Summer

The summer is flying by very quickly.  It seems like we haven't really gotten out much so today we decided to check out the Columbia Edventure Museum.  Four kids went......

What is it about driving?  They all want to get behind the wheel.

For once they get to write on the walls.

Many other things are going on....... 

I have been trying to get Anthony and Larissa out to see their older brother.  He turns 18 soon and can leave the system if he wants to.  Two weeks ago I talked ot his SW and she was excited about setting up a meeting.  She was going to talk to him and make plans.  Last week I tried calling her and left a message, she never called me back.  Yesterday I called her and got her voicemail.  She stated in very terse words that if it was after June 30th don't bother to leave a message since she will not be employed there anymore.  I left a message asking for a contact person so we could see the kids brother.  No response.  Today I called my littles adoption worker and asked her for help.  She is in training this week so will look into it next week.  Who gets hurt the most by all these turnovers.....the kids.

I have also been busy looking at photolistings and putting in inquiries.  You pretty much have to put in an inquiry to see if your family is the right family for the child.  I did receive an email response from the large sibling group that would get me into trouble.  I wish he had called me because I need to know a few things before I submit a homestudy.  My SW has emailed him twice and I emailed him once.  Neither of us has gotten a response so I wonder if a family has already been chosen for them.  That is fine because it would require us purchasing a 15 passenger van!

We ran into a local SW at Walmart last night.  She asked us how things were going and I told her that I have had too much time on my hands and built a loft bed.  She was surprised that we didn't have any foster kids in the home and said she would move us up to the top of the list.  We leave for vacation in a few weeks so it really wouldn't be the best time but that is probably when they will call.  Larissa has been asking for another foster kid to come.

Finally, in the toilet paper holder issue we have made some progress..........

Any how is your summer going?

He Cried

Relationships with the biological parents.....do you have them?  With Joselin it was simple, we met her mom in Guatemala and were able to get pictures.  After arriving home we had some very specific issues related to the biological mom and tried to find her, she was nowhere to be found.  We did find Joselin's younger brother.  We didn't even know that he existed until we got Joselin home.  They were taken to different orphanages (by their mother) so there was no way that they would be adopted together.  It is sad because we had approval for two kids and we would have kept a sibling group together. Her brother was adopted by another American family and we have been able to swap pictures.  The loss of that younger brother still hurts Joselin today.

With Anthony and Larissa it is a little more complicated.  They have two brothers (different dads) who were never placed with them while in foster care.  One we see on a regular basis and I even attended his adoption.  The other is quite a bit older.  We have requested a visit but the SW has not gotten back to me.  I left a message last week and maybe I will leave another one this week.

Biological parents.....well, I haven't seen the mom in a while.  The dad I see just about every time I go to the next town over.  He hangs out in the park and carves cane to sell.  Today I drove past the park and I saw he was there.  I thought that it would be nice to take him some pictures.  Later in the day I left all the kids at home and went to the park with some pictures. 

When he saw me he knew who I was.  He stood up to greet me.  Wow, those genetics.  Genetically those two are his kids, they are so similar.  I had forgotten how tall he was, well over 6 feet tall.  He seemed pleased to see me.  He was really excited to get pictures.  He really loved the ballet picture of Larissa.  He said she was so beautiful.

He cried. 

Then he cried some more.

We talked.  He said that he knew that we were taking good care of the kids.  He knew that they had a chance to be successful in life.  He thanked me for being their mom.  He told me to thank my husband.

He cried some more.

I left. 

Did I do the right thing? 

It is so sad.  I know that the reason he is not raising his children is because of mental illness.  On top of that there was no family support.  In the three years those kids were our foster children they never had a single visit by any extended family at all.  Not a single person came forward to see them.

I pray that my children never go without family support.  That they learn to manage and live with their mental illnesses so that they can enjoy life to the fullest as productive members of society.  That they are never left alone in a park to cry over lost children.

Joselin Update

Just a quick update on Joselin. 

She is still at home.  She has been attending church with us.

Today during invitation time she went up to the minister and told him that she needs help in giving forgiveness.  A big step for her.  Pray for healing for her.  Pray for patience for us.  We have been through periods when we thought she was healing just to realize that it was not the case. 

Sarah has made some steps to include Joselin in her youth group.  However, she is also afraid that Joselin will betray her in the end.  It is so hard to see your child try to open her heart to her sister but also see the anxiety that it causes her because she has been hurt so many times by her.

