Wade's World: Still breathing...

Okay, the title is an inside the family joke. With our very busy older kids, we often request when they are away at debate/forensics/etc. tournaments and stuff for them to text us periodically just to let us know that they are "still breathing." Yeah, we have gotten several texts with little info besides the one liner.

I love blogging my thoughts and have several titled pieces partially composed floating through my brain from the past week. However, life has been CRAZY so I haven't had the time to write any of them.

Christopher and the little boys went to on a three day school field trip. The kids' school goes to camp every year, and Christopher is the designated "camp dad." It's a lot of work, but he loves it.

Though I get to stay home while they are gone, I work hard on the bookends of the trip. I'm the designated "cinnamon rolls and cookie baker." Years ago, the camp always prepared cinnamon rolls for breakfast one of the days the kids were there, but one year they went and there were no cinnamon rolls. So the following year, the teacher requested that I bake cinnamon rolls for them to take to camp. Now it's an annual tradition. Not that I'm an expert at cinnamon rolls. In fact, I only make them once a year, just for camp. The food on the whole has been questionable at times so the teacher also like to pack a snack for the kids to eat before bedtime while they are journaling and settling down for the night...the cookies and Rice Krispie treats! So on the days before camp, not only do we pack, but my kitchen is very busy too. When they get home, they unload mountains of wet, dirty, muddy laundry. UGH!

I was, however, really looking forward to this year's trip. THREE DAYS OF PAINTING! Without the need to drive to pick up the boys from school each day, I figured I'd have tons of time for painting.

WRONG!

I became a camp driver, too. Drove kids to camp on Wednesday and drove them back on Friday. Now it is only about a 1 1/2 hour trip to camp, but that's three hours round trip, plus load and unload time, etc. Presto! There goes my "day".

The great painting party was reduced to one day, Thursday. The problem with this is that I was planning to paint bathrooms while the boys were gone. Paint and dry before the family returned. Now I did manage prep, prime, and paint one coat...but the bathrooms are still out of order until I finish the second coat this afternoon.

Translation - Family of seven usually has the use of 4 1/2 bathrooms: three showers and one stand-alone tub. Half bath toilet is still awaiting repairs due to a leak. Two full baths are under construction waiting to paint and dry. Family of seven reduced to sharing only two bathrooms, one tub, and the master shower. Not fun!

So all my blogging has had to wait this week. Today a family very tired from a late night watching Caleb perform in a one act play at school is gearing up for a Saturday filled with soccer, Chinese dance class, a mountain of laundry, millions of "Honey, Do's" around the house, and preparations for children's worship on Sunday.

We're still breathing here. Panting from the pace of life.

Oh! Adoption related report! I FINALLY have another copy of my physical exam form. It had to be totally redone due to some missing information on the last notarized copy...like my address. Hopefully this one will pass the inspection of our family coordinator and be approved to make its way to China. PLUS!!!! Thursday, I received the first draft of our HOME STUDY! Okay, not the finished copy we need for the next paperwork step, but it does move us one step closer to China and bringing our precious girl home. We're going to review it over the weekend and help to make any changes that we see. Our Social Worker's supervisor, our Family Coordinatior, and her supervisor are also reviewing this first draft too. So when everyone's finished, it should be perfectly ready to start making its way through the maze of government agencies in two nations. Yep, nothing about your life is private when you are adopting.

CAMP PIX!