Jeff and I are Grandparents!

... and all the accompanying kin relationships that entails--i.e. my parents and Jeff's are now Great Grandparents! We adopted LB's dad officially on Monday (the first day of Autumn.) He is keeping his name--and LB is a "Jr.", so since our new grandson is still officially in foster care, I still need to be circumspect with names and pictures. Once our new son gets back from overseas (he deploys in a few weeks) and gets physical custody of his son back, I can share all kinds of pictures. (They are both so cute!)

I feel so peaceful knowing LB will always be in our life--and our 19 year old son (20 in Nov) is a good kid--who really needs a family. He has a dad who adopted him and raised him, and whom he loves, as well as his birth mom who didn't raise him, but after court he made the comment, "I've never had a mom AND a dad before." I look forward to sending him lots of care packages and updates on LB--and I know Jeff will make a good mentor. Jeff and Little Buddah and (Big Buddah? no. Big Brother? That'll work.) BB plan on traveling to see BB's extended family over BB's leave.

I went to my annual woman's retreat last weekend. That is such a good thing for me. I drove Myrtle up there (our '82 butt-ugly awesomely gas-efficient Honda) with Zadina and dropped her off with my parents. Then I got a haircut (just a few inches) and then went to the Swanson Center to spend 24 hours in the nurturing company of women: laughing, talking, reading poetry, and spending time in quiet reflection. I made two major goals this year. One was to focus on my marriage. The proces is a little too personal to share here, but Jeff is pleased with our time together so far. (grin)
The other goal is for me to get back into size 8 jeans by the end of next September. I've been eating better and walking: I'm ready to end my "fat decade".

I got two teeth pulled yesterday--the spot is tender, but I was in such pain for the last few months, it is a relief (rather like my feeling after a cesearean....) I still have wisdom teeth up there--maybe they will come down now that there is space for them....

I got a phone call yesterday and one of our pillar members of our church died a few days ago. It's made me very reflective. She was a good woman and I'll miss her sweet smile and gentle words....


We saw Juno last night. It was a fun movie and a huge propaganda for adoption. I wonder if some fundamentalist group helped fund it?

Got family pics taken...

Took the whole crew on Saturday--I'm very pleased with this woman's work. She owns a small studio here in JC.

I've also been playing a vocabulary game that is rather addictive:



Taj and Aria started Scouts tonight--and Aria and Za start dance again tomorrow.

Seven years ago....

We had dentist appointments today for two of the girls and I realized the significance of the date as I was filling out the paperwork. Jeff was in a dentist's office 7 years ago today and I was home with two babies watching the destruction on tv: it was just before we moved to IA.

A lot has changed....

Busy busy busy!

Have two months really passed since my last post?
So much has happened! First--we are all moved in. The house is perfect for our needs. You walk in the front door and it's open to the 2nd floor loft--enormous entryway (big enough to put an additional dining table for the holidays when our family eventually gets too big for our main table.) Straight ahead are the stairs leading to the lower level (not officially a basement since it's a walk-out and the bedrooms have egress windows.) To the right is the living room. Down a short hallway along the stairs, to the right is the master bedroom (just Jeff and I in there, now--when he's home, that is!), straight ahead is the main floor bathroom, and to the left is the stairway leading up to the loft. C'mon up and see! At the top of the stairs is a rather large play area, a full bathroom directly above the main floor one, and a cozy sleeping area for Aria, Zadina, and Sascha. Back down to the first floor and we'll go to the left of the front door--dining room which leads into the kitchen. Also a back door that goes out onto the deck--roomy enough for the grill and a dining table we plan on using often this fall. Now come back to the stairs, and I'll show you the lower level. At the bottom of the stairs to the left, this enormous room is my GORGEOUS laundry room. Big enough for a fridge, a deep freeze, washer, dryer, plenty of storage--and, oh, yeah, you could still have a dance party down here! That door leads out into the backyard. Back here into the hallway: the bathroom is directly below the other two, and there are 4 big bedrooms down here. Our new teen and her infant sleep in the first one, Blonde Chick has the next one, Taj and LB share one--and one is just for me! It holds all of my books and movies AND craft stuff--with a big table for my projects. (Can you guess where I've been spending my spare time?) And the garage is HUGE (Think Jiffy Lube). The tv is out there, so night owls don't disturb anyone else's sleep.

Oh, did you notice I mentioned two new kids? This sweet girl and her baby joined us a few weeks ago. She is in high school and seems to be working out great. Our other teen's adoption is still in the works--in the next few months? But she has officially withdrawn from school and is studying for her GED. And we've gotten very close to LB's dad. In fact, we are going to adopt him before he deploys. So we will be LB's grandparents.

In the meantime, we are still seeking a brother for Taj (one who is not a full 12 years older!) We have space for one or two more children (maybe three?) and then we are DONE! (at least for now.)

Jeff went to a training thing in OK a few days after we moved in. He will be home in time for Sascha's 2nd birthday.

The kids are all doing great. Learning and growing and getting into trouble, but mostly making me laugh a heck of a lot.

Life is good.