We wait.

We watch. 

We offer forgiveness and a family if that is what she really wants. 

Time will tell.

Restless

Yesterday I was restless.  I was feeling that perhaps adoption through foster care just was not going to happen.  I started thinking international again.  I was even interested in one specific girl on Reeces Rainbow.  I was contemplating how to raise the funds since I don't have $25-30,000 sitting around for an adoption.

As I was reading through some blogs written by families doing adoptions in the Ukraine region I came across the previous posted video.  It brought me back to my original plan to keep it local.

I need to learn to be patient but it is so hard.  It is even harder when I see those videos and I realize that there is a child out there for us.  Not only are we waiting for the system to work, but more importantly there is a child out there waiting for a family.

Our homestudy has been sent up to the supervisor for approval. 

I have been told to look at photolistings, even to go out of state if I need to.

So, I did a lot of searching last night.  I even put in more inquiries.  That always makes my poor husband nervous.  He imagines all these kids being dropped off at our door.  Considering I only get a response 10% of the time and every response has been for a child who does not match our family, I don't think he has too much to be worried about.  Hopefully I won't get us into too much trouble. Although that huge sibling group I put in an inquiry in would require us to purchase a 15 passenger van......

Have a great night!

Finished Castle Loft Bed

Do you remember this original sketch?  This is what my mind envisioned.

This is what I built.  What do you think?  Larissa is very pleased with her castle bed.  There are shelves on the bed side where the two towers are.  This gives her space for her lamp, clock and such..

The Prince is front and center.

The stairs are actually built on a very strong and sturdy cabinet that I bought at Goodwill. There is an opening inside so that she has storage inside for her girly "stuff".  The rail is a upcycled, recalled crib rail, I loved the lines of it.

The wood for the bed was around $250 all bought at Lowe's.  The paint for the entire room (used for the bed, walls and furniture) was $100. 

Larissa is contemplating what she wants for her wall mural..........

 

(The plans for joining of the bed came from Ana White)

Morning Project

The fan was too big for the space.  I could see Larissa leaning out of her bed and getting hit in the head with a fan blade.

Taking it down was simple.

All the little pretties had to be put on the light.

Quality control.......the cats are fighting for the tower space.  So far Gabby is coming out as top cat.  I find that funny because she is the smallest cat in the house.

Success.......it even works as well as looks cute.  Larissa (and Gabby) approve.

I should finish the bed today and hope to post pictures of it tonight.

My Mom

My mom is currently in a nursing home in Texas.  When we left Texas we thought that the nursing home would be fine since I have two brothers living in the state.  My mom is from Texas and wanted to stay there.  However, it is not working out.  My brothers are not visiting her. 

I told one brother that if he can get her here I would take care of her from there.  He plans on bringing her here in August.  I have until August to come up with a plan.  She really wants to live with us.  This is much more feasible here because of the layout of the house.  However, I have to decide if I can care for her.  She is in a wheelchair due to several strokes.....and incontinent, can I deal with that?

She has Medicaid in Texas but I would have to reapply here since it doesn't transfer from state to state.  I can't apply until she is instate.

Obviously if John gets a job overseas I will have to find a nursing home for her.  Jason has already said that he would go visit her and check up on her if it comes to that.  He has a soft spot for my mom so I know he will. 

I talked to my mom today.  She wants to live with me and help babysit.  I know she really can't babysit but I can understand her desire to be helpful.  What do you say to your mom in that situation?  I am such a softie I couldn't flat out say no.

So, I am searching for information.  I need to know what type of help I can get for in the home.  I would need someone to be here when I go to class.  We would have to build some ramps, but not extensive, for two steps into the house and three steps inside of the house.  I would need a hospital bed.  I am not even sure what else at this time.  A handicap van would be nice but that is not feasible!

Anyone know where to get the best information on elder care?

I am in the exploring stage and not really sure what will come of this.  I guess I will know by August.

Frustrated

I will admit that I am not a very patient person when it comes to waiting.  I really don't like to sit back and just let things happen.  Adoption is one of those things.  I get frustrated.  I want to be matched now.  When that doesn't happen I think it may never happen. 

