Ladybugs & Hurricanes

If you aren't familiar with some interesting Chinese adoption myths, you're about to get a very brief and funny education on this and how it pertains to ladybugs. I don't know about you, but over the last two weeks we have had a crazy overtaking of these little red beetles practically all over one section of our house, and when I say "overtaking" I mean not only all over part of our house on the outside, but on the inside too!  I'm not sure if you can really tell anything in this photo, but if you look closely, you'll see lots of little dots on our ceiling.

(a.k.a. ladybugs)

Now don't get me wrong, I'd much rather have these little critters all over the place than the stinkbugs that were also trying to become our first official house guests this month, but either way, I'm just not a bug or critter girl, so was trying to figure out every way possible to rid one section in our living room of these annoying little red beetles. In fact, I was a little excited to hear that a hurricane was coming our way this week as I thought at least the good that could come from it would be that it would blow all of the ladybugs and stinkbugs away from our house or freeze them with the drop in temperatures.   

Well, the last few days have consisted of picking ladybugs off of our walls, doors, 

ceilings, etc.  My wonderful husband pulled out the vacuum on several occasions and sucked them up as well, but I am convinced they just kept multiplying no matter what we did.

YET-- that's when I started smiling when I thought a little more about these little lady bugs invading our house. Growing up as a child, my grandma always used to call the girls in our family "ladybug" so I find it fitting that ladybugs do have a connection with Chinese adoption. If you are not familiar with things connected to Chinese adoption, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. If you are around families adopting from China much, at some point you'll probably hear a reference to lady bugs, so let me unwind where this comes from and how it relates to the adoption process in China and what is now known as:  

"The Ladybug Myth" 

You may not know that ladybugs have a special meaning to families in the Chinese adoption community. The Chinese adoption myth states that ladybugs are a sign of "good luck" and it has been said that if you see a ladybug, your referral from China will be arriving soon. (meaning- you will get a call about your child match) I have had more than my fair share of families tell me when I called them with their referral that they had just seen a ladybug or had one land on them. Now, let me pause here to say that I don't believe in luck or superstition, but rather I believe in the providence of God and His will in our lives.  However, I do think as far as bugs are concerned, ladybugs aren't all that bad and they do represent a fun symbol to many as ladybugs aren't just considered good luck in China, but in many other cultures as well. The truth is, there are many  superstitions and myths that are prevalent in Chinese culture and we certainly learned that while in China. (quite honestly, we could post on this topic for days actually- as there are some very interesting ones, but we'll save that for another post) 

While there have been many things said about ladybugs and their connection with Chinese myths/superstitions, here are few funny facts or myths (I'll let you decide which) that I'll highlight for you: 

Ladybug Thought #1:

In their native lands of China and Japan, the original places a ladybug overwintered were on rock outcroppings in the mountains. If your home is light colored and on the side of a mountain, or similar setup, it probably looks just like a big rock outcropping to a ladybug, and this might explain why one October day, the side of your house is covered in ladybugs!! 

[So T-H-A-T explains why they came in droves to our house, as it is light brown so apparently just looks like a big old rock to these bugs. I knew we should have chosen another exterior color for our house. (just kidding- we didn't really have a choice)]

Ladybug Info #2:

The Chinese consider it good luck to have ladybugs in the house.

[If this is the case, then we must be getting ready to have some major good luck around here because we had tons of the little critters. OR...we must be getting triplets from China with all of ladybugs inside our house. (let's not hope for the latter)]

Ladybug Info #3:

Some people believe that if a ladybug enters your home, you should count its spots as it will tell you the amount of money you will be receiving soon. 

[If this is the case, why in the world did we suck them up in our vacuum? Apparently, we just sucked up a lot of money that could have been coming our way. (haha!) Truth is, I just lost half of my readers because now you are all running around to find ladybugs so you can become debt free.] 

Ladybug Info #4:

If a ladybug lands on single woman's hand, it means she is going to get married soon.

