For Today...

Outside my window... soft blue skies and bare trees on a dry-grassy hill. A glowing moon peeping in my window.

I am thinking... how blessed I am to be trusted with such challenging work.

Homeschooling... teaching the girls their letters by creating a picture a day of something they are thankful for; today, Amy is thankful for apples, and Sarah is thankful for Andrew. Taught Andrew about atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons, and had a wonderful conversation with him showing that even though science says God didn't do it, scientists' theories of how matter came into being directly follows the order laid out in Genesis. Loved seeing the laughter on his face as he recognized the possibility that Science and belief in God don't have to conflict.

I am thankful for... my home, my husband, my healthy children.

From the kitchen... the only thing I came close to cooking today was cheese tortillas; the little one is sick, and my hands have been very full.

I am wearing... black knit capris, black and white wool socks, and a pink men's dress shirt.

I am re-reading... The Creative Family (by Amanda Blake Soule) The author also has an enjoyable blog: Soule Mama

I just watched... Rent, for the first time the other night.

I am hoping... that everything will be okay when I am in Florida, both with me and at home.

I am creating... actually, just planning to create, a doll for the new little one.

I am praying... for wisdom, serenity, and grace.

Around the house... a lot of laundry, today. Spring in Alaska brings lots of mud, and little guy's tummy bug has also resulted in a good bit of wash.

One of my favorite things... the sound of crickets chirping. If I try really hard, I can pretend it's coming from outside and not from the tarantula's cage! : )

A few plans for the rest of the week... group at work, prepare for Mother's Day, get little guy well so we can have his birthday party, and go shopping for clothes to wear in Florida.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:

Summer's On It's Way!!!

I hope you all can understand that I stayed away from my blog for a long time because of some unkind commenters, who were perfect strangers to me. I think I have cleaned my presence off the internet, but for now I am moderating comments. I was really naive when I started this, and am still learning to protect my heart when I publish my life to the internet.

I borrowed this format from another blogger, and am giving her credit here: The Simple Woman's Daybook

This One's Dedicated to the Ones I Love.

Here are some recent pictures of Wes and Eliot. So hard to wrap my head around him being a Daddy.

His little boy looks like such a doll (Although I hear he's quite adept at making trouble). I can't wait until I see them again.

Playing in the dirt in their backyard.

Can you find the baby?

This shot just kills me! That face! The Ernie pumpkin! The cuteness!

Happy Anniversary, Honey

Do you remember this day?

Eight years ago today, I had the day off of work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so it was the perfect day for us to get hitched. We went to the Reverend's house and paid him $50 to do the deed, and then went to dinner at Cattle Company. We had been together for 2 years already, and Andrew was 2 months past his first birthday. And even though I considered myself spiritually married to you long before this day, I still choked back the tears when we said our vows. I love you.

(I added some photos of our day, that show our faces a little better.)

Paul was very, very sick when we got married. You can see how skinny he is...

Some Photos, Finally

So this is Kelsey. She's 10 months old now, and to get the photo of her I had to hold her leash and keep saying her name--otherwise, she will not sit still or look at me. All she does all day is run and run and eat out of the trash and chew on inappropriate things and generally stir up trouble. She is getting better about the accidents, though, finally.

This is one of the things I've been doing in my (ha, ha) spare time. I was making these dresses for my girls, but after they tore one right away, I decided they weren't ready for them yet.

These dresses are totally hand stitched. Paul gave me a sewing machine as an early Christmas present, but I'm not quite comfortable with it yet and I couldn't imagine stitching these tiny dresses on the machine.

Has It Been A Week Already??

Sheesh! I'm such a slacker.
So, what's going on this week? I lost 2 pounds! Over the holidays! Woohoo! I am trying so hard to be disciplined, to get up early and to exercise at least 3 times a week. So far, so good.
The new d-o-g is making me c-r-a-z-y; We think she must have spent quite a while being homeless before the pound got her. She'd rather eat paper off the floor than the food in her dish. I caught her the other night unwrapping a cough drop with her tongue. Needless to say, we're experiencing lots of digestive issues with her (peeyew!). I told my husband that the accidents she has in the house are bigger than the dog I gave permission to buy!
Amy got her cast changed this week. She now has a nice, hot pink one that fits tighter, so she can wear most of her own clothes again. The doctor says that her arm is healing bowed, but not to worry, because young children's bones are so flexible, it will probably straighten out in a year. I guess I have to trust him on that one. Amy is doing great with it, nothing slows that girl down--and she's my little princess. The doctor dared to call her a tomboy during her cast change, and she told him "I AM NOT!" Paul had to tell him, "You think this one's bad, you should see her sister."
I'll post some pictures later on. Right now, I'm juggling this, homeschool, potty training the dog, trying to get out of jury duty next week, and gathering materials for children's group tonight. Plus, I still have to fix my hair and my face before hubby gets here to take us to the office. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas!

How was everybody's Christmas? We had a very nice day here. Grandma and Grandpa, and Nana Sue and her son Brock came, and Aunt Tracy and Uncle Eric, too. It was very nice to have everyone here, to enjoy the good food and company, and take time to appreciate all our blessings.

This is Taylor and Sarah, and no, it is not May 22, 2004. I really need to get my camera's instruction manual out, and take the date function out. I don't like those yellow numbers in my photos. But anyway...
Sarah, getting excited about finding Barbie clothes in her stocking. Andrew and Amy are in the background going through their "loot."
Amy broke her right arm 2 days before Christmas. Poor thing has inherited her mother's tendency toward klutziness. She was putting a dish away by standing on the kitchen counter, and when she jumped down, she slipped on the wet kitchen floor her brother had just washed.
This was a couple of weeks ago, we went to my dad's house and decorated a gingerbread house and his Christmas tree.
Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you enjoy every minute of your time with family and friends, and that the coming New Year brings you many, many blessings!
Love,
Alicia

Halloween

Yes, yes, I know, it's been a long time. And I actually did write a post telling you all about it, but then I deleted it. Not because I lost my temper this time ; ) ! There are some legal issues going on with our foster child, who is back home with his family (and this is not particularly good news). So let's just say, things have been rough. There is a very hurting little boy out there and the system let him down. And it let us down, too.
So, that all happened a few weeks ago, and we have been enjoying some peace and quiet and taking a break from foster care, just relaxing and remembering what our family is like when there is no one here with major behavioral health issues. I'm not entirely sure I want to go back to it. We'll see.
Anyhoo, here are some photos of my little Halloweeners.





I know a lot of people don't believe in celebrating Halloween, but I have to say I really enjoy it and I think it's good for the kids. The whole "Halloween is all about demons" argument never sat well with me. Halloween is all about dressing up and having fun, and if you really want to get into the religious argument, it's about chasing demons away! It's about scaring off the bad guys and confusing them, traditionally, and also about honoring the dead (pumpkins were smashed to feed hungry spirits). My kids look forward to it every year; it's our last hurrah before we're shut inside away from our neighbors for a long cold winter.
Which it really is; it was 15 degrees out Trick-or-Treat night. I got more big kids and fewer tots trick-or-treating than ever. And judging from the shaggy-dog like fur on the moose, it's going to be a long, cold one.
Other news; I've started a new job providing children's groups at the office where my husband works; it's part time for now, and only evenings and weekends. Which is plenty for me! Homeschooling is going well, housecleaning not so much. I am flying to Atlanta next week; Paul is attending a conference there, so I'm tagging along for a much needed break. After that, I have grand jury duty for 3 months. Because I just don't have Enough to do.
Sorry for the long wait for an update. It's just life, getting in the way as usual.