Today

Today was to be the start of vacation for me, instead I worked. Tomorrow I only get a 1/2 day off due to a mandatory meeting. I had to work today so that I could send an assistant to another store since we are starting to run short of assistant help and going to non-management keyholders. This way they can pay them less and require the same amount of work out of them. They will be turning all our assistants over to non-management keyholders by 2014 and reducing their pay 20%. And we wonder why they are leaving fast and furious? Wednesday I am planning on doing some calls concerning moving forward to bring home Joshua. Finding out what type of homestudy needs to be done(update or full), checking to see what kind of medical help we might be able to receive--or if our salary is too much to allow. Praying things will be as I need them to be. Hearing a weird sound right now on our roof, look up to see some small birds playing around our sky-lights. Surprised the dogs aren't barking at this as they tend to bark at everything else. Must be some good bugs up there. Taking Kaylee and a girlfriend to the movies on Thursday for a small birthday treat. She turns 12 on sunday. Hard to believe the time has gone that fast. Tyler is coming home next week, he could be home as early as Monday, but for sure on Tuesday as Bruce may need to go pick him up then. On Friday next week he gets his remaining wisdom teeth out (all 3 of them). We have his and a friend of his Eagle Court of Honor on the 18th and then on the 29th we move him to UW-Whitewater to begin the next chapter of his life--college life. He is looking to study Biology with an emphasis on Freshwater Marine. If all goes like he is planning, his senior year would be spent over in Australia. Can't wait to go visit him. It doesn't sound like he really wants to work at camp next summer, at least the last time we saw him. Chrislande is starting to come up with the funniest sayings sometimes. Tonight at dinner time she said something that with the look in her eye's was hilarious. You just never know where she learns some of this stuff. She is also starting to get very bossy with her little friends, need to watch this and curb that so sh doesn't have too much trouble. Yesterday I worked to do her upper hair braids to look nicer. They turned out pretty well I must say. Really like how long her hair is getting. I have been doing my version of cornrows on top/front and doing 2 strand twist on the lower back area and using beads on them. I think I have finally figured out how to do it so it doesn't pull her hair too much and thus have less crying spells. Still need to do in shifts as she doesn't like how slow I am when doing this. Even putting on the tv doesn't help out very much. Thanks for listening Lori

Maybe some hope

Last month we paid off our credit card debt that we have been working with a family management company for 3 years by getting a loan against my profit sharing account. Not the wisest, but will be completely gone within 5 years. A new beginning as this is saving us more that $800 a month by doing it this way. Well, I apparently overpaid some of the accounts by $800 as of right now. I am thinking that we should be able to use this money towards the agency application fee and the homestudy update so that we can start the process to bring home Joshua. Once we have the homestudy update completed, I can apply for the Show Hope grant that will get us closer to the total amount needed. I just need to do the checking with the agency that did our original homestudy for Chrislande to see if that is possible. Then it will be easier to tell Bruce the plan, that we may be doing fundraising this time around. Also have been obtaining information about CP and what help would be available for him when he comes home. Praying all falls into place and that I can email and say that yes we are his family finally. Have a great weekend all, finally cool enough to have the ac off again. Lori

Time off coming up

Next week I am suppose to have vacation, but---because assistants are leaving the company in fast action, I am now working all day on Monday, a 1/2 day for a meeting on Tuesday. I should be off the rest of the week. Sunday is Kaylee's birthday, she is turning 12 already. Hard to believe. She was only 7 months when she came home. Boy she has changed. I am going to start making phone calls to the agency that did our last home study to see if we only need to an update or a full home study again. Finding out that I have about $500 coming from over paying credit cards that we have paid off by getting a loan against my retirement fund. That should be paid off in about 5 years, then we will feel more comfortable. We seem to be getting about 1-2 days of relief from the heat, where we are able to open the windows and turn the air off. Then it heats up again and we are enclosed. Yesterday and today it actually rained, about 2 inches-- was sucked up fast into the ground. First rain we have had in about 2 months. The only problem when it rains, Kero( our blind doxie) doesn't like the feel on the wet grass and decides it is much easier to just use the inside of the house--not the best situation. Peanut(our doxie mix with the deformed legs)prefers to not move too much in the heat. He is just so proud of his ability to jump onto the couch and sleep there. I seem to have a habit of obtaining special needs animals also. We just our oldest doxie Sid due to cancer and a seizure disorder, he was 10 years. They are all good boys though, even Tiny our cat. Hope you enjoyed the day--enjoy the upcoming weekend also Have the Relay for Life Walk tomorrow that Chrislande and I will do as Bruce has a Quarter Century Picnic for work and Kaylee will be staying at a friends house.