[now I have lost all of my single women readers out there as you scramble to find the nearest ladybug to try to make it fly and land on your hand]

Ladybug Info #5:

If a ladybug lands on a married woman's hand, the number of spots it has is the number of children she will have.

[Goodness I hope not-- or Nate and I are in some serious trouble!]

Well, the truth of the matter is that I'm not going to look at a herd of ladybugs (ok so maybe they don't come in herds, but it was he best mental picture I could give) invading my home as being a sign that our referral is coming soon or that we are going to have good luck. I also think it's pretty safe to say that knowing Nate and I, our child's nursery will not be decorated in ladybugs either to symbolize a "good luck" sign from China (no offense to anyone who has a ladybug nursery out there as there is nothing wrong with that at all). Instead, I will just sit back and enjoy these "fun myths" about ladybugs for today and know that it is a distant reminder that sometime in the near future we will have a little ladybug of our own who will one day fly from China to our home here in the U.S., and that will be one little ladybug that we will gladly welcome.

Adoption Update- Latest Announcement

I know that for the last month or so, we've had a hard time keeping up with blogging, due to packing our rental home, closing on our current home, moving a few miles down the road, and now slowly unpacking and trying to get organized all while several other crazy things were going on. Though we could write about a number of things this week (if we had slightly more time) I thought it might be good to give you the important update for this week about our adoption process. (since it has been a while since we've had a fun update to share)

For those of you who have been keeping up with our China adoption, we'd like to share with you that this week marks another great milestone in the process. 

DRUMROLL PLEASE.........................................................

We found out Monday that our dossier has officially gone through the review room at the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCCWA) and has been approved. (this is where you can do the happy dance along with us if you'd like) 

I know many of you are probably scratching your head right now slightly confused, since you can't remember what a dossier is and you may slightly recall that ours went to the CCCWA on April 2. As a refresher, the dossier is the compilation of all of our adoption paperwork that China requires. Ours was mailed to the CCCWA on April 2nd, arrived on April 6th, and was officially LID on April 16, 2012. (LID means "Log in Date" which means it was basically just checked over to make sure it contained what was required and then "stamped in" and given a date that this was completed....it was not officially reviewed for approval at that time)

It generally takes months for dossiers to go through the review process and be screened in China if a family does not yet have a child match when their paperwork goes in. (even for families who do have a child match, it still can take a couple of months) This process involves various individuals reviewing every item we have sent in, reading all of our "life story" so to speak, and deciding whether or not based on all of their regulations, our paperwork is approved. There are some situations where a family may get matched with a child prior to their dossier being mailed to China; however, it is not quite as common and solely depends upon what a family is requesting- such as gender, age range of the child, whether or not they are requesting a child with certain medical needs, etc. (see our blog's FAQ section for more on this)

There are many factors that determine when a family will be matched with a "referral". (a.k.a. child file- which includes the history that is known of the child, their development information, several photos, and limited medical records/history). 

For our process, we knew that we wouldn't get matched for while and prayerfully hoped that our dossier would get reviewed first by the CCCWA before we received a child match from our agency.  You're thinking "why would you not want to be matched quickly?"  The reason this was something that we really were hoping and praying for is that if our dossier had not been reviewed prior to receiving a child match from the agency, we would have to wait longer for approvals from China (yet another step when China decides if they will approve the actual child the agency matches us with after we have requested to pursue that child's adoption). This, in turn, means waiting quite a while until traveling to pick up our child. To put it in terms everyone can understand, it would mean having those cute little photos on the refrigerator or in your purse for a very long time and not being able to do anything about getting on a plane to China any faster to meet "Little Miss".  

China, unlike some international adoption countries, do not have families travel to meet their child first and then come back to pick them up. This is a common practice in many international adoptions, but also difficult because parents have met their child and then have to say goodbye and go back home only to wait for several more months for more approvals in order to be approved to come back to the country to pick their child up. Talk about heart wrenching!  

