In the final two weeks before school is out for the summer, I've been able to connect with some friends who I don't get to spend as much time with as I'd like. Jen was able to come over with her kids one day and just as she was leaving, Diane picked me up for lunch.  One day Dawnna picked me up at 6:30pm for supper at Applebees. We did make it to the restaurant parking lot but, at the risk of sounding crazy, we were so busy talking that we didn't even go in. By the time it was 11:30pm, she brought me back home and we still weren't really done talking. I was able to make a lunch connnection with Nan and we've set a date for our official summer trip with Dawn!

I have a lot of aquaintances but it makes my heart so happy that when I look into my life, I have so many people that are made of true friend material. It's not all about me and what they can do for me, and by the same token, it's not all about them either. We're there for each other and can count on each other, through the joys and the tough stuff. There's nothing I like better than laughing with my friends so hard that my stomach hurts! But on the flip side, also spent a lunch hour last week crying on someone's shoulder when I had to deal with some past stuff. I'd rather have real people who know me and still hang around that than a million facebook friends who don't really know me at all. So thanks friends! Especially for putting up with my chaotic schedule! I hope I can be as good a friend to you as you are to me!

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On another note, I attended an awesome workshop last week. Maybe more on the workshop later but this story is about the process. There were some major glitches in getting there. Originally, Steve and I were going to go together. Then I invited our friends Kim & Ryan because I thought they would really benefit from the conference. They said they could go with us and were really excited.

Giltch #1 A few days before the event, Kim texted me. I though maybe she couldn't go. Turned out, she could still go but would need childcare for a few of her kids, so I decided to bring Sophia along. We registered all the kids for childcare.

Glitch #2 Steve forgot to request the day off early enough. He works only one or two Saturday mornings a month but if he wants to make sure he's not on the schedule, he needs to request the time off. He ended up scheduled to work on that day and there wasn't anyone else who could work. I was not very happy with him, to say the least. But I eventually decided to make the best of it and just ride with Kim and Ryan.

Glitch #3 Kim called me to let me know that Ryan couldn't go anymore because he had an interview that morning. I told her how ironic it was that Steve couldn't go either! So we decided to just make a girls day of it, with kids of course.

End Result: Because so many people were interested in the workshop, they decided to offer it twice and the second sesson was on a weekday evening! Kim called me and said that Ryan could go to the evening session. She didn't want to back out on going with me but she really wanted Ryan to hear the material too. Turned out that Steve was willing to skip softball that night and go but he wouldn't be done with work until at least 5:30pm. The conference started at 6:30. So after a lot of back and forth discussion, we ended up with the best of both worlds for all of us. Kim and Ryan picked me up at 5pm and we headed to Sioux Falls. Kim and I were able to chat all the way and I think Ryan took a little nap. Steve drove down as soon as he left work.

I got my 'Kim' time while we were driving. Then I saw a few professional friends at the workshop and was able to visit with them. After a few minutes, Kim & Ryan sat down at a table but I talked so long that other people joined them at their table and they didn't have a seat for me. They were willing to move to a table in the back but it didn't really matter to me. I sat just a little ways away and saved a seat for Steve. The only downfall was that I ended up right in the front. But a bonus was that I started a great conversation with a gal at my table who had a really sad/interesting story. I met a lot of new aquaintances that night, renewed a few friendships and learned a lot from the workshop.

Added bonus: After the workshop, the therapists and a few others caught up to me and we chatted in the parking lot for another hour. Then Steve and I grabbed supper and rode home together.

Glitches and all, it was a great night!
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I've had some great connection time with lots of wonderful people over the past two weeks. Everyone has a story and just needs someone to take the time to listen. I've wondered what God's direction is for me now that it's not Headstart or foster parenting. I think I'm sensing the direction I'm supposed to be headed, but God and I are having lots more conversations before any decisions are made. But He's also made it very clear that my family is to come first right now no matter what :)
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Taylor Says

I walked in the little boys' room to wake them up one morning and Taylor followed me.

Before I could calmly awaken them, she exclaimed, "Rise and shine pretty little money makers!"

I gave her a weird look. Then I let her know that the boys didn't make any money so it really wasn't an appropriate phrase.

