A Life in Progress…

(William, Will, me, Augustin & Theogene- my family for 2 weeks) At the beginning of November, I started my Christmas wishlist. This year, I thought Will and I should get a "family" gift. My thought was a Wii. We had talked about it a couple of times but no decision was made. We were going to think about it because I was going to start working part-time and we didn't want to over extend ourselves. Fast forward to two and a half weeks later. Will & I were able to host a couple of boys from the Asante Children's Choir. These boys were loving, entertaining, and wonderful. (I have written about them in previous posts.) After hosting these boys & an adult chaperone for 2 weeks, my life was changed. The weekend the boys left, it was very difficult for me. I did not want them to leave. They did get to come back for one night and stayed with us for that one night. What a glorious night it was. It was nice to have the boys back in my home even if it was for just...

I do not want to forget.... that look in Augustin & Theogene's eyes when they were meeting their host family (me), they had only been in the states for about 2 1/2 weeks at that time. that first snow fall when Augustin was so excited that he initially forgot to put on his shoes before going outside and realizing that snow is cold. that snow touching the skin is like apparently like a "snake bite". the dancing that was happening at all times in the house. Especially when Chris Brown's song "Forever" was on. Michael Jackson was another favorite. Decorating the christmas tree to "Forever" and "Cotton-eyed Joe"- talk about christmas songs. :) The hugs first thing in the morning & when they went to bed. Loved them!!! watching youtube videos with Augustin & Theogene. When they saw themselves they would laugh. The boys were both very ticklish. Just walking by them at times would have them laughing. being called Auntie in the coolest ...

Tonight I am really missing the boys that have touched my heart and have changed my life forever. It is when the house is quiet that I miss them the most. I try no to let the quiet house get to me and I try to distract myself with other things, but it doesn't matter what I do, I miss them terribly. I was able to talk with them for a couple minutes yesterday and that just made my day. It was really good to hear from them & hear the excitement in their voices. It made my day that did not start off well, end on a good note. Thank you William for giving me a little piece of heaven in a phone call.

(Theogene, Auntie, Augustin) Last night "my boys" were back in Spokane for a performance at Glover Middle School. I was beyond excited! As you may have read in a previous post, I have grown to love these boys and the other children in the choir very much. It was so nice to see them. What was even better was that they got to stay at my house again for the one night they were in town. This was the first time that I had hosted children in my home that I did not have a previous relationship with and it was good training for what we will go through doing foster care. Let me tell you, this was a learning experience for me and I learned a lot about myself during this process. I really learned that being a foster parent is not for me. I cannot love and then let go without a lot of pain & sorrow. I have made up my mind that I will only adopt through the foster care system because it is the best and least expensive way that I will become a parent. You see, my husband & I do not...

On November 15 th we were able to host 2 AMAZING young boys from Rwanda and an adult chaperone . They are part of a traveling children's choir called Asante . They are here for 3 months traveling Washington, Oregon, and California. Let me tell you it was an amazing experience. (Augustin & Theogene with the Asante Children's Choir) Here are the best of times: Waking up to snow- usually I do not like snow, but since the boys had never even seen it, I was happy that it had snowed. That first snow we woke the boys up and had a snowball fight at 6:30am. It was a blast & the reaction to the snow was priceless. We had a free day on a Friday & I was able to take the day off from work. This allowed me to take the boys to Riverfront Park. They rode the carousel , fed the garbage goat, and played on the Red Wagon. They really had a great time. Here's a photo of the boys. Augustin & Theogene Due to the forecast, the boys ended up staying with us for an additional w...

We had to say goodbye to a good car this past week. Sad, I know. The reason is not because of our own actions. It was because we were in a accident. Here is the story... We were on our way home from a friends birthday dinner last Saturday night. We got to the intersection of Wellesley & Wall and I noticed a vehicle approaching the intersection very quickly. Even though we had the green light, Will did not proceed until that vehicle had slowed down enough that we knew that he was going to stop for the red light he/she had. We then proceeded down Wall St. As we are driving down Wall, I am looking down at my phone (I think I was going to text someone) and all of a sudden - BAM ! We were hit! One of my greatest driving fears had almost been realized. I have a fear of being t-boned. Anyway, I digress, someone ran the stop sign at the intersection of Queen & Wall and hit our car on the passenger side. It was enough impact to push the front end of the car over enough to make it so...