For China's process, everything is done by a family reviewing the file of a child (agency emails the child's file to the family) which includes photos and information a family will look at, and then based on that info given or any additional information obtained, a family then makes their adoption decision. It is basically site unseen and a leap of faith, as the first time we will actually meet our child is the day that they bring her to us once we are in China. Talk about a crazy thought sometimes!

Even though I work in the field of international adoption and know this process, it is still mind boggling sometimes to know that we'll make this decision without having seen, held, or met "Little Miss" and will just hop on a plane for a 24 hour trip to China and within a few days are "insta-parents". (let me take a deep breath for a moment..whew)

Had we not had our dossier reviewed before our child match, it would have taken up to around 6 months or more until we could have traveled. Now that our dossier has been reviewed, once we get matched with a child, it will take around a month usually or less to receive our final official approval from China (Yes, there will be yet another round of "are we actually approved or not") and then another 10-14 weeks approximately until we will most likely travel. ( so around 4 months approximately) If you are doing the math, understand that these are tentative timelines and are certainly subject to change. I've seen families travel somewhat sooner, and some that have taken somewhat longer to get to the point of travel. There are so many factors related to the entire process, that you can't compare one family's process with another as they can be slightly different.  That is a very important thing to remember. The China adoption process has changed so much over recent years that I'd have to blog for a week about it all to explain it to those of you who have adopted previously from China. This is why timelines for families just cannot be compared with one another. 

So why was all of this important to us and why is this announcement exciting? Well, this means that once we are matched, our child will only age a few more months older than the age they were at the time of matching, before we will travel to pick her up which means hopefully bringing home a slightly younger child as well as knowing the child will hopefully not have to be in an orphanage or foster home longer than necessary. (this is helpful for bonding/attachment, and other purposes in the early years of life) 

For international adoptions, there are so many unknowns when it comes to how a child will react once they are adopted, as they transition to a new country, new foods, new smells and sounds, new schedules, and hearing- in our case- English consistently for the first time in their lives. You can imagine what it would be like to go from your previous surroundings and then have all of that taken from you, placed in the arms of strangers, only to be taken to the other side of the world in just a short period of time. (think of the first time you were immersed in a foreign country where you knew no one and couldn't speak the language, didn't recognize the food, and couldn't sleep at night because the sounds and lighting in the room were different-- that's a slight comparison to what an internationally adopted child experiences) You can understand why this transition can be much easier at a younger age than when a child is slightly older. No matter what age a child may be when they are brought home, most all do have some challenges acclimating to their new environment and this is to be expected having transitioned from another culture as well as from an orphanage or foster family. 

We know that many of you have continued to pray alongside us during this process and we thank you for your prayers and support. Please keep them coming as we know there are still many more steps along the way in our journey to "Little Miss". 

We have an Announcement

I know when you saw the title of this post you were thinking "Have they been matched with their baby from China?"....well, sorry to disappoint, that is not the announcement for today, though that would have been a fun one.

I've been asked recently what has been keeping us so busy this summer that we haven't had a chance to blog, vacation, or do much of anything but run all over the place. Well, let me start by giving you a few photos and see if you can figure it out:

What? That's not helpful? Let's try another one:

Ok, maybe this one will help:

Ok, so here's the scoop...........................

WE ARE MOVING!!!

Not very far- just about 3 or so miles from where we currently live. It's been the year of many new things and one of those was finding out that our current rental house was going to be sold (which we had already began speculating very early in 2012 might happen, so had been thinking in advance as to what our next steps might be. It had been built 2 years ago, but sat on the market for 6 months so the developer was eager to rent, and we were blessed with a wonderful place to rent and live for two years. However, while living in our neighborhood, each home he continued to build began to be sold so guess whose home was next on the selling block? YEP, that would be ours. 