She promptly raised her voice and shouted, Rise and shine pretty little money suckers!"
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Later, I inquired where she had heard the money makers phrase, she informed me that she'd heard it on Duck Dynasty. ?!?
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Yes

The answer to the questions is:  Yes, I did realize on Valentine's Day that the gifts were from Steve to me. I only messed up when I was putting captions on the pictures :)
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I Messed Up :O

So in my haste to put pictures on the blog yesterday, I messed up. Steve was laying in bed last night looking at the blog on his phone. That's how he finds out what's going on in our world ;)  Anyway, he rolled over towards me and cleared his throat - loudly! When I still didn't pay attention to him, he very clearly enunciated, "Uhhhhhh Hummmmmm!"

I looked over and he was holding his phone with the picture of the valentine's day flowers and chocolate covered strawberries. I just looked at the picture blankly..........until he said, "Those weren't from Brittney's BOYFRIEND and they weren't for BRITTNEY."

Oops! Sorry Steve! I totally forgot that was a picture of MY valentine's day gifts from my WONDERFUL, AMAZING, SUPPORTIVE, HUNKY husband! (Do you think I laid it on thick enough that he'll forgive me?)
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Some April Pictures

Brittney learning to put in gas.

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ChuckECheese for Coby's birthday.

Tay, Grandma Connie, Sophia

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Presents

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Notice that Anthony (and Riley) never take their hats off!

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Brit giving Sophia driving lessons

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Riley - still wearing his hat!

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Zeke

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Aubrey & Taylor

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Trying to wait patiently for the cake.

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Cousins sharing

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Gotta love blue frosting

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Jokes with Coby's grandma

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Late snowfall

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Anthony's floor after one of his rages.

Notice he's now sitting peacefully on his bed.

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Girls making cookies together

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Brittney teaching little sister to be a cheerleader.

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Uncle Dan makes the best pancakes!

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Brianna's horses

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Taylor on a date with me at our favorite place!

Chocolatte, of course!

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Tay & Coby at The Valley.

With a photo bomb appearance from Riley ;)

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Sophia waiting patiently at dad's bank.

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Benches that we built for the back entryway.

They're not completed yet but they are functional.

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Painting project with Val.

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One of my favorite Sophia pictures.

I might have already posted this

but I don't have time to check.

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Feb/March Pictures

I'm really behind in posting so today is just pictures :)

Pancakes @ The Valley

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Craft/snack at PALS

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Playing at PALS

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Gummy snakes from Grandma Lori

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Upside-down lamb makes a good sucker holder

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Sophia's haircut

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Sophia's first eye appointment.

Her vision is great!

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Glasses after the drops!

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Brittney's valentines gifts from her boyfriend.

 

***   Oops!!!    ***

Steve informed me that these were

MY valentine's gifts from HIM!!!

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Sibling on their way into a concert.

Riley, Sophia, Tay

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Coloring. One of her favorite activities.

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Cheers!

At the Boy Scout spagetti feed with Grandma Sandy

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Two wacky boys!

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Tub time

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New Van

A seal on a gasket was leaking in the transmission of my old van so instead of waiting until next year like I'd planned, we purchased this van. I have to admit that I like the fact that hardly anyone recognizes me driving around town. I'm the worst at seeing other people waving while I'm driving so this let's me off the hook a little :)

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Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bord !!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo bord thats why my mom  is letting me blog!!

What I found in my room!!!!

Today I clened my room I found all of my yarn, books,etc.

you get the a idea!!!

Taylor Anne Wilkins

 

GRANDMA LORI

This after noon my Grandma Lori is coming to visit us can't wait to see her !!!!

(ps i love you 2 )

(to all of my other GRANDMA'S )



