Pictures of the Week 1/15-21

I am having fun and keeping up with the pictures, surprisingly.

Kitty Cat Secret

15 / 365

Derby whispers, "Cloud, can I tell you a secret?"

Thermometer

16 / 365

Temperature at 7:00 am this morning. A bit nippy I'd say.

 

Cooking Together

17 / 365

Erika is incredibly patient and loving with her younger brothers.

Micah Clean Bean?

18 / 365

After big sister gave me a bath. My hair got washed and rinsed and yet the spaghetti sauce from dinner remains plastered on my face?

 

Overalls

19 / 365

He's all American now.

Basketball

20 / 365

Trey's first time at Little Pro's basketball. He was nervous 

but loved it! He is so tiny compared to the other kids.

 

Hard Workin' Honey

21 / 365

Bob started early this morning constructing a wall in our basement playroom. 

I love it when he puts his "Bob the Builder" hat on.

A Night Out For a Good Cause

Friday night, we went to a spaghetti dinner at church.

Lindsey and I took the six younger out to dinner.

Don't get me wrong, my kids are awesome, 

but this particular night was an adventure.

 Started out fabulously when on my coat chip 

was my FAVORITE number.

 We ordered drinks and while most of us went for the water 

two little boys asked for hot tea. 

Trey has a bit of a learning curve when it comes to tea bags.

 And somehow he got his second tea bag to look like this.

Joshua proclaimed his tea, "Yucky, it doesn't taste like anything."

 Not sure what he had it in China.

Apparently it wasn't a cheap generic teabag.

 The adventure continued when Micah pushed Lindsey's water over then completed the act by dumping the tea that Joshua didn't want.

 The tables only sat six so the girls decided to sit at their own table. 

Not sure how that worked out for them. 

They looked bored and missed all the fun we were having.

Then Trey got his foot stuck in the chair.

 Did I mention we were sitting right in the middle of the room?

Welcome to the show.

 Lindsey snuck away and bought me a rose,

delivered by my son who was coerced for a picture.

 We had to do something while we waited for our dinner.

 Pretty in pink.

 We did some good damage on our dinner. 

Not everybody cleaned their plate though.

Don't tell the cook.....

 Who was my son, Erik.

 Serving his little heart out.

 Assisted by his father looking over the proverbial shoulder.

 Most of the spaghetti made it into the colander....

 Like I said, most of it.

After dinner, we sent the boys to play and made our way 

over to the dessert cafe where we had 

pleasant conversation, some sugar, and decaf coffee.

Then we bumped into someone who commented on how good my kids were in church. I felt compelled to share our 

adventurous dinner story and hopefully burst her bubble.

Life is real and life is good.

All the time.

PS. Forgot my camera. Fabulous pictures by Lindsey M. Peterson.
She gave me great fodder for a post!

Maybe I Should Have an "Open Basement"

I'm thinking I should have an open house of sorts for:

The furnace guy who just happened to notice 

the cat poop in the old sawdust on the floor.

The friend who needed to borrow a book and 

endured a trip down to the book shelf/library.

The social worker who I brought down to see the 

girl's bedroom and prayed that she didn't look left.

The fire inspector who had to look.

The girlfriends who stayed over night down stairs. 

 

Yes, it was really that bad.

The picture above, believe it or not, is a huge improvement.

 I started out with some cheap boxes and filled 'em up.

With all kinds of important "stuff."

And now we can see floor and we can walk 

in a straight line to find something.

We haven't seen this much carpet in years.

My daughter said I needed an "intervention" for my book issue.

I might have a problem.

Then I sheepishly admitted that I got two books in the mail. 

And three yesterday.

And (oh help me) four were coming tomorrow.

So tough love has arrived.

As of this writing, 8 boxes of books have departed.

I'm hanging in there. I keep sifting and gleaning.

I won't tell you how many duplicates I've found.

How many books does one really need about dinosaurs, weather, birds, Helen Keller (5) before they all start to say the same thing?

My daughter is a go-getter. She is making it happen. I am so grateful because I couldn't see the forest through the trees. The walls and floor are being sealed. Look at that tremendous white space. Isn't it beautiful.

 On the other side, I am still working on 

organizing, categorizing, and purging.

Really, I am.

Two shelves done and three to go.

We have progress.

Major good stuff over the weekend.

Like carpet and lights and maybe even a craft station. 

It had to be done.

Stay tuned.

Good Morning Girls

 Grateful

 for an online community who hungers for the Word.

We are studying the book of Ephesians over the next 12 weeks.

Wouldn't you know that the first two days have 

inspired and convicted me all over again.

When the word "adoption" crops up, my heart flip flops.

'Cause that's who I am and where we are at right now.

Here is what I wrote for my observation of Ephesians 1:5-6

A poignant passage because we have adopted multiple children. I have stood in court and divided my inheritance again and again. They became mine the moment that stern judge looking down at us signed the paper. That moment, we became one in the eyes of the law, the people, and the world. 

God has adopted me. Am I one with God? Do the eyes of the people around me see God when they see me? Did I take his "name" and do I honor Him with my thoughts, word, and deed?

So much to learn.

And think about.

Growing closer to the Christ.

Who gives new life.  

Thank you, Good Morning Girls.

For community.
Inspiration.

Love.

Cat Meets Kitten

After years of multiple cats and dogs, we are down to one feline other than rabbits who will ALWAYS live outside. However, we've had a visitor while our daughter is home on college break. Our cat, Cloud, is barely tolerating the foolishness of the kitten, Derby. I'm not sure I would look at a bunch of pictures of cats but my goal with Project 365 is to be a better photographer and the only way to do that is to practice, practice, practice. The fun part was that the cats were sitting on top of a stairwell. Off the back side was about a 10 foot drop. Living dangerously.

"Does this thing ever stop?"

 "Are you touching my head?"

 "Smile for the camera."

 "Oh, good grief. If I ignore her, will she go away?"

  "Watch it girlie!"

 "Stay in your own airspace."

 Resume bored expression. Kitten takes submissive pose.

 Lower.

 We love this picture because Cloud looks like an owl.

This is my second favorite picture. 

King Cloud and his loyal subject, Derby.

Coming and Going

 The best of both worlds.

I think.

Miss R came for the weekend. 

She can put a face on like no other.

 She is kind of like our tenth child.

We will always love her.

Care for her.

Be there when she needs us.

We will respect her family.

But claim our own place in her life.

Brothers and sisters.

Mamma Jen and Daddy Bob.

 Miss R, you are so beautiful.

The coming and going is bittersweet.

This arrangement is working for now. 

Not without its trials from the blood brothers 

who love her desperately.

We get behaviors and moodiness and confusion.

But we want to be there for Miss R, too.

And I hope they will understand some day 

why we have chosen this path.

For them.

Let The Purge Begin

The January-Jobless-College student has agreed 

to lead the charge against "The Stuff."

First stop. Containment. Check.

The goal: To create an indoor play space. We have a huge basement that has collected dust and stuff in equal amount. We've organized, categorized, and thrown out a whole bunch. Stay tuned for progress.

Easier said than done in some instances. 
Here's the thing. 
I need to organize my desk area.
First I must contend with heaps of paperwork. 
Stacks of reports, meeting reminders, court papers, correspondence and so on.

As the pile amassed, I couldn't help but wonder why I kept every single piece of information that came my way, anything with a name on it. I have another box just like it downstairs.

One day, I realized what is in those boxes represents a piece of someone's life. In some cases, it is all the history I have for my children.

Makes me sad.

That I can't change the past.

Looking to the future is all we can do.

Together. 

With a lot of help from God. 

Who had a plan all along.