In lieu of knowing this might become a reality and also looking forward into the future as to what next year might bring with our adoption process, we decided to start praying and began considering purchasing a home so as to not continue to "give money away" to our landlord year after year. (anyone that knows us knows that we both hate to waste money) When you actually sit down and do he math and learn real estate, you realize how wise an investment purchasing really is in the right market. So, several months later in early summer, we made the decision to buy our first home, well townhouse that is.

We were blessed to know several very wise people as well as several realtors who really gave us great advice and encouraged us to be wise negotiators. (that part wasn't hard as Nate and I are both savers by nature and both will haggle a good deal any day of the week- I knew that this part of the process was certainly going to be interesting.) One thing in our favor was that the developer we went with was in the process of building a new townhouse community, so it was a great time to get in on the development. They were very willing to negotiate. (LOVE that part!)  It also sits on the county line right beside the city, so that was also a very nice benefit in a number of ways. 

We have been blessed to be able to work out a great deal, be able to get in right as they were starting to frame the town home, and have the opportunity to choose and customize everything. (which I must say these builders have a great structure in place for choices that aren't upgrades (i.e.hardwood, countertops, etc.) -- That was a wonderful perk too.)  

The timing couldn't have been greater and we feel so much better knowing we won't bring home our daughter from China (sometime next year most likely) and then have to move again. Anyone who understands international adoption and some of the things that children can go through in that process understand that moving shortly after a child gets settled in would have been the worst thing to do. An internationally adopted child will have enough adjustments in their little life those first few weeks and months, so adding a move to the mix was a big "no, no" in our minds.

We are very thankful that God opened this door for us and as always, we give it all back to Him since he owns it anyway. Our desire is to use what He has given us as a way to minister to people. (although just don't invite yourself over quite yet, there is still much to do) 

So, here is what the last several months have looked like for us:

So that's a quick sneak peak at what's been happening the last several months. We have spent many a night for the last several months playing "Inspector Gadget" making sure they were doing everything right. (and as anyone who builds knows, you will always find something, even if only minor)

That comprised our evenings along with packing and sitting through numerous meetings answering questions such as the following:

1. What kind of cabinets do you want in what color and with what kind of doors and handles? How do you want your kitchen cabinets & drawers laid out?

2. What type of carpet and padding do you prefer and in what kind and color?

 3. What kind of tiles or flooring do you want in the bathroom, how would you like them laid and how do you want to design it?  Not to mention- what color grout do you want between your tiles? Do you want a short toilet or tall one, a taller sink or standard?

4. What kind of knobs and faucets do you want in your bathrooms, and which sink option, type and color do you want? What kind of light fixture?

5. Do you want ceiling fans, lights, or none at all in your rooms? (a funny story on this one will come later)

6. What stain color outside would you like on certain outdoor elements? What kind of doors do you want throughout the house?

So if this makes your head spin just reading it, imagine doing all of this in several meetings over a somewhat short period of time. I learned quickly, that the things we may all love on DIY or HGTV just aren't a reality or sometimes even possible when building, but TV makes it look so easy. (haha)  It has been a whirlwind and though tiring, we have loved every minute of it. (except maybe signing our lives away document after document)

So, we close on our townhouse tomorrow and will officially become first time home owners (scary and exciting thought all at the same time) Then comes the beloved job of painting. So this is how we will spend vacation time this year- packing up the current rental home, painting the new one, moving and settling in. I must say that I'm thankful and looking forward to having the next week off to get everything "move in ready". 

More info and photos to come! 

Football Widow

So I realize that we haven't posted in almost a month mainly because in the last two months, there have been a LOT of things going on in our lives (so much so that we cancelled our vacation this summer--it's ok though--there were good reasons for it). Yes, the last two months have been a mix of busy, crazy, and more; however, things are getting closer to settling down as we move into the fall, which we are both excited about. More on "the crazy life" later. 

