It's time to catch up... Let's start with June!

I am going to try my best to knock out a few blogs over the next several days.  Perhaps one for each month I've neglected.  Since it's now December that's 6 posts to catch you up on our life (if you're even still there reading my blog).

First things first though, I will let you know that Baby Boy is still with us.  In a nutshell, the court system will decide in the next month or so whether he will stay with us.  I can't share details here other than this has been a very emotionally trying process and we have been praying fervently for this little guy.  Even after the upcoming decision, we will still have to wait for a while to see if we can adopt him.  We are hopeful.

On to catching you up... Back in June (ahh, June lovely weather, how I wish we were heading into summer and not winter right now), we started the month off with recital.  With three of us in the production, it made for a very busy time.  Jenna, Olivia, and I had a great time performing.

The girls and I were in different performances that day, and during my afternoon performance Jenna lost a tooth.  She was so proud to show me afterward.  As Dad was leaving the theater with the kids Jenna stopped to get a drink of water from the water fountain, and she laid her tooth down on the table next to the fountain and walked off.  I still had one more performance that night and as I was waiting for the evening show, Robby calls me to tell me that I HAVE to go look for this tooth!  Well, Jenna's one lucky little girl because the tooth was still exactly where she had left it in the lobby a couple hours when I found it.

Next up for June was our trip to the Omaha Zoo.  I don't have time for a lot of commentary, but here are the highlights...

Notice that there are penguins in the giraffe enclosure (because you would normally see this in the wild, right?!)

We were glad that we did not take a ride on the train when it began blowing it's very loud whistle as it was leaving the station and terrorized poor little Natalya.

Last up was a trip to La Mars, Iowa, the home of Blue Bunny Ice Cream, touted as Ice Cream Capital of the world.  The Iowa State Legislature actually deemed it so.  And we know that makes it official!

This was a bunch of older retired guys who still like to live life on the wild side.

And lastly, some fun pics to remind us of how great summer is...

When it rains, it pours...

The same day that I wrote the post about my friend's death, we were getting ready for Robby (my husband) to leave the next day for a trip to China for a week.  That day as I thought about his trip I felt this heavy foreboding feeling in my heart.  I was thinking, "Surely nothing terrible is going to happen."  It was bothering me enough that I asked Robby how he was feeling about the trip, and he said he had been feeling worried about it, too.  Of course, that didn't comfort my heart any.  I prayed in my heart that he would be okay, and that if anything happened it wouldn't be awful.

Well, about 5:30 that afternoon, we got a call that we almost didn't answer because there was no caller ID.  It turned out that DHS wanted to place a 1 month old baby boy with us.  I can't share his reasons for placement, but I will say he's had a rough start in life.  After hearing about his situation, we agreed quickly to take him.  When the call ended, I turned to Robby and told him I wasn't worried any more about his trip.  I knew he would be okay (it was me that should be worried).  I think the arrival of this little one was what my heart was fretting.  

So our family graduated to five children last Tuesday when this sweet baby boy arrived in our home, and I'm doing it solo till Saturday.  I can't say that it's been a walk in the park, but we're surviving thanks in part to great friends who are helping out.  Natalya is having to adapt to no longer being the baby pretty fast, and it's been a bit of a challenge.  She climbs into the baby's car seat, tries to sneak into his swing, and wants to be cradled in my arms.  Other than that she is sneaking in the refrigerator, secretly stealing pens and paper, and running wild around the house.  Even for Olivia this is an adjustment, and I'm seeing a little more of her sassy side.  She has been joining me in bed late in the night and wakes up sometimes with the baby.  I've also sensed that Jenna is more anxious than normal, and quicker to tears when things aren't the way she expected.  Fortunately, I have Li'l Robby.  He just takes all the emotions in the house in stride.  What would I do without him!  As for me, I feel like a zombie.

I'm down to two days left.  Robby has no idea what he's coming home to.  

In Memory - A Challenge for You

My heart is very heavy this morning.  I sit with tears in my eyes thinking upon my dear, dear friend.  My best friend from my childhood.  We used to say, "Best Friends Forever."  I am not going to identify her on this blog out of respect to the family.  There are very few if any who read this blog that might have a clue as to who I am referencing since I had not been in contact with this friend since she and I were in high school, with the exception of my wedding and one other visit.  A few days ago, I found out that she took her own life a week ago.  I can't tell you how sad this makes me.  Her funeral began just a moment ago, and I can't be there this morning because of distance and expense.

