Preparations for…The Derby

We knew when we took Ellie and Hunter in that there would be changes. And we knew that we couldn’t even anticipate all of the changes—there is just no way to know everything that would be different. One thing we probably could have seen, but didn’t was that we would be participating in the pinewood derby! That is a first for me. I have cut cars out before for people who asked for my help, but I have never attended or been…”invested” in any particular derby race. Well, all that changed with Hunter being old enough this year to have a car in the race! And I didn’t realize what a big deal it is to boys and men alike!

Kelly was awesome with Hunter. The car was really Hunter’s car. He listened to what Hunter wanted and helped him make his “dream” car happen. Hunter did most of the work, too. Kelly only stepped in when it was too difficult for Hunter. And as a result Hunter was really pleased with his car and his work.

Changes

Sande brought a flower over to wish me happy new year. It was a welcome gift and helped to cheer me up with all the sickness and emotional stress I have been feeling. I decided to document it with photos as it began to open up and bloom. We all watched with interest to see exactly what kind of flower it would turn out to be. We all knew that it would become the flower that it was intended to be, but we didn’t know what that was. We all guessed at the potential it had and felt the excitement of witnessing the outcome. It became a beautiful flower, with more blooms in it than I could tell even as it opened up. It was more beautiful than I thought possible.

For me, it turned into a metaphor of life in general, but also more personal for these beginning days with Hunter and Ellie. With all of these changes, I have had a difficult time. Our time together and the outcome is known by God, but I can’t see what he sees. I know that our situation has great potential, to be beautiful and grand. And I know that it all depends on the choices that I make. I know I must rely on the spirit to guide me for it to turn out right..and hopefully more beautiful than we even expected.

Fun in the-------Rain

I know the saying usually goes fun in the sun, but here in Arizona we love to get out and enjoy the rain. We like to sit on the back porch and watch the storm, listen to the rain hit the roof and smell the desert. Today, we need to include watching kids play in the rain on that list.

 

 

 

 

 

And one more thing that is always on that list--look for rainbows!

Lovely Day

We are getting some moisture falling from the sky today. It smells great outside and we need the moisture. It is just a sprinkle so I decided to take my camera for a walk. Here is what I found:

Now, I have got to get dressed…if I hurry I can be out of my pajamas before noon!

Tender Mercy

We took the kids on a walk today and on the way back I received a tender mercy…I found this rock.

Thanks to my friend Robin who taught me to look for God’s love in rocks. I needed to feel Him near me and there He was.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Literally. I wrote a post about what to expect in the new year on the 2nd of January and by the 5th we had two additions to our family! We received the call on the 3rd asking us if we would be willing to have the kids move in…tomorrow! We asked for a few days to get some physical things arranged for their arrival so we agreed on Saturday. We are still getting some emotional things arranged!

Ellie is 11. She is a delightful girl. Most of the time she is easy going and agreeable, very pleasant to be around and pretty independent. She is a tomboy (by her own admission) loves animals, plays the violin and has a fun imagination. She was a good sport in this picture and let Kelsey curl her hair.

Hunter is 8. He is a busy boy, always moving and making some kind of noise. Kelly says that is normal for boys! He has a fun sense of humor and a big stubborn streak. He loves to create things and has an engineering mind. Here he is with some wire “ears” attached to his head to make us all laugh.

We are taking one day at a time trying to learn from each other and adjust. There are big adjustments for all of us as we learn to live together and work on getting them back with their mom and dad. Definitely a growing experience for all of us.

sick

…and I don’t mean in a good way.

This week Kelly and I have been down and out for the count. We have not been this sick in a long time. Kelly recovered enough to leave for Denver for a few days. And I had to tough it out on my own…boo hoo hoo.

Kelly started it on Sunday afternoon and I finished with a bang—fever of 102, coughing and moving when only necessary---like picking up kids from work or school. Yesterday, I was up for a little while to clean my “never-been-so-dirty” house and paid for it with a relapse in the afternoon and evening. Today, Kelly is back in town and we are up on our feet again trying to bring some order to this chaos, even ran some errands, but we are ready for bed…like right now. We still aren’t 100%! But these little people—they want some dinner before we even talk about baths or beds…or quiet?

Kelsey and the kids aren’t sick at all. That is a blessing. Dealing with sick kids is not what I wanted to do at the beginning of this new life we started. I think Kelly and I are getting used to little kids germs or something. The other blessing was Kelsey. She was so helpful with the kids.

So I know I need to introduce the kids, we have been so busy trying to arrange and re-arrange for them to feel welcome that I haven’t had a chance. Hopefully this week!

Happy New Year!

2013—what will it bring?

Our new year came and went before we even realized. I kissed Kelly at 1:30 and said “happy new year…late!” So much for our plan to celebrate on eastern standard time and go to be early. It was just the two of us at home. Kelly was puzzling out the new receiver, getting all of the speakers, dvd and cable hooked up just right. I was doing some puzzling too and the time just slipped by while we waited to hear from the girls.

This morning it is back to work, no sleeping in, no eating out and as Kelly left he said back to the gym tonight! Guess I better get to work getting Christmas décor put away so it doesn’t look like it we should still be on holiday.

We don’t really made resolutions per se, but yesterday Kelly and I talked about our goals for the year so that we have a master plan to work from. Then we just work on taking steps towards those goals. We have mostly the same goals as last year—looking toward the future. Working on retirement/mission funds, working on things around the house, helping the girls achieve their goals and Kelly added and I quote “continue to grow old together—my favorite part”.

On a more personal note I want to continue to increase in spirituality, exercise more, learn more-photography and essential oils, practice my guitar and piano more—maybe even take lessons again, give more service—including teeny tears and I am going to work on positive thoughts. I think it is important to focus more on what goals bring to your life and what positive things I am going to do rather than focusing on all the things I want to get rid of. Bad habits or traits naturally go away when you work bringing good habits and traits into your life. I want to turn more of days and what is contained into them over to Heavenly Father, work by inspiration.

I read this today and thought if fit my thoughts perfectly: There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind—CSLewis