We finally bit the bullet and sent in our application to become Foster Parents. Let the fun begin!

We just got back from an AMAZING trip with some of the students from Will's school. This photo reflects what I got from the trip. I am thankful for those that have served & currently serve our country. Not only the men & women, but the husbands, wives. children, mothers, fathers, etc. Without them we would not have our freedom. Thank You! I want to go back, it was simply that cool! It is a trip that everyone should take at least once in their lives. I told Will yesterday, that I actually missed the students & parents that went on the trip. It was simply that great. Let's hope I can go next year!

I do!

I have been so busy as of late. However, here I am on a Friday night at home pondering whether or not I should go to bed. I know, I know how to have fun! It is just that I am so tired lately. I have also been having some back pain that is making it difficult to do anything. Will and I have been doing a lot of talking lately and are now praying about becoming foster parents with the intent to possibly adopt a child that is in the foster care system. I know that it is a difficult process & we are just waiting for God's direction, what ever that may be. Work has been extremely busy & I am loving every minute of it. It has been nice because the days go by much quicker. It is hard to imagine that in a month we will be in Washington DC. I can not wait to go to the Nation's Capital! This is a trip that I have wanted to go on for a very long time & I am finally going. I am very excited. With spring comes softball. Will is coaching the church softball team again this year. I...

I am doing the rooming list for our Washington DC/NY trip and it is hard. There are so many different rooming guidelines. They are dependant on how you pay too. It has been made even more difficult because there are students that have not paid & I don't know if they are going on the trip or not. The rooming list is due tomorrow & I still don't know what I am going to do.

I had a biopsey done on a couple of spots in my mouth. One on my gums & the other on my tongue. Let me tell you it wasn't too bad the first day, but the second day is PAIN!

Boy! What a weekend! I am making my weekend start on Thursday of last week. I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning & the were concerned about some things that they saw and referred me to an oral surgeon. No big deal...so I thought.(more in a bit) I called to make the appointment on Friday & it was scheduled for Monday (today). I then went about my weekend. I went to the Smucker's Skating Spectacular at the US Figure Skating Championships & was able to see several former Gold Medalists & got to see those skaters representing the USA at the 2010 Olympics. It was very cool! I took my mother-in-law, Marion, to the event. She loved it. She was even surprised that I would take her. It was so good. There is a lot of skating talent and even future olympians that are amazing skaters. Needless to say we had a good time. Monday (today) arrived and I went to my appointment at the oral surgeon and they are going to be taking biopsies of a spot on my tongue & along my ...

It has been so nice this winter. The weather has been cooperating this yeas as we have not had the snow "dump" that we have had to deal with the past 2 years. It is almost like we are/have already headed into spring. It has been BEAUTIFUL! Question for the day/week: What else do you find beautiful?

It is only Wednesday and I am ready to throw in the towel. It has been one of those weeks. I don't know where to begin. I guess I will just be random. Monday was a very busy day! After having four lovely & wonderful days off, I had to go back to work. I really do love my job, but I was not looking forward to the work load that I was going to have. I am one of those who doesn't like to leave a job half finished at the end of the day. I like to have it completely completed. Hence the stress that I was feeling going to work on Monday. I did get it all done. On Tuesday, I left work feeling ill. The smell of the fresh brewed coffee that someone had brewed made me want to toss my cookies. I knew then that I was not feeling well because I really enjoy the smell of fresh brewed coffee. I am glad my office mate allowed me to go home early. However, I was supposed to have a basketball date with my husband at the school he teaches at. I was very sad that I was going to miss it because...

I just got back from the movie The Blind Side. What a GREAT movie. I loved the fact that it is based off of a true story. Those I think are some of the best movies. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is a must see!

Well 2009 is done and gone! I am not sure what to think of 2009, but I know that I am sort of excited to see what 2010 brings. Since it is the start of a new year, I thought that I would try my hand at blogging. I am not sure blogging is for me, but it is worth a try. I am not sure what direction this blog will take but that is alright. It could just be a place for me to reflect on life, relationships, and other stuff that is on my mind at the time. What's on my mind right now is, what is in store for me in 2010? That is the question of the day.