What I would like to share with you is that it's official....the fall is almost here and as of last week, I'm a football widow. That's right, it's football season and I can pretty much say that I'm a widow on Saturdays during college football season.  Although, I can't complain about Saturday football as I have found that my obsession interest in all things HGTV and design is an equal trade off for all things college football during the season. This is our compromise this time of year. He watches games, I watch a few of my favorite HGTV home shows and it all works out quite well. (and the bonus: I learn how to "Design on a Dime" and make things, for all of you HGTV lovers out there...you'll know what I mean)

Ok, so back to football. Really-- being a football widow is ok. This is one of Nate's outlets and he absolutely loves college football and finds it is a great way to unwind after a busy week. So, I will say that sometimes when I watch games with him or go to a game with him, I do actually enjoy it. (even if he doesn't think I really do)  So instead of being a football widow today, we both went together to the UVA / Penn State game.

I was feeling a bit bad for the mascots today as it was so hot and extremely humid so I can't imagine how difficult a day it was for these two!

The funny part of today is that Nate is a die hard Penn State fan and always has been. It's a family tradition and his extended family live in and around State College. I learned very early in our marriage the whole history of Penn State University from his grandfather and was taken on a tour of the stadium and grounds. 

Prior to meeting Nate, I could not have told anyone where "Happy Valley" was, pointed out a Nittany Lion, or given you any facts about the school's football program. (which is quite different since I've gotten an education in all of this now)  Obviously, if you follow college football you know this has been a tough year for the school, but it hasn't decreased Penn State fans' love for their team and the game. 

 Now for today's dilemma-- it was one of the first sold out games at UVA in a long time (so we were told) and was being aired on ABC and ESPN. The game was at UVA and we were sitting with UVA fans (one of whom was a coach's wife), so it was somewhat humorous for Nate to try to be a "closet" Penn State fan for the day.

  I know what he's like on "Game Day" and he was kindly suppressing his "excitement"  during the good Penn State plays throughout the game.  

During half time, we were all serenaded by 'The Temptations' as they sang along with UVA's marching band. We were all joking that the freshman students were probably taking their Iphones out to "google" who The Temptations were. I'm pretty sure in today's heat, these guys were breaking a sweat in their double polyester blend suits.

The Temptations

Truthfully, Penn State should have won this game, except for the performance of the guy below. Unfortunately, he was the downfall of today's game. (sorry Penn State fans, but it's true. Though I will say, the team lost their kicker, which we are obviously seeing will be a problem for them this year)

 At the very end, UVA scored a touchdown in the final minutes that put them one point ahead and Penn State missed their last field goal which would have won the game for them. Even I was getting a little excited and nervous at the end of the game.

Obviously, it was a great game day for the UVA football team. 

Congratulations Wahoos!

Our Favorite Adoption Video

Children singing and dancing... 

 Really, I think there is nothing any cuter than watching kids perform (and even more so when they don't perform exactly as they are supposed to- as any parent of a kindergarten child will tell you). If you read our post yesterday, you will recall I had mentioned as we were watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics that one of the songs performed last night reminded me of a recent video a friend of mine shared with me from You Tube. The video captures a really amazing family that has adopted from China several times and are getting ready to adopt again. 

In this video they re-wrote the lyrics to 'Dynamite', a song that you might recognize from last night's performances during the closing ceremonies, and used it to announce their upcoming adoption to friends and family. I don't know who this family is other than the little bit I could gather from some of their comments from friends and family, but what I do know is that they posted the most incredible video on YouTube and once my friend passed it along to me, I couldn't help but share it.  You will absolutely love their creativity and I promise you will be inspired by what you see.  It is stories and videos like this that encourage both me and my co-workers to continue to do the work that we do.

As you watch the video, you will see that this family has adopted several children from China with various medical needs (limb differences, vision loss, etc.) and are getting ready to adopt two more.

So sit back and enjoy this video and be ready to smile until your face hurts.

(in a good way of course) 

An Olympic Farewell- Inspirational Stories

Tonight marks the end of the summer Olympics in London. As with every Olympics, I always hate to see it come to an end; however, it is always amazing to look back to so many incredible moments and stories that otherwise we would have never seen or heard about.  As we watched part of the closing ceremonies, we were reminded of so many athletes that we saw in this year's games that had overcome great difficulties in their lives to get to where they were today. 

