The Revolving Door of Adoption!

One of the things you can expect when you adopt kids from the foster care system is visits from social workers. Lots of visits. From lots of different social workers. Actually, though, since we've been with the private agency we've had consistency in the social workers we see, which has been nice. In the old days it seemed like we had a new one every month.   Now, they've all been pretty nice, for the most part. One of them left her Elvis Presley umbrella and since we never saw her again we were unable to give it back. It's a nice umbrella, but I've never used it. I think I'd feel funny using an Elvis Presley umbrella. Never really been a fan.  Once we even had an unexpected visit from the DA's office. That scared me to death. The boys were little, Missie Lou was a baby and we had just gotten home from a birthday party.  And there was a knock at the door. I was a little flustered, the boys were sticky and tired and I opened the door and there was this guy flashing his badge at me. I felt like I was on "Law and Order". I let him in. The boys were fussing. The baby was still in her car seat. The man didn't say much, but took a bunch of pictures of the house. The baby's bed. Her clothes.  And then he left. It was all very surreal.  So, you just never know.  Yesterday, I had two visits. One was scheduled. The other wasn't. The first social worker came just as we were finishing up history. I told the boys to finish up their coloring page and I chatted with D the social worker for a while. I assured him that everything was fine and dandy, and so he left, we had lunch and then my mom came to pick up the boys and I took the girls shopping at the Salvation Army. I had just gotten home from the Salvation Army store when the phone rang. It was the County worker. She usually calls shortly before she comes, just because of her schedule. It's hard to explain.  Anyhow. She said she'd just knocked on the door and no one answered and she thought she was calling my cell, but it was the land line and, lo and behold, I answered. She said she was in the area and would like to stop by if she could. I said, "Sure. Where in the area are you?" and she said, "I'm parked in front of your house." I went out the front door waving a pull-up and said, "Wow, I didn't even see you when I pulled in," and she said, "That's ok, I didn't see you when you pulled in. I was doing paperwork." So, I let her in and we chatted for a while. I don't know why it is, but she always intimidates me. She was looking at books with Cee-cee and asking her if she knew her colors (which she doesn't, but she is learning to count) and I kept thinking, "I'm a terrible mom. My 2 year old doesn't know her colors!"  But then I told myself, "I'm not a terrible mom. A lot of 2 year olds don't know their colors. But, she does know how to count!"  So, that visit went fine. But when she left, I was tired. It's just kind of tiring having people come into your house and evaluate your home life. I know it's just to make sure the kids are ok and they aren't really judging me, but it's just tough.  But, it's part of what you gotta do. So, we do it!

A Woman's Right to Choose..... What to wear!

I went to the Salvation Army Store today. I don't get there much, mostly because.... well, I have five kids and I homeschool and I just don't have the time, and sometimes just not the inclination to take all five children with me to a store where I need time to browse. Generally, my shopping trips with all the kids are to Walmart or to Target with a list in hand. And then I try to make it through without forgetting anything or anyone or causing too much chaos.  But, today, I had to go to the Salvation Army store to get some Hawaiian shirts for a 60's party we're going to tomorrow night.  I would have loved to get some psychedelic halter maxi-dress and platform shoes, but... that just wasn't happening. The Beach Boys is about as close as I'm able to get.  Anyhow, so today was the day, since the boys were at Kingdom Kids (a 6-week after-school type program at my parents' church) and I could just take the girls with me.  Oh, I had fun. I found my Hawaiian shirts right away, so then I shopped a little. I found the cutest little brown jacket and several shirts to wear around the house, a couple shirts for Missie Lou, a pair of jeans for Bubba and a jacket for Missie Lou for next winter. All for $20. I was ecstatic. On Thursdays their kids' clothes are 75% off, too.  You know, I really don't mind buying used clothes. I like to have a choice in what to wear. Some people have the philosophy that they want quality clothes, but they're on a budget, so they buy a few good pieces of clothing and wear them all the time.  I'm the type of person who wants a lot of clothes. I like to have a broad variety to choose from. But, I am on a strict budget.  So, what is one to do? A lot of my clothes I do buy from Target, but you can get some good stuff at thrift stores if you're willing to look. Most of it is in decent shape. So, I was pretty excited about my finds today.

Another Funny Teaching Story

OK, that last post made me think of probably the funniest thing I ever witnessed as a teacher. I was out on yard duty one day and it had been raining, so everything was pretty wet, including the rain gutters, which were full of rain and leaves and mud and whatever else collects in there. So, I was standing there, watching the kids and this one kid has a basketball that he's playing with not too far away. Now, I'm not sure if he did this on purpose, or if he was just practicing bouncing it really high, but the ball ended up on the roof of the covered walk-way. Now, this kid wasn't too bright because he stood right underneath the rain gutter with his hands up and out, waiting to catch the ball as it rolled down off the roof. In the split second that that was happening, I remember thinking to myself, "All that kid's gonna get is a mouthful of rain and leaves when that ball comes down" and all the sudden, the ball hit the rain gutter and that child with the upturned face and lifted hands got a shower of muddy water and sodden leaves. It was pretty funny!

Let's see where this post ends up....

I've tried three different times to write today and each time I just delete what I've written because it is totally lame. Dead end. Going nowhere fast.  So, I thought I'd sit down and just do a stream of consciousness post and see where that takes me. It may be lame, too. Oh well. Nothing much is going on today. The boys are really trying my patience. Duh-duh would not do his math and then he fell off his chair and bumped his head and started crying. I held him for a while. He got his math done.  That reminds me of when I was teaching junior high. Boys would just fall out of their chairs. For no reason. It was the strangest thing. All the sudden they'd be sitting on the floor with a kind of shocked look on their face (not that exaggerated shocked look that they get when they do it on purpose, but want you to think they didn't, but a real honest shocked look). I'd roll my eyes and tell them to get back in their seats. They wouldn't cry, though. And I didn't hold them in my lap. I had one boy who was falling out of his seat all the time. He had a really tough adolescence. His mind and body just wouldn't do what he wanted them to do. I still remember this little interchange one Friday morning while getting ready for a spelling test.
Me: Ok, class,  first word, "spelling"
J: Uh, Miss H., I need a piece of paper.
Me: Does anyone have a piece of paper that J could borrow?
Nice girl who is always prepared, takes a piece of paper out of her binder: Here J.
Me: Ok, class, once again. First word, "spelling".
J (waving his hand wildly): Uh, Miss H. I don't have a pencil.
Me: Does anyone have a pencil that J could borrow?
Another nice girl who is always prepared, pulls a pencil out of her backpack and loans it to J.
Me: First word, class. "spelling".
SNAP!
J: Uh, Miss H. could I sharpen this pencil?
Now, you might be thinking, "He needed to be prepared.  Why didn't you just start the spelling test and have him catch up?"  I don't know. I guess he was a kid who needed grace. The thing was, he was a nice boy. He had a part in our school play that he did brilliantly. We put on the play Tom Sawyer and J played the town drunk to perfection. Sometimes we wondered about that. But, he actually grew up to be a nice young man. At least he was last time I saw him.  But, I'll never forget that kid. Some of them, you just don't!

Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.  Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off track.  The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.  We look for visions from heaven, for earthquakes and thunders of God's power, and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us.  If we will do the duty that lies nearest, we shall see Him.

Oswald Chambers