Love Taylor Anne Wilkins

Whirlwind day yesterday. I had to put on my super mom cape. Besides all the regular daytime stuff, I had three kids with three different activities, all at 5:30pm yesterday and a husband who wouldn't be home until after 5:30. Riley had baseball, Zeke had track and Taylor had an orchestra concert. I let Riley ride his bike to baseball, took Anthony to the Boys & Girls Club (which turned out to be a mistake, but that's another story), dropped Zeke off a little early at track and then Sophia and I took Taylor to her concert. Pictures later, hopefully. I'm working at headstart today at 8am so I better check and make sure all the kids are almost ready.
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I realized on my morning 'bus route' while taking the kids to school yesterday that next year will be interesting. In the fall we'll have one at BHS, one at MMS, two at Camelot, one at Medary and one at Orchard Drive Preschool. Plus it's not unusual to have an extra kid or two along. At least one is old enough to drive now.
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After school yesterday, one of the kids that has been hanging around lately was at our house. I wanted her to call home to let them know that she was at our house. I think she's maybe 8.? She got a hold of her mom and then handed the phone to me. Her mom said that she had been in Sioux Falls longer than she thought. I anticipated her asking if it was ok if the little girl stayed with us for the afternoon. The 'yes' was already out of my mouth when I realized that she was asking if the girl could spend the night. It was fine with me but I always find it interesting when parents will leave their kids with people they don't know. We could be serial rapists for all she knows. We're not. But she doesn't know that!

My personal favorite was last week when a little girl (2nd grade) from probably five or six blocks away showed up with her little sister who is Sophia's age. I think there were 8 little kids under the age of ten here that day and some of them were playing outside but it was way too cold for the little ones. So I made them some playdough and they were content. When it started to rain a few hours later, I drove them home. I can't imagine letting Sophia wander around town with an 8 year old and not know where she was for four hours. When I took them home that evening, there wasn't even any concern. We did, however, leave our phone numbers and get a phone number from them in case we need to call in the future. I also piled in a bunch that were here on Wednesday and took them to church with us that night. They had a blast! Too bad that it's almost over for the school year.

I did have a number of inquiries about Brit's accident. People were also more worried than they needed to be because I was in too much of a hurry for specifics. The shortest version w/more details: Brittney was/is driving our old van until school is out in a few weeks. She was headed to her orthodontist appointment. Another car started pulling forward at a stop sign then stopped abruptly. Brittney was behind them and bumped into their bumper. The incident was so minor that you couldn't even see where they had hit on the dust on the other guy's bumper. But because it was an accident, the police were called and a report was filed. No one was hurt and the vehicles are fine.
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Carrots, Eggs & Coffee Beans

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The granddaughter then asked, "What does it mean, Grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" 

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I really need to try this!!! :)

 

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Good/Bad

I don't really want to blog about today but here goes anyway. I'll just list a few good/bad points.

Good: I went on Taylor's field trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in DeSmet

Bad: Zeke stole a necklace from the gift shop there.

Good: I realized he was hiding something and discovered the theft before he left the building.

Bad: None of the resource room staff were paying any attention to him. They were too busy shopping and chatting with each other.

Good: Zeke's regular classroom teacher took care of it very appropriately once I informed her what had happened.

Bad: While driving home, I received our first phone call from a police detective concerning one of our children. I say first because I'm not naive enough to think that our children from various backgrounds will lead law-abiding lives just because we love them and teach them the "right way". I have lots of friends who have struggled/are continuing to struggle through issues with kids who have traumatic backgrounds.  It just gets very tiring because I think that an issue is dealt with because it hasn't surfaced for a long time. Then, BAM, it comes around again. Or sometimes the issue is tiring just because we continue to face it every day.

Good: My music wasn't working in the van on the way home so I had a lot of time to worry/panic/try to manipulate the situation  pray. It took me a while but I was finally able to turn the situation over to God. Which was helpful because I really had very little control over the situation anyway. Within two hours of arriving at home, I at least felt like the situation was under control. It's not better or fixed but at least it's not going to blow up in our face.

Bad: I hesitate to write to specifically about the issue only because the internet is so public and I have to be careful what information is floating out there. It has to do with Riley but thankfully, it doesn't have anything to do with sexual behaviors. And of course, our annual home visit to renew our adoptive license is tomorrow.

Good: My friend Val is coming over before the home visit so I can vent to her for a while.

Bad: I have no food left in the house.

Good: Now that it's a bit more spring-ish, we have lots of kids at our house after school. I had our kids, minus Brittney who was at track until 6pm, plus 5 extra kids. We made rice krispy bars for an after school snack and then they all ended up staying for supper. So I made a big pot of spagetti, fed them all and took them to church.

Bad: There were so many kids and they were so hungry that they ate all the spagetti. I had to make Steve a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when he got home.

Good: Steve was asked to speak at the Concert of Prayer at the church tonight. Good job Steve! His mom took him out for supper after the service.

Even better: I think they'll bring me back something, too. I didn't get any spagetti either :)
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