Another sick day

Caleb has been sick again...so we spent yet another day on the couch like two lumps. I had been up (with my hubby) several times in the night so all day I felt like I needed a nap but couldn't quite relax for fear of another episode of puking. He is on the mend finally but it is hard explaining to a 3 year old why he can't have cereal or more crackers when he has just emptied his stomach.

I have felt kind of dry spiritually lately. I am all to willing to pour over a good novel or watch a Jane Austen movie but to pick up the Word has been a challenge. I began a great book and then haven't read much more. The book is Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. She has a great introduction and first chapter. I wish I could report on chapter two, but alas, I haven't gotten that far. One of her many points in finding contentment is choosing what you want to focus on. She relates a time when she and her husband lived in Hong Kong and she told two stories about living there, one the positive and one the negative. It really spoke volumes to me about what I choose to focus on and just the simple fact that it is a CHOICE! I'll readily admit that my hormones make it difficult to choose but for the most part it is a conscious decision. Duh, Tasha! You'd think I would have gotten it by now, right? I hope to be able to report of further chapters in upcoming blogs.

Incedently, I have been watching PBS's Jane Austen movies and I LOVE THEM! I have to say that I can get pretty caught up in the costumes, the language and the "romance" of that time but they sure are fun!

Funny

Here are just two of the hundreds, yes I said hundreds, of pictures that Abby has taken with her new camera she got for Christmas. It is a digital kids camera with a very low Pixel rate but able to withstand little brothers. She took at least 200 her first day and then another 400 the next. We deleted lots and still couldn't say no to so many. You'll notice that the picture on the left is kind of artistic...do we have an Ansel Adams in the family. She really is a creative little soul!
Then for all you VeggieTales fans, the next one is of the TV as they watched The Toy That Saved Christmas. When I scroll through all the pics she has taken it is amazing to see life through the eyes of a 7 year old. She captured a great collection of those of us who gathered for Christmas dinner. It is almost like looking at a video camera that sat on the table. Anyway, thought I'd share.

Substitute Teaching

Lately I have had the priviledge of subbing at my daughters' school. I have now been in every classroom from 5th grade to Kindergarten. It has been a blast being back with kids again. I still teach art at a coop for homeschool kids but have now added one day a week as a substitute. I now know all the kids from K-5th! I love seeing them in the hallway and them recognizing me. My husband and I were joking about me going down the hall like a superstar, waving to the kids, pointing, high-fiving them etc.

For the most part every class has been a joy. There were a couple of times in the lower grades when I had heard "my teacher doesn't do it that way" for the LAST time. At one point in the kindergarten one student corrected me one too many times and I found myself in essence saying - when proven right - na-na-naboo-boo! My tone said it and I realized in the next moment that I had let a 6 year old get to me! After a quick count to 10 I seemed to get my act together.

It makes me miss being a full-time teacher, but then I come home and crash and quickly remember why I don't teach full-time...because I couldn't do it all! I can barely manage to get the laundry done and put away every week when I get to be home 4 days a week. I have a lot of respect for moms who work and still run a house. When it is all said and done I love where I am right now. I know that adding a new child will throw us into another vortex of chaos but life is meant to be LIVED right? In the end who cares if there are dust bunnies behind my bedroom door?? My girls won't always be excited to see me at their school so I am soaking it in now. Besides, next year I'll probably be chasing a two year old!

APTOS!

You may be wondering what in the world is Aptos? Well, according to the Peruvian authorities - we are Aptos! Ok, some English, we finally received word today that we are approved, or "fit" for adoption! This is really BIG news because we have been waiting for over a year for this decision! The next step is for them to assign us a child or children! Then we have 30 days to get to Peru. Happy Day!

Knocked out

We had a wierd week. I still feel like I have my days mixed up. It happened like this...on Sunday night Caleb began throwing up around midnight. He did this on the hour for the next two. He woke up fine and actually not remembering what had happened. His dad and I remembered all too well as we staggered around Monday morning. All was well until Tuesday evening. Hannah, our middle kiddo, began complaining of a sore stomach...and on it went. As I was helping her Caleb called for me from our room. I told him I couldn't help him now. Finally I checked on him and his face had streaks of blood on it, his hands, both hands mind you, were bright red with blood! I discovered that he had fallen and hit his head on the corner of my dresser and really only had a small cut but had proceded to wipe the blood all over his face and hands. I got him cleaned up and put to sleep with a bandaid in his hair so he wouldn't keep touching the blood. He is almost 4! I would expect this from a 2 year old but then again he is a boy...

Back to Hannah. She went down, then me, then Justin and right in the middle of it all Abby came down the stairs and said "I threw up a little upstairs", gesturing with her fingers for about an inch. Well, it was more that an inch...so here I am in between bathroom trips, in my underwear no less, cleaning up a big pile of ...

Well, by the next morning it looked like a war zone (I say that lightly) with towels, buckets, blankets strewn everywhere!! We layed around all day Wednesday which was ok. By the end of the day the house smelled a bit. In one way it was good that we all got sick at once and got it over with but it was a bit funny (I can laugh now) at the time as we passed eachother in the hall at 1 am and 2 am and 3 am etc. etc.

The moral of this long, drawn-out, not-too-interesting story...I am still trying to find one. Any suggestions?