Probably one of the most inspiring stories that came out of this year's games was the story of South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee running on carbon fiber blades. Pistorius had both legs amputated as an infant due to a congenital condition in which he was born without fibulas and wasn’t supposed to be able to even stand. However, years later, we are all witnesses to an incredible athlete who after years of encouragement from his mother, never gave up and was granted permission to run in the 2012 London Olympics. 

If you watched him race, you couldn't help but be inspired by his determination.

Photo- Getty Images |  by Michael Steele

One of the best photos that emerged from Twitter during the Olympics was of Pistorius and a little girl. This was such a precious photo where he was encouraging another young child with a similar condition.

author unknown

Not only was Pistorius noted during the Olympics, but another inspiring young woman in this year's games was a Polish table tennis player by the name of Natalia Partyka. Natalia was born without a right hand and forearm, and was also given the privilege of competing for the first time in this year's Olympic Games. 

Associated Press|  Photo by Sergei Grits

Story after story were shared of athletes that could have let life's challenges stop them, but didn't. Rather than allowing a loss to define who they were, instead, they chose to take life's challenges and face them head on.  

These stories above reminded me of a video that a friend of mine passed along to me the other week of an adoptive family (neither of us know who they are, but their video was on YouTube and we both fell in love with it). They have adopted a number of children with medical needs from the waiting children program in China (one in particular with missing limbs). I'll share this video and a little more tomorrow, but it will certainly inspire you. I promise it will be worth waiting for. 

(**Spoiler alert-- this family's video was shot to their re-make of one of the songs in tonight's closing ceremonies at the Olympics-- I promise you'll want to watch this video more than once. =) More on this video and story coming tomorrow. 

Enjoy the last bit of your weekend! 

A Sticky Note Day

I decided to write today's post based on a comment from Nate this week. It made me laugh yesterday and ironically, I thought it was more than applicable to my day today. 

There are two little words that I have come to love:  

Sticky Notes.  

(a.k.a. - Post It Notes as created by 3M) While some of you might have a list of all of the famous people you would want to meet-- I think I'd like to meet the person who designed sticky notes. I would like to thank them. It was an idea birthed in a brilliant mind and I really wish I had thought of it. 

(and Nate agrees)  

If we had created and patented stickies, we probably would have been on a beautiful white sandy beach today, lounging in a hammock tied between two palm trees, listening to turquoise waves lapping nearby- all while sipping on sweet tea (yes, I'm a southern girl and therefore this scene must involve sweet tea). However, neither Nate nor I created sticky notes so instead we both sat in offices in adjustable chairs on wheels. (this is where I insert that even though we both enjoy our jobs, who wouldn't trade some of those crazy days at work for the life of someone who can kick back on the beach anytime they want while their invention pays their salary-- don't judge- you know you were thinking the same thing too!)  

However, since I didn't create these fun little tools, instead I will have to resort to just using these incredible little pieces of paper to organize my life. (or in my spare time I may sit on the couch with Nate and think up an invention so we can be on Shark Tank and become entrepreneurs like the sticky note man) 

Today was definitely a sticky note day. My desk at work was evidence of this very fact.  I will be honest that I just might have an obsession with sticky notes, since they come in every color, design, and style imaginable. If you have organizational OCD like I do (at least that's what I call it since I love to organize things) you clearly understand why sticky notes are the greatest invention on earth-- 

Period.  

How did we make it through life before them?  I use them for lists, to categorizing things, to leave notes for people, to make my grocery list, or to bookmark a page in the latest book that I'm reading. Oh the many uses of sticky notes. That is why today, I felt so accomplished after several days of an increasing number of "stickies" that included lists of things to review, people to contact, topics for meeting discussions, projects to complete and my general "TO DO LIST", I was able to start peeling them off one by one signifying the completion of many tasks. You might say my stickies had gotten a little out of control in the last week and were plastered all over my notepad and desk to the point where Nate was questioning if I was starting to wallpaper my desk with stickies. (Trust me, I know that I'm not the only one-- I've seen some of your desks too and I know there is method to your madness as well when it comes to sticky notes.)

