AUGUST is over (finally)

I usually love August.  Even though it is usually sweltering in Alabama (or "dog days" as they like to call it...I will never figure out why unless it is because that is all you smell.  sweaty. wet. dog.  enough said)

This month has not been my favorite August.  I have some pieces missing this August.

My oldest girl went to college this August.   She was ready to go.  I think I was ready to let her go.  But that doesn't void out the emotions that swelled up all month while we were preparing for her to go.  I only had a few meltdowns...somewhere between 3 and 17, I think :-P  I am missing her coming in from work at 6 and helping with dinner.  I am missing txting her BEFORE she left work to ask her to stop at Publix on the way home.  I am missing txts from her telling me she is on her way home from a friends house or saying that she made it there ok.  I am missing her stories about crazy (nameless) people she had to deal with on the phone at work.  I am missing clothes-folding "parties" with her late at night while we caught up on episodes of Major Crimes or Duck Dynasty.  I am not missing her loud music (well, I'm NOT).  I AM missing the way she would listen to Jack Johnson or John Mayer or other soothing stuff when we rode together in her car.  I am missing the conversations she, Dewayne, and I had over the years about grace, and freedom, and loving people, and being a leader, and growing up.  I am missing her strong-willed personality (go figure), and her determined focus.  Sometimes I even miss her bossiness, which really saved me from being the bad guy with the little kids a LOT over the past year (not sure if that is good or bad, but I enjoyed it).  I am so proud of the young woman she has become.

The day after we took Waverly to college, I lost another piece...

My Dad, who I had rarely seen over the past 10 years...partly due to geographical distance, and probably more to do with the fact that we are both incredibly stubborn...had a massive heart attack and passed away.  He just got a cup of coffee, mentioned how good he was feeling these days, went to the porch and died.

I am missing him.  I am missing his motorcycle rides.  I am missing the rare telephone calls that somehow felt like it had only been a few days since we had talked last.  I am even missing being angry at him for not calling.  I am missing his laugh and the way he made everyone else laugh when they were around him.  I am missing his hugs (the Vibbert boys know how to hug).  I am missing his bbq chicken (weird).  I am missing holding hands with him on the couch while we watched "Cheers" on Thursday nights after dinner when I was a teenager.  I am missing the reason that I thought it was not important to go to his wedding several years ago.  I am missing the fact that he never really got to know my kids.  I am missing that I never got to see him as Santa Claus.  I am missing that my life is relatively unchanged since he has gone, except for this piece that is missing.

9 MONTHS!

I have exactly 14 minutes to finish this post before I go pick up the boys from their ESL Summer School.  It will never happen.  I have never completed a post in 14 minutes.  I will try.

It will be 9 months home with the boys in a couple weeks.  Unbelievable!  It has been so much easier AND harder than we could have planned for.  I always feel like our adoption agency prepares us so well, and yet some things you just can't prepare for even when you know they are coming.  You can prepare for a hurricane by boarding up, but you are still going to get battered and blown around if you choose to stay.  I guess I understand those "stayers" a little better now.

On the other hand, we are (thankfully) a lot further along at 9 months than I would have predicted.  They both jumped right into school mid-year and made lots and lots of progress.  They will both be entering 2nd grade next year with modified educational plans (there is some acrostic or initial name for it, like IUD or ENT, but I can't remember what it is, hehehe).  Micah Jude LOVES school and can't wait to go back.  He wants to do absolutely everything!  If someone else is doing it, he needs to try.  Gideon groans at the mention of school, or reading, or homework.  He would rather be hunting or fishing or digging stuff up or taking something apart and putting it back together.  They are amazing individuals and I pray we can always recognize that and encourage them to be who God made them to be.

Short and sweet, my time is up in 2 minutes!
Well, shoot.  I knew it was too good to be true.  Because I have not been on here in 9 months, I have to re-learn how to post pictures.  And there will be no blogging without pictures.  It's just not right.

Micah Jude

Eden

Gideon

So, since I have already blown my deadline, let me tell you what happened while I was gone.  So, I rushed out of here to meet the bus in a random summer school bus stop location.  Why did it not occur to me that the boys are used to getting off the bus in front of our house?!?  Why didn't I think when I told them they'd be riding the bus home and that I would be there to pick them up, that they were assuming it would be at the normal bus stop?  First of all, I was not EXACTLY sure where the bus stop was myself.  I drove them all the way to the school this AM because of that, but I was assured by the teachers that they'd be fine riding the bus home (true, all true).

Apparently the bus was a teeny bit early at the random bus stop and I was not there in time (because I was here blogging, of course).  And because the bus driver did not know my two were new to this bus stop (we missed last week cause we were at the beach...priorities, I tell you), she dropped the regulars and went on.  My boys just rode the bus all the way to the end of the line and back to the school!  I sat in the parking lot waiting and getting regular phone calls from the school for about 45 minutes.  I really need to call back up there and apologize.  I am quite certain I was in Mommy panic mode and probably sharpish to her on the last call.  Sigh.

