Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Relinquishment

Because I've been a foster parent for a few years now, I've had plenty of time in juvenile courtrooms in my state.

LOTS of good people watching! I have seen some hysterical things (people swearing up and down they're not high come back into the courtroom a bit later with a failed test). Some bizarre things (an older gentleman have a seizure, EMT's came in, and the judge continued to hold court). Some things that make me downright angry (parents who are idiots and don't take care of their kids)!

The absolute saddest things I've seen are parents relinquishing their parental rights.

Let me clarify--I was not in court the day that Little I's biological mother (BM, as we refer to her) relinquished her rights. There was nothing sad at all about that to me on that day. I cried tears of pure joy when Cowboy called to give me the news. However, I feel sad for her when I think of her. I pray for her. I worry about her life. I want her to know God and spend eternity with us and live out His purpose for her here on earth.

Back to the sad stuff...

Yesterday I went to court for NoBo's case. His mom, who we love, relinquished her parental rights. I cried with her. It's a happy-sad kind of thing. We're thrilled we'll most likely get to love on NoBo for his whole life, but we're sad for his sweet mom.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thankful Thursday

Here's this week's list, in random order...because my life is full of random order.

1. A fun time with some of our college friends, who were in town with their sweet kids for a Spring Break getaway. We also had my sweet sis-in-law and sister twin (brother-in-law & brother twin at home because brother twin had strep throat--boo!) over. We all had a great time. I love it when Cowboy gets together with this particular friend of ours because their conversations go from sports, books, music, spiritual matters, etc. Much deeper than most man-to-man conversations, which seem to be mostly about sports, jobs, and weather.

2. Haircuts for me, C-Man, & Miss B (& eye brow waxing for me & Miss B).

3. A great time with C-Man's two good friends & their moms (my dear friends) at Barnes & Noble. We all went thinking we were buying the boys the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book and left after we had each purchased some stupid Pokemon book. The boys were thrilled, the moms were disgusted that we spent money on those books!!!

4. Cowboy's dad's 67th birthday celebration! We're SO glad that his bout with cancer last year is behind us and his retirement (2nd retirement, that is) is in the near future. We can't wait for him to be able to golf as often as he wants!

5. My parents, for having all the "big" grandkids over for a St. Patrick's Day party. Mom knows how to party and Dad goes along with it all quite nicely. Green food, green clothes, giveaways, games, and bad Irish jokes!!! I can't wait until Cowboy & I get to be the fun grandparents. (I know, it's many years away.)

6. Sam's Club.

7. The opportunity for Little Bit to come spend a couple nights with us. (Just don't ask how our 1 1/2 hour appointment went. I had both 2-year olds and the 4-year old with me. It took over 30 minutes to get to the appointment, then the fun began. Did I mention it was in the afternoon, when ALL three of them needed a nap desperately?) I'm so grateful Little Bit's mom allows us to stay involved in her life.

8. Handbells. I haven't played in years, and am playing with our church's handbell choir for Easter. I practiced for the first time this week. At first I was AWFUL! But by the end of the practice, it was coming back to me. I've always loved handbells. Cowboy & I had handbells at our wedding. SO beautiful.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

I Rely on Cowboy TOO Much!

I know I'm super-spoiled. Cowboy understands that my love language is Acts of Service and just jumps in to do whatever he can to lighten my load. He is so selfless about it that I just take it for granted.

This morning, after not enough sleep from the time change and a family movie night last night, I was tired! Cowboy got up and took Miss B to a swim meet. I woke up in time to get myself ready, but misjudged how long it would take to get 3 sleepy boys up and ready for church. (He usually gets the little ones dressed for church while I get ready).

We are NEVER late for church because Cowboy plays bass guitar and we always have to be there early. Besides, we drill it in our kids' heads that it is stealing to be late. We try very hard to make it a priority NOT to steal peoples' time.

This morning...we were late to church.

Not the end of the world...

Unless the ladies' group from your church is surprising you with a missions award.

I was SO embarrassed!

First of all, I didn't deserve this recognition. I could name TONS of people (pretty much every member of the church) who deserved this honor before me. I continue to feel like serving God's people needs to be a much bigger part of my life and I admire SO many people in my church who do a better job of that than me.

Secondly, I WAS LATE!!! I could not believe I had to be hunted down in the kids' area, while checking in kiddos to their classes, and lied to about someone needing me so that I would quickly get myself to the sanctuary.

Things I want to change after today:
1. Function better without the help of my sweet man.

2. Serve God and His people more fully every day in every way.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Banana Puddin'

Last weekend our family got together with my friend Cottagebaker and her family. We always have a great time with them. She's a fabulous cook and made the most delicious potato salad. I'll post the recipe on here when she gets it to me (hint, hint). I made banana pudding for dessert. It's so easy, but yummy!

Cowboy's dad's birthday is today and I found myself in the kitchen again with Martha (my Kitchenaid) whipping up some nana puddin'. I thought I'd share my recipe with you.

Banana Puddin'
1 can Eagle Brand milk (I use the fat-free version)
1 box vanilla instant pudding
1 box vanilla wafers (reduced fat, of course)
2 (8-oz.) cartons Cool Whip (light)
2 c. milk (skim)
a few bananas (naturally fat-free HAHA! I just had to add that!)

Mix Eagle Brand milk, 1 carton Cool Whip, and pudding together. Pour in milk and beat until well blended. Pour over wafers and sliced bananas in layers. Chill 1-2 hours. Reserve the second carton of Cool Whip to dallop on the individual servings of pudding.

Can you tell by this recipe that I LOVE COWBOY???? I do my best in the kitchen to make everything a little less bad for his cholesterol.

By the way, can I just say that just because a person is a Chaplain does not mean he is mature?

Just before we left Cottagebaker's home last weekend, the laughter among all the kids was overpowering. They were giggling at something they were reading from the Bible. I should've known better, but I asked what was so funny. Apparently Cowboy had shown them Deuteronomy 25:11.

Let's just say I'm glad we are good friends with Cottagebaker's family.

Have fun searching in God's Word!!!

Monday, March 8, 2010

I'm Clearly Not "The Smart One" Anymore

OK, so you know how in families the different children tend to get labeled? Intentionally or unintentionally, it happens.

So, what was my label? I was "The Smart One". My sisters were musical and creative and I was "The Smart One". If you want a good piano teacher, don't look to me. If you want a great haircut, don't look to me. However, I have sisters who are amazing at those things. If you want to know how to use the Pythagorean Theorem to figure out how much cable to purchase for a certain situation, I'm your girl.

Or, I used to be your girl. However, everyday I feel like my knowledge base is shrinking. Is that possible?

Maybe not, but my memory is HORRIBLE and it makes me feel like I know NOTHING!

I recently played a game with a group of women where you had to say what movie character you were most like. I said I was like the girl from 50 First Dates. (She's the one who lost her short-term memory due to a car accident). I have NO idea what her name was in the movie (that would require a memory), so I just called her "the girl from 50 First Dates".

Tonight at Bunco something came up and I showed off my lack of memory. I said, "Remember, I'm Dory from Finding Nemo." My partner for that round said, "No, you weren't. I was."

I said, "Oh yeah, that's right. I was the girl from 50 First Dates."

'Nough Said