I have been told to look at photolistings and to send enquiries.  I do.  Most of the time I do not get a response.  When I do it is quickly obvious that the child is not a match for our family.  The photolistings do not give much information.  I have learned that an active child most likely means ADHD.  Or a child who need lots of structure could be ODD.  But, I had no clue that a child who is interested in becoming a veterinarian is actually a mentally disabled child who will never live independently.  Deal breaker is that child can not be left in a room alone with a male......uh, I can't imagine a father never allowed to be alone with his daughter.  Most of the time a child is not a match for our family is because they must either be the only or youngest child in the home.  The few call backs I get are very quick.  They mention either must be youngest, must be only or can not be with males and that child is marked off the list of possibilities.  They can not give that information on the photolisting so you have to submit an inquiry to find that out.

So, we have not been matched with any children.  We are open to older children, children with medical problems, developmental delays and even some mental issues.  However, we can't find a child.  Honestly, I don't understand it.  How can we allow these children to become so damaged.  This is not some poor, undeveloped country.  We are supposed to be a nation that takes care of our children.  Yet, we are producing a lot of children who are not able to function within a family. 

Ugh, just so frustrated today.

A Visit

Naturally, I was at Lowe's yesterday when Tasha called me to tell me that Joslin had come home for a visit.  This is the first time we have heard from her since May 28th.

She is living with her boyfriend and his grandmother in a small town down the road.  A one light type of town.  She is working part-time at a Mexican Restaurant.  According to her the house they are living in is an old house with no closets, no central air, no dishwasher, falling apart with too many bugs.  Oh, did I mention no closets.  She seemed most shocked by the no closet part.  We had no closets when we lived in Germany so I understand her dismay.  I guess that they don't have any wardrobe closets either so stuff is sitting around in piles.

She came home with a black mark on her eye.  She claims it happened while they were wrestling.  She was telling me she was happy while she was crying.  I tried to get more information out of her but she just kept saying she was happy.....while crying.  Tasha gave Joselin her phone number and told her to call her if she ever needed a ride.  Joselin says that they don't have long distance calling from the house so she couldn't call.

According to her they also don't have any dishes or glasses.  So we went to some garage sales this morning and got her plenty of kitchen supplies.  She also gathered some of her clothing and boxed it up.  She will be heading back tomorrow after church but she is giving me her house phone number this time around.

It has been nice seeing her.  She seems willing to keep in contact.  I guess we will see how things go. 

Please keep  praying for her.

Guess?

Who came by for a weekend visit?

More tonight.

My Youngest Princess

Older Child Adoption

From my previous post you might think that I am against older child adoption.  I am not.  I would gladly adopt another older child.  My problem at this time is that I am scared.  Yep, scared to adopt another child who may wreak havoc in my home. 

Obviously we went on to adopt Anthony and Larissa.  However, I consider their adoption to be totally different then Joselin's adoption because we knew them and their issues due to being our foster children for years.  We also knew that in spite of their mental illnesses that they could attach.  Yes, I consider no attachment to be more difficult to deal with then a slew of mental illnesses, developmental delays or health issues.

We were recently looking at a 9 year old girl.  Many of her mental illness issues we were already dealing with.  They didn't scare me.  Ultimately what scared me was the fact that everyone told me how sweet she was combined with how many different foster homes she has been in and a disrupted adoption. Yea, she was sweet to people she didn't live with but obviously not so much to the ones she needed to attach to.

We have an age gap between our 7 and 17 year olds and we would love to be able to fill it.  However, we need to ensure that our younger children are safe.  So, we will wait and pray and hopefully the right situation and child will present itself to us.  Until then, we will wait.

Honesty

When I started my blog I wasn't sure where it would lead me.  I wasn't sure how much I should share.  I figured that if I was honest I would be attacked.  So many blogs paint only a positive picture and don't include anything painful.  But, that is not real life.....at least it is not my real life.

So far, I have not received too many negative responses to my blog.  However, I have received quite a few from other families in pain.  Other families struggling with decisions.  Struggling to find help.  Even struggling to find acceptance from their once supportive friends.

When you decide to adopt an older child you are entering a world in which few people understand the challenges.  So many people believe that love can cure anything.  Love will heal a child.  Oh, how I wish that were true.  I do believe that for some children love does heal, some children are resilient enough that with love and a family they are able to bond.  It is because of those children that are healable that we continue to adopt.  However, I also believe that for some children no amount of love can heal their pain.

So what happens if you do adopt an older child and that child does not bond, does not want to be a part of your family?  Frequently this child will present as a delightful child to the outside world while turning your family upside down.  There is no one to talk to.  No one who really understands what you are living with every day.  Sometimes you feel as though you have the enemy living within. 