So, since I was already in a bad mood, we just went grocery shopping on our way home.  Usually the kids are fine in the grocery store.  One had a teeny issue with obedience today so there was a chance for him to spend some quality time with me hanging on to the buggy while the other two had their freedom.  He did not enjoy that.  His lip was nearly dragging the ground.  So, when it came time to unload the buggy, I asked them all to help unload and he promptly went to the bagging area to retrieve his chosen snack before one of us nabbed it, presumably.  When I looked up and asked him to come back and help with the unloading, the bagger (we'll call him John...because that's what was on his name tag) said, "that's ok, he's fine".  To which I replied, "No, it's really not ok...he needs to obey and come back here."  John was mostly silent after that.  I did not mean to scare him.  I was not yelling, just adamant and stern as I am prone to be most of the time these days.  I did try to explain that we are working on obedience today, but I think he is a single guy about 20ish so I am sure he had no idea what I was talking about.  Oh well.

So, I have been snappish with two innocent bystanders today.  Welcome to my life.  I am a goob.

I was just asking my husband the other day..."when do I get to be the nice Mom again (maybe I should ask my older kids if I ever WAS the nice Mom or am I hallucinating)?  When do I just get to be lovey and fun instead of just reprimanding and intensely training, and focusing on reading and language and honoring personal space and table manners?"  He said easily, "2 years".  Sigh.  What if I have forgotten who I am by then?  What if I really turn into a drill sergeant for real by then?  I have to try to remember how to be fun and let the little things go.  But not the personal space thing...for some reason that is a tough one in this household at the moment and about to drive almost everyone nuts.  Maybe I will let housecleaning go...wait, I think I have already done that.  Cooking?  No, that's gone too.  Hygiene?  Blast...I think I have already let too much go.

I could not resist these shirts from the clearance rack.  Gideon (left) LOVES his and wears it at least once a week :-)

2 month update

We have been home from China 9 weeks today with our boys.  For most of that time, I have been searching for milestones so that I could say we had passed them.  And all of a sudden, it has been nine weeks!  I thought it was 2 months today but somehow a week has slipped up on me.  Oh yeah, Micah Jude's surgery was a week ago...there is my missing week ;-)

I don't have time, energy, or recall to relate all of the last 9 weeks so I will abbreviate if I can.  You realize this is very difficult because I tend to have a lot of words.  Here goes:

Oct 17 - Dec 19, 2012  Really long plane ride home which included all 6 of us RUNNING from one side of Chicago (airport) to the other only to discover our plane was delayed and moved to the concourse we had just run from.  2 weeks of jet lag.  The boys have slept through the night EVERY night since we have met them.  Boys learn how to play Nintendo DS.  Boys fight over DS games/devices.  DS devices mysteriously disappear, never to resurface ;-)  Eden takes on big sister role easily.  Harrison has two 7 yr old brothers bunking with him and is mostly ok with it.  8 trips to the horse farm for riding lessons.    8 trips to Eden's ballet class and playing on the playground while we wait for her.

12 creeks jumped over

One trip to the Pumpkin Patch on a Sunday afternoon.  7 games of SORRY.  Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 in the car.  Waverly got new tires on her car.  Mom used one old tire to hang a tire swing.  Mom's hammock is demolished as kids gravitate to it instead of the tire swing...grrrrrrrr.  Puzzles, letters, numbers, colors, shapes, names.  112 temper tantrums, the last of which (wait!  there was not a temper tantrum today! whooohooo!) ended with the whole family giggling (except the screamer).  I guess your body instinctively knows when it needs to produce endorphins.  8 doctor/dentist visits in 8 days.  6 vials of blood drawn.  Only a few tears.  Lots of bandaids and stickers and lolipops.  2 cases of strep throat.  One sinus infection.  One case of the flu.  One tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy/Baha post implant.  One case of mono.  Traditional Thanksgiving meal because Mom needed something to remember her former life by.  63 shower baths given by Dad.  63 wet bathrooms cleaned up by Dad.  163 wet bath towels (well, it seems like it).  7,214 articles of clothing folded...exaggeration? I couldn't say.  2 trips to the store to buy jeans for the boys (one of them by Waverly at 2am on Black Friday).  1 set of keys locked in a trunk.  9, no 8, no probably 6 episodes of Parenthood with Waverly after kids are in bed.  A Senior portrait session  for Waverly by my great friend and talented photographer, which somehow included ALL of my kids.


A little bit of sewing.  Christmas shopping almost exclusively online and by Dad.  Boys started school November 14!  Micah Jude got a bone conducting hearing aid in preparation for his Baha (bone anchored hearing aid).  One family portrait sitting...boys are confused by it all.  8 Sunday buffets at Miss Su's.  Lots of dinners brought by good friends.  One Rubbermaid building assembled to house bikes, scooters, and chipmunks (jk).  Lots of trips to Lowe's with Dad (the boys love it there).  24 waves goodbye and kisses blown to the bus in the morning.  Lots of hugs and kisses.    Several trips to Full Moon BBQ.
Passion music at bedtime worship with Dad.  Strobe dancing in the living room with LED lights and lasers.  Playing outside with neighbor friends.  Only a few scuffs from scooter accidents.  A couple meetings at the kids' school to talk about how THEY can help US teach our boys...AMAZING group of teachers!  Txt counseling by godly friends.  Daily prayer (did I say daily prayer?  I meant prayer ALL day).  Many reminders of my weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12: 9,10).  One note for Santa taped to the front door tonight by Gideon.  Merry Christmas everyone!