake), removing the old (thankfully) throw rug, taking it outside to spray down, rinsing what we could from towels, & wiping up the floor as best we could.


Now, it’s back to what I started….the kitchen…..w/ bed in mind after that.



P.S. There’s nothing like discovering your hot water heater is leaking……which also happened to us today…








But, in all seriousness.....it's good to be reminded that our stuff is just that.....STUFF....don't you think? God sure did that for me today.


Oh, & P.S.S......I have now linked my previous post about the babies birth mother on my sidebar......if you haven't read it yet.....

Ana & Work

This was very funny, in a twisted sort of way:

Yesterday morning, I asked Ana to clean up her breakfast spot, like I always do. She broke down in tears, crying that,"I always have to do ALL the work around here."

She first informed me that she wished she was a princess or a queen so that she wouldn't have to work.

But the funniest thing was what she asked next, tears still STREAMING down her face. She asked, "Are we too poor to have a servant? Is that why we don't have one?"

Oh, it was all I could do to hold back the laughter!! :-)

We had a long chat after that about how important work is to the heart of God. Did you know that work is mentioned in the Bible 717 times? God prepared good works for us to do before the foundation of the world.


Here are some of the verses we talked about:

Eph. 2:8-10:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

She saw that even though we are not saved by works (according to these verses), doing good works is still very important to the heart of God. And, yes, cleaning up after yourself (w/ a good attitude) is a good work.

Anyway, life soon returned to normal, w/out any more complaints on how hard she has to work. As if I really am a slave driver :-). (& you all should be proud of me-I didn't mention once how much work I do EVERY DAY!!)

Hope this gives you the chuckle it gave us!!

Here is a picture of the princess-wanna-be! (Don't we all want to be princesses? )

Even though she obviously needs a little work on applying her make-up, she is still beautiful, don't you think? I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Love to all!

Kim