Adoption

Adoption is scheduled for September 16 @ 2:30 pm.

This Week

Well, as previously mentioned, school starts tomorrow. The backpacks are ready to go and the clothing out in case someone needs to dress while a sibling is still sleeping. French Toast is the breakfast menu. They are both excited but from previous years experience I expect a few weeks of "settling in" time and some behavior/attitude challenges/adjustments as they (and younger siblings) change from the relative freedom of summer to the structure of the school year. I, too, am trying to get back on a schedule with some things I need to get accomplished.

Monday I was busy baking so I have some dessert for their lunches: Molasses Cookies, Angel Food Cake, Easy Chocolate Bundt Cake. Today we were shopping for some last minute items. Tomorrow they will have to manage with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches as I don't have any lunch meet. Therefore, going grocery shopping is on the schedule for Wednesday.

My friend who cleaned 3 hours/week for me last school year is going to clean again this semester as her (college) schedule allows. I'm excited to not have to do general cleaning and be able to focus on specific areas, baking, bookkeeping, organizing, and spending time with the children. Oh and I'm way behind on my photo albums also.

This year I have decided to join a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. It meets the 1st & 3rd Thursday of the month during the school year. If anyone local is interested you can register at www.ephratafirst.org. For more info on MOPS or a group in your area the MOPS website is www.mops.org.

Our adoption journey is nearing the end (barring complications of course). The petition to adopt was filed on Monday and we are waiting to hear a final date for the adoption. I have settled on a verse for our announcements: "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3 (or something, my paper's not in front of me). I'm excited to get a date to type on them and order them.

School

School Starts Wednesday! Josiah is in 4th grade this year and Autumn in 2nd. We are enjoying 2 days of a more relaxed schedule before the start of this school year. They are ready to go again.

Here and now

For those of you not around here....it remains hot and humid. Tonight Mark broke out in a sweat just drinking his bottle. We've had thunderstorms that cool things down outside momentarily but the humidity comes back as soon as they stop. And the coolness doesn't really make it into the house before it gets hot again. The grass really needs mowed and they are predicting ferocious storms tomorrow. Accuweather is also predicting that the humidity will break this weekend and that Sunday will be a lovely day!

Tonight at bedtime Chase decided that it would be fun to squeeze toothpaste into the toilet. Thankfully the girls alerted me before the tube was empty! Right now Mark is laying in his crib and crying. I am trying to get him to go to sleep on his own when he is sleepy (and yes, as I love to rock my babies sometimes it's as hard for me as them when I let them cry).

This morning I mixed up Raisin Bran Muffins. I keep these in the refrigerator (up to 2 months) and bake as needed. I also made a double batch of Freezer Salsa. This afternoon my sister-in-laws and their children came over and we tye-dyed t-shirts. We also exchanged names for Christmas.

The Cousins.

Random (again)!

Today I took the kids to mom's for one last time during the week before school starts because then they can only visit on weekends. Tomorrow we're getting together with a friend that I worked with during high school and whose children used to attend school with mine before she started homeschooling. Our oldest (3) children are the same ages (birthdays within weeks of each other). And we both do foster care with the same agency. She has a little girl. Then in the afternoon it is time once again for that monthly caseworker visit. Actually, I think the adoption caseworker needs to come out sometime this month also. Thursday I am babysitting (2) of my nieces and then in the afternoon we're having "cousins" time with them and my other (2) nieces as well as my sister-in-laws. This week I'm trying to fit in all the "getting together" that was aimed for over summer break that didn't happen!

Saturday we meet with the attorney for the adoption to sign paperwork and learn about the hearing process.

Then next week the only thing on our schedule is "The First Day of School". Josiah will be starting 4th grade and Autumn 2nd. Sometime between now and then we need to pick up a new lense for Josiah's glasses at the eyedoctors.

In the morning we need to straighten up this house before going to play with our friends. My sister blessed me with lots of tomatoes & a few peppers so I need to get the rest of the ingredients for the salsa I like to make and make that....but I'll probably have more tomatoes then I need just for that so I might need to make something else too. I also have some very ripe bananas that I want to use for banana bread. I never made that before but I guess I'll try a recipe and see if the kids will eat it.

Today after seeing my friend's baby, swimming at grandma's neighbors house and naps we went to Sharp Shopper and then stopped by to see our newest niece again. She is so adorable...and makes my boys look HUGE!