Why can't I?

Why do I have such a hard time talking to Bruce about bringing Joshua home? Why can't I tell him how much our lives will be enriched by having him in our family?

Typical Monday

Why does it seem like when you have a great weekend off from work, you go back and all hell appears to have broken loose. I think all this heat is getting to everyone. It brings out the crazies like you wouldn't believe. They seem to come out of the woodwork. I feel sorry for the girls, I don't like them playing outside with the heat and they appear to be getting cabin fever. Kaylee went with some her friends looking for crawfish. She called earlier saying she has some and wants them to cohabitate with tadpoles she has in a tank on the front porch. I am surprises they are still alive and not boiled in the heat. She caught a dragonfly yesterday for them and they were very greedy she said. She is quite happy that she only has 4 more days of summer school, although this week she making homemade bottle rockets in her science class. Bruce has been working with another family on getting Tyler's and their sons Eagle Scout program set up before the boy's go off to college. I am planning that, making sure things are collected beyond what he might have leftover from working at the boy scout camp this summer, his first job at that. He found who his roommate will be this past weekend. Hope everyone is staying cool and safe. Enjoy your week Lori

Will you support us?

I would like to move forward on bringing Joshua home, but we need to fundraise in order to do this. If we put a chip in button on here, will you support us?

Great Day yesterday

We drove 2.5 hours yesterday to see Tyler. He is working at a Boy Scout camp as an assistant cook this summer making spending money for his first year at college. He has been gone since June 10 and isn't due home till Aug. 7. We are planning his Eagle presentation ceremony with one of his friends who also achieved the ranking this year two weeks later. Then it's off to college to study Biology, with a freshwater emphasis. I just can't believe we are at that point with having a child done with high school and going on into the world on another adventure. He just found out what hall he will be staying next year and who his roommate will be. Exciting and scary. Chrislande was upset yesterday when we left him still there, I can't imagine how she will react when we take him to school. Told her that she can go with Dad when he gets him at the end of camp. She sure loves her big brother. She ran up to him yesterday and wouldn't let go of him for quite some time. Was so cute.

Going forward?

Trying to figure out how to go forward. How to put our trust in the one so that we can possibly bring Joshua home. We need to make sure we are able to get the money going to get the ball rolling. Need to dig deep in faith so that this can happen. Praying that this comes to us on how to get this started and that the decision to bring him home is what is intended for us. That this is what he wants us to do. Praying daily for the signs to point us in the correct direction and we can make the positive direction soon.

Thinking

So, The orphanage that Chrislande lived in for 5 years is now looking for a family for a 5 year old boy named Joshua. I have been thinking alot about adoption again. Thinking that I would like this little boy should join our family. My husband thinks I am crazy. Doesn't understand why,(but then I don't know if I know why). I just feel a stirring in my heart for some reason. Chrislande has now been home for 2 years now. She is doing good, struggles at times with listening, but is very outgoing. So why do I feel the need to bring another child into our home? Am I crazy? I work long hours by being a retail store manager and know that Joshua would require lots of help, but I seem to strive on stress and challenging situations. There are wonderful people that are working to raise funds to help his family bring him home and to raise money for his medical expenses for after he gets home. Do I keep working on my husband to see that we would be able to handle another child at this time or pray that another family steps forward to bring him into their love?