So, if you are like me and like things to be neatly organized and also love the feeling of "checking off your lists", sticky notes by far are nothing short of perfection. Not only can you mark through items, but you can pull those stickies off one by one and visually feel such a sense of accomplishment, much more than just writing one long list on a sheet of paper and scratching through each item completed. (or at least that's what I've come to conclude in my mind)  

So, all of you "Post it Note" companies out there, you can contact me later and pay me for my free advertisement for your wonderful product. =)  On that note- I'll leave you with this funny video on You Tube that both Nate and I died laughing at when it first came out on TV-- you'll understand why when you see it because it involves both football and post it notes (which might possibly be the perfect combination for some people- or at least in our marriage it is). 

**Mental Note: This is what you do NOT do to someone who organizes their life with sticky notes.**

A Crazy Weekend- Part II

If you are just now checking out this post, but sure to read yesterday's post 'A Crazy Weekend- Part I' to get the context of this past week and our adventures on Friday and Saturday. As I had noted yesterday, Nate and I were staying with my grandma this weekend and this story picks up where it left off yesterday so be sure to read that post first before reading below) 

...I looked at my alarm and realized I could still slip in a few more minutes of sleep as I knew my alarm would be going off for that oh so exciting early morning grocery shopping trip fairly soon. I had just started to nod off when all of the sudden I hear a loud tapping on the door and my name being called repeatedly (apparently grandma was afraid I would not be up in time to get ready and get to the grocery store so was making sure I was up). Before I know it, the door suddenly flings open and she pops her head in to make sure I am awake (never mind that Nate is peacefully sleeping at this point) and she proceeds to make sure that I know what time it is (<-- insert here that I still had PLENTY of time to get ready to go to the grocery store...haha)  As if all of this wasn't funny enough, she had not yet put in her hearing aid so I'm having to yell all of this back and forth while Nate is (or rather was) sleeping beside me.  Of course, he wakes up to all of the madness and asks "what in the world is going on"?  

You might be smiling and laughing at this story right now, but I was not smiling and laughing Saturday morning before 7am as there is nothing worse to me than being abruptly woken up when you are in that "sweet zone" of drifting off to sleep (ok, so I certainly realize there really are far worse things in the world, but go with this thought for the moment) or having to carry on a somewhat coherent conversation early in the morning.(which I am certainly not good at)  At this point, I just gave up and got up and got ready to head to the grocery story.  Might I also add that the entire time that I'm getting ready in the bathroom, I can hear grandma rattling her keys in the living room knowing full well that she is sitting on the edge of her recliner, purse in hand, watching the second hand on her wall clock tick by. 

Honestly, I'm in the bathroom just trying to hold my laughter in. 

I'm happy to report that our grocery run (aside from me being slightly zombie-like) was successful. Thankfully, the rest of the day was slightly less eventful- aside from her kindly telling Nate that I was being "bossy" about how she needs to make sure she's eating, drinking and taking her medicine, etc. Of course, Nate just laughs and agrees with her (thank you, Nate, for being a supportive husband and siding with grandma) =)

Though it's always hard to see your grandparents getting older, I'm very thankful to have two wonderful godly grandmas still living and appreciate my wonderful husband who endured a crazy weekend at grandmas with a smile.

....So what did Nate and I learn this weekend:

1. You never know what might happen at grandma's

2.  There is never a dull moment at grandma's

3.  Be prepared for anything. (this includes being ready to jump out of the window in case of a fire) 

A Crazy Weekend -Part I

Have you ever seen what I call the "spinning plate act" at a circus, you know- the one where a woman  has to run back and forth between the long, thin rods with plates balanced on the top of each rod trying to make sure each one keeps spinning properly and doesn't fall off and shatter on the floor?