Other Random Thoughts:

• I must get my files in order.


• I'm excited that my friend will clean for me 3 hours/week again this semester, at least for the time being.


• the dishwasher needs emptied and refilled.


• the counters need cleaned off...and everything put where it belongs.


• laundry needs done in the morning.


• I should schedule Mark for 1-year photos.


• despite the rain cooling down the outside, it's still rather hot & humid inside--I do not want to move south! :-)


• I should get more sleep and start transitioning to the school schedule....

That's all for now! Well, maybe I'll finish with another picture from our vacation....

Vacation

We had a wonderful week at the beach. We stayed at Randy's parents beach house near Lewes, DE and enjoyed going to various local beaches/state parks--Cape Henlopen, Tower Beach, Lewes Beach. Randy & I also got to have a date night and enjoyed supper at Jerry's Seafood in Lewes. Saturday and Sunday some of Randy's family was there with us. And Wednesday through Sunday friends were with us. Monday we rode the ferry to Cape May, NJ. It was very hot, humid, & hazy! We then took the shuttle into Cape May, walked around and went to Dairy Queen, and then took the ferry back to Lewes. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday we went to the beach. Wednesday we did some shopping at the outlets. We had a wonderful, relaxing time!

Cape Henlopen - Herring Point
Cape Henlopen - Bay Side

Waiting for the ferry

Josiah by the boat docks

Janae at the playground

Autumn at the playground.

Beach Vacation

We were on vacation all of last week but now we're back. I will update the blog tonight (or some night this week) and hopefully add some new pictures. We had a wonderful, relaxing week.

Book Reviews

This past Sunday I checked some books out of our church library:

1. "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey. I enjoyed it immensely as I usually do the books he writes. I know some people consider his books borderline heretical but I find them very challenging.
2. "A Thousand and One Egyptian Nights" by Jennifer Drago. Subtitle is "An American Christian's Life Among Muslims". This is a fascinating account of her (and her husband and 3 children) time spent in Egypt (2003-2006).
3. "Lost Sons" by Judy Clemens. This novel incorporates the story of Clayton Kratz, an MCC worker who disappeared in Russia in 1920 with the story of a family whose son (in the Navy) is MIA in Russia. The story is set in Goshen, IN.

my mind keeps wandering...

I know I had many interesting things to post....but I can't remember what they are!

Saturday we got 4 baskets of peaches. We canned half of them Saturday and the other half today. Also made 3 (double)batches of jelly. It all went very smoothly thanks to Randy (Saturday) and Mom (today).

Autumn had her first day of day camp today. I think she enjoyed it but she seemed kind of overwhelmed...hopefully she'll be okay to go again tomorrow.

Josiah's right lens needs to be stronger so we ordered that at his eye appointment today.

Tonight we planted broccoli and cauliflower for our fall harvest. We also planted some pumpkins although we think it's probably to late...seeds are pretty cheap so we'll try. We have bountiful supplies of grape tomatoes, but the Roma tomatoes all develop dry rot or something. We are experimenting with ways to use all those grape tomatoes. This weekend we halved grape tomatoes and added sliced onions and peppers. Seasoned them with Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing, and grilled them in a foil packet. Randy says they are delicious! My brother used them as a burger topping and said that was good also. We also tried halved grape tomatoes tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning as a cold side dish. Randy said it was to bland but really liked it when he added Italian dressing.

The younger 3 children are also doing well. Janae fell off her scooter the other night and bumped her head. So seriously she said "I don't think I'll ride my scooter again for 3 years!". Obviously she has very little concept of time yet....I think she was back on the next day. I am working to get Mark to 1 (afternoon) nap and then an earlier bedtime (8:00 or so). So far, so good. It really only works if I'm at home though as driving sometimes puts him to sleep.

The children enjoy cooling off in the wading pool as we're still having warm, humid days. Tonight is a cool night though which helps immensely...I can take the heat in the day if the nights cool off.

Tuesday and Wednesday are fairly free this week (other then day camp drop-off and pick-up). Friday night our church is showing a movie and having games and snacks in a local park so we'll go to that. Then we have a vacation planned for next week so I won't be blogging for a while. I'm not sure if I'll get on much this week or not as I need to get ready for next week.