You can become very isolated.  Your child may tell lies to others about how terribly you treat them.  Some will start to believe it after a while, others will not.  Parents who are struggling with normal childhood issues can't really understand your issues.  How can you talk about the child who does some very antisocial things?

Seriously, I have no local friends.  Oh, I can talk about bipolar, attachment disorders, IED, FAS, epilepsy, SM, NF1, anxiety disorders, OCD, ODD, drug issues, SA, how to look for pediatric schizophrenia, ADHD and the lack of mental health for children to help families to deal with these issues.  That is my life.  That is what I deal with on a daily basis.  It is my normal.

However it is my chosen normal.  I love being a mommy.  I love seeing my children grow.  I love seeing my children heal.

On the other hand, it pains me when a child cannot heal.  When life has been so painful to a child that they are not able to bond.  When I worry about how the hurt child impacts my other children.  When I feel that all the love I have to give isn't enough.  When I feel as though I have somehow failed my child while knowing that I did all that I could.

Joselin left on May 28th.  She told me she would be back the next Thursday.  (Funny how her last words to me were a lie.)  We have not heard a word from her since.  I know through facebook that she is OK.  But, a part of me wonders how she can just simply walk away like that.  Not a word................

Our Weekend

Yes, a lot of our weekend was spent working on the castle.

I love the new Kreg jig and might just look for a new project to use it on.

It makes a nice clean pocket......

Finished end piece.  Well, almost finished, I still have some detailing to do.

Two walls up.

Three walls.......

Four wall up..........looking good.  However, I still need to build the stepa and towers.  I also have a lot of detailing to do.

I need to put the mattress supports in tomorrow.  Hopefully I can finish the steps so Larissa can sleep in her bed.

Sarah and I hiding from the world.  We had a nice conversation in there.

It has been slow going because of the heat.  It slows me down when sweat starts pouring into my eyes.  I don't like to sweat!  As it started to cool off a little then the mosquitoes started swarming me.  I gave up for the night and have decided to build the towers in the bedroom.

We did do other things this weekend.  I took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda and Friday night.  We never watched the first one so I had no clue what it was about.  I was surprised that there was an adoption theme in there.  Larissa was still talking about it on Saturday, she tells everyone that the duck adopted the panda.

On Saturday morning I took my usual alone time to go to garage sales.  I found an American Girl doll in great shape for only 75 cents....Larissa was delighted and has been carrying it around all weekend.  I am always looking for furniture items to refinish.  You never know what you will find.

Saturday afternoon John and I took some time for ourselves and went to the movies.  We try to get some couple time every week.  Many times it is simply hitting up Walmart together.  We are not very exciting!

Today we got lazy and slept in until 9:30.  I was surprised since we don't normally sleep that late.  I think that the heat sapped our energy.  We got to church on time since we had nursery duty.  After church Larissa asked me where we went and I told her we had to watch the babies.  She asked me if I held any babies and I said yes.  She told me that she wanted to hold babies and wanted to go there too.  Then she asked me when we were getting more foster kids.

John must have been feeling some energy because he finally decided to put up the ceiling fan that we bought months ago for our master bedroom.  Actually, we didn't know where the fan had gone to and had to go search for it.  I had forgotten all about it but with this heat is will be nice to have a working fan in our bedroom again.  He actually got it up with minimal problems.  It seems like every time you want to upgrade anything in the house you have to deal with trying to mesh new designs up with the old.  Plumbing is particularly difficult.

Tomorrow Sarah is leaving for Bible camp.  I am going to miss having her around.  What will I do with only two little ones in the house?  The house is getting more and more quiet. How do you cook for such a small crowd?

I guess I should get to bed since it is now 1 am.  I have a busy day planned for tomorrow.  I need to get to Lowe's to buy the wood to make the mattress supports.  I forgot to purchase those when I was estimating my wood needs. 

So......goodnight everyone.

Life

I want to say that not much is going on here then I think maybe others may think differently.  It is amazing how we get used to being busy so when we slow down we don't know what to do about it. 

We went to Augusta today to move John's stuff home.  We left early but it was still hot, 90 plus degrees with terrible humidity.  I really don't like the feel of sweat rolling down my back.  I really don't know how long he is going to be able to do the commute.  He is applying for jobs closer to home but hasn't had much success yet.  He has also started applying for jobs overseas.  We will see what opportunity comes along first.