If you know what I'm talking about, this would give you a slight visual of my life right now or at least how it is going to look for the next 8 weeks.  (more on these things later...)  Let me start by saying that I'm certainly not complaining at all, as each of these "plates" in my life right now are all wonderful things, but I have to say that it's been a while since so many important things were taking place all at the same time and in such a short span of time.  I apologize and have to say that this is also the reason I have not posted for more than half of this week. We certainly plan to post daily on the blog when able, but this week it just wasn't possible for us as every hour was practically planned out and well, we are both Olympic fans and chose to take some evenings to just unwind from work and enjoy "The Games".

I decided that I would share a hilarious story from Friday and Saturday of this week. Follow with me on this as you need to have the full context to better understand why this was so humorous. On Friday, I found out that one of my Grandmas was having what our family has now come to call a "weak spell" where she wakes up extremely weak and shaky and can't hardly walk around. I won't go into all that relates to this other than to say when this occurs, someone tries to take care of her and stay around to make sure she's eating properly, staying hydrated, etc. We see the biggest difference when we know she's eating properly, staying hydrated and taking her medication. Over the last year or so we have started to see a change in her ability to remember things and we have also experienced this with my other Grandmother, so are very familiar with many of the things that go with dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. I could certainly share more details on this, but we have recently started incorporating some things to help her and are blessed to have a number of wonderful people who live near her who are very helpful on a weekly basis and who call daily to check in on her.

On Friday night we were spending the night with her and please understand that one of the funniest challenges I discovered after marrying Nate, was that a tall 6'2'' man doesn't always fit in every bed when we travel and last night was no exception. Staying at Grandma's with Nate is always funny, as the spare bedroom is a small room with lots of furniture to navigate around.  (this is code for "be careful if you have go get up in the night to use the bathroom")  The spare room has a double bed with a footboard which just doesn't work so well for a tall guy. Before we went to bed, I had left a note for her telling her that I wanted to go grocery shopping with her in the morning. (as she was determined she was going to do this early this early Saturday morning if she was feeling better) You must understand that this means grocery shopping at 6:45am or 7am with Grandma, because you WILL go when she wants to go or you WILL get left behind. Saturday is generally my only day to sleep in so committing to grocery shop at the crack of dawn on a Saturday was a painful thought to me, not to mention that I am NOT a morning person at all, especially on a Saturday.  (note: Earlier in the evening I had gone through her fridge and cabinets and determined she was out of a number of things and probably didn't realize it and wanted to make sure to buy things that I knew she would eat and hopefully fix for lunches and dinners, etc.)

Fast forward to 5am.  Nate had gotten out of bed and you must understand that my Grandma's spare bedroom has a very funny doorknob that isn't the easiest to open when it's locked. So that was just the start to what would become a really crazy start to our morning.  At this point in the story, Nate is fighting the door that just wouldn't open and waking me up to ask how to get out of the room and proceeded to tell me that if there were a fire we would both die because we couldn't get out. I was half out of it as I hadn't slept well at all during the night sharing this little bed with Nate. I explained as best as possible (still half asleep) how to get out of the room and then finally just decided to get up to help him open the door. Of course, this would be the moment that he figures it out and "breaks free" from the room, so I jump back in bed and start to fall to sleep. 

Roughly half an hour later I woke up and was so hot and couldn't figure out what in the world was wrong and thought "Did I come down with something in the night, am I sick?" and began battling the covers since I was sweating. ( I later found out that Grandma had turned the AC up in the night and the thermostat read "80 degrees" so no wonder I was dying with covers on!)  At this point, I looked at my alarm and realized I could still slip in a few more minutes of sleep as I knew my alarm would be going off for that exciting early morning shopping trip fairly soon.

If you are curious to find out what happened next, you'll have to read tomorrow's post where I will share the rest of this story...it gets even better so be sure to check it out!