"Wow Mom, it's just like the newer version of our house, like we've been upgraded!"

This may look like an ordinary old beat up colander but it represents my inheritance to me. This is the colander I grew up with. It strained the pasta noodles Mom would cook on the weekends, the vegetables she would cook up to go with dinner and the roast pan drippings she would use to make gravy for our yorkshire pudding. It was the makeshift disco ball we used to dance around the living room with when we would shine a flash light through it and watch the cool star patterns of light on the walls and ceiling. We pretended it was the funny hat the hairdresser used to put on grandma's head and poke her hair through with a crochet needle when she went for her hair appointment. We played with it in the bathtub, running water through it over and over again, never tiring of the way the water fell through the small holes like a shower. It was the bowl we used to hold popcorn until we learned that melted butter seeps through the bottom of a colander faster than you realize....and no, the salt does not plug up the holes to keep the butter from leaking ot all over the floor. It was the "green strainer" I grew up with and still feel oddly attached to today...... so finally .... after many years of pestering and badgering, my dad decided to bequeath the family colander to me just recently. My kids don't appreciate the value it holds for me. All they see is an "old green strainer with a chip out if the edge" but I see a lifetime of memories.  It causes me to contemplate my own children and wonder what memories they will hold dear when they grow up ..... will a certain piece of furniture or a particular photograph evoke strong feelings  and emotions for them? Will any of them get nostalgic over grandma's good china or daddy's beat up lazy boy recliner? I hope they one day appreciate the stack of boxes I have stored in the closet, filled with momentos I've collected for them through out the years. From the decorations on my baby shower cake for the birth of my first baby - the Teenager.... right down to the outfit our newest addition, the Baby, came to us wearing (a small green one piece short set) and all the school art projects, report cards, mother's day gifts, and sappy love poems in between.

Speaking of the Baby ..... it is with great pleasure and motherly pride that I can now announce that her adoption is now finalized! It is finished. She is legally ours and I finally feel like I can breathe again. This month marks the end of an old chapter in our lives and the beginning of something brand new.  Her adoption day was long awaited and very excitedly aniticipated. Little Susan was giddy and prepared two days prior. She was going to visit with Papa for a bit while we attended court with the Baby. Little Susan was anticipating having her Papa all to herself. She gathered up four videos (two Dora and two Bible Man movies) and her Bible backpack. She was determined to keep Papa's interest. On the morning of the "Big Day" she woke up and got dressed quickly, she watched the door as she ate her breakfast - Papa was coming to pick her up and she wanted to be ready for him. When Papa arrived she ran through the house shrieking "he's here, he's here, my Papa is here!" She put her shoes on (the wrong feet of course and had to take the time to switch them around) She felt so special - you could see it on her as she clutched her bag of movies in one hand and held Papa's hand tightly in the other while they walked across the street to the van.

We took the Baby to the court house. We had waited for this day for a long time. I kept having to mentally remind myself to breathe - as I'd catch myself holding my breath waiting .... waiting to wake up? Waiting for someone to burst my bubble? Waiting for that all too familiar feeling of disappointment I'd grown accustomed to over the past few years. I felt like I was operating on auto pilot and I wouldn't allow myself to feel the exciting emotions one should feel on such a momentous occassion - not yet, not until I know this is real, not until the judge signs the papers and makes it legal ... then I can breathe.

We met our adoption worker in the main lobby of the court house. The Baby was in a silly mood. She was very active and wasn't happy in one place for any length of time."Noooo" she squealed when I tried to sit down with her. She arched her back, determined to slide off my lap and onto the floor. I had to walk her around to keep her content :) When it was our turn we took the elevator upstairs to meet with the judge. The Baby didn't want to sit near her, she was a "stranger" and she wanted nothing to do with her. The judge made some small talk, signed the papers, posed with us for a couple pictures then shook our hands and we were done. As we left the courthouse and walked toward our van I could almost feel the scissors severing my puppet strings. I felt lighter, a weight was lifted, I felt free. No longer bound to an agency but free. We are a real family now .... and it feels so right.

This past weekend we saw the end of another season here .... DANCE. Five of seven of the kiddlings had dance this year and all of them had their year end recitals on Saturday. Our little girlies had their turn on the big stage after lunch. They were so excited to get flowers from Daddy but Little Susan was a bit sad that she wouldn't have "Crance Crass" (dance class) anymore. Latoya said she didn't mind, she was just going to miss dancing with "Charlie" (the only boy in their class.)

Our boys had their show in the evening. They did a wonderful job! I was such a proud Mommy :) Nicholas was such a trooper. He performed very well , even after such a painful experience with his fingers and the jeep door.
With the school year coming to an end, it's a good time to consider some new kind of sport or activity to introduce to the herd..... this will take some thought.....  I am open to suggestions :)

We're still trying to sell our home. Our realtor called and said it was time to hold another open house so I began the usual cleaning and decluttering, sorting and getting rid of. I even rearranged a few rooms to make the place a little more appealing. When the kids came home from school the one day Shane was so impressed with what he saw. "Wow Mom, it's just like the newer version of our house, like we've been upgraded!" he said excitedly :)

I took that as a compliment but was still not as impressed as the kids were.... after all I WAS just coming down from an adrenaline rush .... from wrestling with the girl's set of bunk beds.... how many times can a person put a set of bunkbeds together and STILL get them wrong?!?!?!

During my second rebuild the phone rang. It was my hubby calling. I asked him if he was in the area and was able to stop by to help me separate the beds (yes AGAIN, I know you already helped me turn them around on your lunch break but I did something wrong .... I said I did something WRONG ... and I have to redo it again.... ) and turn the top bunk around.  He said he was already back at the office but would give me a hand as soon as he got home after work. I hung up and decided I couldn't wait for him to come home, I needed to do it now. So I did it myself....

and after the bed collapsed a couple times I was finally able to get the parts all in the right places and put the bed back together again .... just as my sweet hubby came in to assist me. He left work to come rescue me - cause he knows me well enough to know that I wouldn't wait for him and I'd attempt to do it myself :) and he didn't want me to get hurt.
Thanks Babe, I appreciate your thoughtfulness .... but where were you ten minutes earlier?!?!?!

Please feel free to share the laughs ~ Forward this blog to your family and friends and encourage them to join our mailing list too!


The Contest is still on....

We have yet to find a winner...... Forward this blog to 3 people. If they join our mailing list, your name will be entered into a draw for a FREE AVON product (valued at $168.00) on Tuesday June 29th. (Email me the names of the people you forwarded this blog to) I will email the winner on Wednesday June 30th and will publish the winner's name in the next blog posted. You're free to forward this to as many people as you wish :) Every 3 names added constitues one ballot toward the prize.

Also.... Just a reminder that the Campaign 16 Avon order will be placed on Tuesday June 22 at noon. If you haven't already placed your order, please have a look at the online brochures and contact me :)  See "My Avon Business" page for the complete listing of current online brochures available.

Here is an "awww" moment from our house to yours:
As we drove along the 401 Little Susan was in awe at the beautiful sun set out her window. "Look at that sun Mama." she gasped breathlessly. "Hmmm, I think Jesus put that right there for you Baby girl." I said to her. In a tiny voice full of wonder she replied, "I lookin' at it with my heart Mama."

Have an incredibly beautiful Week :)