While we were sweating and moving furniture we received a call from DSS.  I didn't realize it until about 30 minutes after the call was made so I missed another opportunity for a placement.  If you don't receive the call they call the next family.  There is no waiting around here for a response. The call was for the same kids we missed the call for 2 weeks ago.  Now they are split up and the baby is on his third move in two weeks.  I do wish we had gotten that first call but perhaps we aren't meant to care for those boys.  Funny, everyone was so ready for a break and now they are wondering when we will get another placement.  I guess our break has been long enough.  Even John said don't split them up but bring them to us. 

Tasha is gone this weekend to drill.  It looks like she will deploy sometime before the end of the year.  She put in a request of transfer to South Carolina since she is now living here but instead was transferred to a different unit in North Carolina that is deploying.  She no longer lives in NC but has to travel hours to a unit so that she can fill a slot for deployment.  I am not sure how that all came about and why the interstate transfer person did not do her job, Tasha requested the transfer in March.  Something just doesn't feel right about the whole situation.  She got shots today and not too much sympathy from me.  She only had to have 2, I had to have 8 when I went to Egypt.

We are still working on the castle.  I am working on it outside since I am working on cutting, constructing and painting.  It is slow going because I just don't work well when the sweat is pouring into my eyes.  I know, I am a wimp and really don't like profuse sweating.  I have given myself a deadline of at least getting the main structure up this weekend.  Due to some changes I now need to make some steps and incorporate a short cabinet into it.  I am basing some of my basic design off of a loft playhouse design on Ana White's blog site.  She has some really cool designs for all types of furniture.  Check it out if you like to dabble with wood.  I even went out and bought a Kreg jig yesterday.  I have never used one before so it should be interesting.  I am not sure if I will post pictures of the structure in progress or not.  It may take a while to complete.  I now need to add a butterfly and ladybug along with all the other requirements.

On the Joselin front there is nothing to report.  She left on May 28th saying she would be back and hasn't been heard from since.  She still has me on her facebook so I have been precariously following her through there.  All I can do is wait, I can't force a relationship on her if she doesn't want it.

Tomorrow will be a full day.  I will get up early to check out the garage sales, go to the dump with my husband and then we plan on going on a movie date.  Somewhere in there I will work on the castle.

Have a great night!

Long, Hard Day of Play

We've Been Busy

We have been painting.......

Larissa really enjoyed helping and got into her paint.

Mmmmm, doesn't that small bowl of paint look like chocolate?  The color is called Fudge.

Larissa is decorating the inside wall of her loft bed. (Yes, in a gymnastic outfit with her hair a total mess.  The garage always looks this way so if you ever visit come to the front door!)

I really want for Larissa to be involved in her bedroom.  Sitting back and watching isn't quite as fun as getting involved.  I have more things to add per her request.

She is very proud of her work.

And in true multi-tasking form I have been working on another project.

This weekend we will be moving John back home.  But, hopefully we will find time to finish the castle.  I am having to make alterations to my plans.  Larissa's bedroom is smaller then my current plans.

(This post has been approved by Larissa)

Mom, are we moving?

I was feeling motivated to clean the kitchen this morning.  I had the kitchen table pulled out, the chairs out of the kitchen, the cushion from the banquet taken off and was sweeping in preparation to mop.

Anthony and Larissa came into the kitchen to see what was going on.  They saw the flurry of cleaning and asked me a simple question........mom, are we moving?

Note to self.....don't clean while the kids are awake.

No Regrets

I have been asked many times if I regret adopting Joselin. No, I do not regret adopting Joselin. She has been a challenge and has not been able to accept our family but I know that it could have been worse. How do you value stolen material items, lies and such to the salvation of a child?

Today Joselin is literate and she made it to the age of 18 without any children. I know that if she was in Guatemala neither of those things would have happened. Some talks lately have made me realize that she is just not able to attach. However, she does realize that she should. She knows what a "normal" family looks like. She wants that for her kids. She doesn't want them to not be able to attach like she couldn't. For good or bad, I committed to her and she is mine. I still hold out hope for her. I even threw a Bible into her box of stuff she plans on taking.  I pray for her daily.