She and I were inseparable in our childhood.  She grew up next door to me, and we practically lived at each other's houses.  We would come and go with hardly a knock on the door.  She was just like my sister.  In fact, my parents were often asked where their "adopted daughter" was if she was not with us.  She and I did everything together until about middle school.  It was at that time that we gradually started to grow apart.  We were still close friends, but our interests and the crowds we hung out changed.  We simply grew apart.  After high school we pretty much didn't stay in touch.  I have always had fond memories of her.  In the last several years we connected through facebook, perhaps more out of curiosity than anything.  We also exchanged birthday wishes a few times.  

Since news of her death came, I have had a flood of happy memories from my childhood.  The great times we had growing up.  The silly things we did.  Sweet, sweet memories.  I have also asked myself, "Why would she take her own life?"  It was so shocking for many around her, including me.  Since I was not close to her these last many years, I do not know the details.  I do know she was quite successful in her business and she was a beautiful woman who was healthy and strong physically.  I often saw pictures of her through facebook that showed her dressed to the nines at dinner parties and other social events.  

What would make her so despairing that she felt the need to take her own life?   My gut reaction is to be mad at the world.  The world that makes us feel so worthless if we don't live up to every expectation, if we don't look, act, or feel the way everyone else thinks we should act.  The world that can block our view of what's really important, that can blind us to the love others feel for us.  We all share this struggle. 

In the last several days since her obituary was posted online, I have been reading the entries to her online guest book.  Entry after entry show people's expressions of how much love they had for her, how much she influenced their lives for good, helped them be better people, she brighten their days with her kindness and acts of service.  It breaks my heart that she didn't realize all the love that surrounded her.  She was blinded, and couldn't see how many people she influenced.  I don't think we realize how many people we have touched through out our lives.  I think back and regret the fact that I didn't tell her how much she meant to me in my childhood.  She shaped who I have become.  In my relationship with her I learned how to show love to others around me.  I wasn't always the best friend to her.  She let me know this at times, but I have learned how to have stronger relationships because of her.  I am a better person because of her.  I loved her, and still do.  I never told her that.

In memory of her, I would like to challenge myself and all of you to write a personal note or call those best friends of your life and tell them they matter to you.  Show your love and let them know what they have done for you to make you a better person.  I hope that none of yours or my dear friends are contemplating taking their own life, but perhaps our expressions of love can change a life or two.  Perhaps we can brighten a day or two or ten or more.  Perhaps we can help our friends see through the deceptions of the world and remember that someone loves them and they can make it through their struggles.  Do it for at least one of those best friends in your life.  We can make a difference!

To all who read this, I love you!

Sharon

Feel free to challenge your own friends.  Together we can spread the love.

The snow came and went

We never thought living in Iowa that we would have to rush out to enjoy the snow before it melted, but that's what happened this day last month.  We finally got a good snow fall and Robby said let's take the little girls sledding while we can (the older two were in school, so no we didn't leave them behind).  It's a good thing we did because this was the last chance we had to sled.  In fact the snow had melted too much by the next day for a repeat trip.  

On another note about the lack of winter weather (not that I'm complaining), I felt bad because this year for Christmas we got Li'l Robby some snow fort building tools, and he didn't get to use them even once this year.   Either he was in school or it didn't snow enough.  

Here's our fun in the snow...

We got the brilliant idea to put both the girls on the sled and push them down the hill.  Well... they wiped out.

And as you can see, they weren't happy about it.

One last run...

And as you can see from Olivia's face, she hadn't completely recovered from the wipe-out.  It was fun while it lasted.

Somebody else had a birthday...

back in February, and it was Robby, the elder!  I won't tell you how old he is.  The cow was one of his "birthday presents."  Not really, we just saw it at a museum we went to that day, and thought the girls would enjoy it.

Robby opted not to have a cake since we spent the day out as a family and didn't have time to make one.   So he picked up some ice cream bars and chose to put his single candle in the bar.

Funny Faces

Somebody had a birthday...

back in January, and it's about time I posted some pics.  Can you believe she's 4?!

I know it looks like 3, but there are really 4 candles.  4 candles, 5 cupcakes, we're just trying to confuse you.

 This year she was excited to have a friends party, too, so we took them all to a fun place in town called Kiln Time Studio where everyone got to paint their own ceramic figure that was glazed and fired by the studio.

One of the bonuses is that the studio paints a special plate for the birthday child with their favorite character(s) in their favorite colors.

Olivia likes both Snow White and Cinderella, so the plate has a glass slipper on the back.