She does not have an interest in returning to Guatemala, she says that Guatemala isn't the place for women or children.  She would know first hand, unfortunately.  She is also not 17 years old.  We assume she is 18 almost 19 years old but even that could be off.  We do know that she is older then what is on paper....she knows this too.  She knows that we were lied to about her age.  When Joselin was taken to the orphanage by her mother she was told to not call her adoptive parents mom and dad.  To not accept the family but use them and return to Guatemala when she was 16 and take care of her.  Joselin feels that she betrayed her biological mother by calling me mom.  Some things we have just not been able to overcome.  Maybe time will help.  We have only had 8 years and it has not been long enough.

All my kids at times have disappointed me at one point or another.  They have all given me their own challenges. I will not reject them. I think this comes from my dad rejecting me as an adult. I did call him yesterday and we talked for maybe 2 minutes (first call in over a year). The entire time he seemed annoyed and was trying to get off the phone. My kids will not know that rejection.

The last conversation I had with Joselin was about attachment and also about how she is not able to live in our home with our rules. However, I hope that we can have a relationship once she is not under our roof. Whether she likes it or not, she is our daughter.



Funny, this baby who came into our home with no attachment helped Joselin to understand that she was missing something.  When we realized that the foster child we received didn't want to be held, would arch her back and look away from you when you fed her, we took the time to teach everyone in the house about attachment.  About nurturing a baby.  How important holding is for a baby. How important it is to answer the cries and meet their needs.

Joselin was very intent on making sure that Larissa was able to attach to the family.  She held that baby more then anyone in the house.  I do regret that I wasn't there when Joselin was a baby to hold her and teach her to attach.

Frequently on our family trips, where we spent a lot of time together, you would find Joselin unhappy with headphones in her ears.  I have come to realize that she found our family trips to be uncomfortable.  All that togetherness was hard for her.  She felt like she was not part of the family even on the monorail at DisneyWorld.

 But, there were times when she did let go and was just happy.  At the Grand Canyon.

A rooftop restaurant in Tijuana.

San Diego Zoo.

I wish we could bottle those happy moments because they felt so fleeting.  I had to search through a lot of pictures to find ones where she was actually really happy.  There were more then I remembered.

We took Joselin away from that orphanage.  She is our daughter....... forever.  Please pray for her.

Comments

I don't know what is up with my comments section.  Some visitors are not able to leave comments and have emailed me.  Others can leave comments.  I am not sure why it is that way.  I am not able to leave comments myself to my own blog, shucks. 

I would like to welcome my new readers.  Some comment and let me know, others do so in secret.  I have followers of all types: among them are adopters, adoptees, foster parents and artists.  Others just curious and seeking information.  Probably some who just think I am crazy!

I think by now everyone knows that housekeeping is not my strong point since I do post those messy house pictures.  Ohhh, if you could see my house today......I'm not even going to post those pictures!  I have been painting and creating so housework has had to wait.  However, I did have to start on laundry the other day.  I kept noticing a stench and wondered where it was coming from.  At one point I realized that it was ME, well specifically my painting clothing I put on every time I went up to paint.

One of my new followers is Barbara.  I checked out her blog at http://barbararosenzweig.blogspot.com/ .  She has done some beautiful paintings.  I love her life; photography of plants and painting in the winter.  One day I hope to take a painting class myself.

So, if you want to talk to me and can't comment me feel free to email me at: pmailto:pritzen1@yahoo.com

Tonight I will write about regrets.  I have had many folks who have asked me if I regret adopting Joselin.  I do not and I will answer that more tonight when I don't have kids running around.

See you later.....Felicia

Still Painting

Yes, I am still painting.

I had to head to the big city to buy some fabric.  We decided to go to Hobby Lobby where I got into minimal trouble.  I found two fabrics that fit our theme.

Before........a Craigslist purchase from about two years ago.

Next I will finish that desk.  I finally got some inspiration today so I will get back to work on it.  I feel the need to get as much done as quickly as possible because you just don't know when the next call will come.  Most of the time it comes when you least expect it and it is most inconvenient.

We are still missing our babies.  Larissa has put some of our baby items to good use.  Naturally her dolls needed the baby mobile.  Any clothing left behind is finding it's way onto her stuffed animals and dolls.

It is strange, on one hand I am enjoying the freedom of not having two little ones in the house but on the other hand I miss me some chunky baby thighs.  I hope that they are doing well.  We won't hear anything unless things go very bad and the kids come back into care.

Tomorrow....church, lunch and then home to work on that desk.  Come back to see the results!