Birthdays

They tell me I had a birthday this past week. It surely cannot be a whole year

since the last one!

I asked for lights under my kitchen cupboards so my dear hubby stayed home from work

and put them up. He had so much help that it only took twice as long as it should have.

As I was in another room listening in on their conversation. I realized how MUCH this child 

TALKS...and sings...and TALKS!

He asked her how on earth she is going to sit still and be quiet in school.

I love my new lights, but now I need to keep after the cobwebs.

She put a puzzle together with verbal instructions from me.

She doesn't have much patience for puzzles, I guess I need to find some more to practice on.

Only a friend (s) would carefully craft these cute cupcakes for my birthday.

First Week TBRI

Well, that is a bit stretched....should say "First Week After TBRI Refresher".

So after a weekend of "drinking from a fire hydrant" I was trying to remember and use some of the connection principles as well as prepare for a speech on Wednesday and finish the next issue of Adoption News.

So Tuesday found me baking bread and Shekinah was right there "helping". I wanted to put supper in the crock pot too, so I left her play with a cup of flour.

Thinking all the while "what a good mama! getting things done and daughter is doing some sensory stuff, we should be good to go for the rest of the day."

Silly mama...
So the floury mess got bigger and bigger and finally it was time to clean up.
While I washed the dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher, I asked her to get the dust pan and brush and clean up the mess down the front of the cupboards and on the floor.
She cheerfully found the tools and was sweeping away. I turned and saw her dumping the contents of the dust pan on my freshly wiped counter!

TBRI went straight out the window, "Shekinah! you know better! you don't put dirt on the counter, now go get your dress like I told you to!

Way to go mom!

She fled, down to the basement to get her dress (earlier she just couldn't go down there without me).

I spent a couple of seconds...well maybe 120 of them, thinking   about connection.

So I went down to find her hiding in the dresses, you know, just the feet showing below the skirts. In her hand she had a "going away" dress. (groan, I had told her earlier not to get that dress, but to leave it for the evening when we were going away).
One thing at a time...."Come here, I see you found your dress"  Held her and then, "Is this the dress you want to wear?"  She nods.
I held her a bit, then said "come, lets get you dressed and clean up the counter together."
She came with me,  and we cleaned up the flour together, then she wiped her hands and said, " I'll go get an everyday dress and save that one for tonite."

Yes, dear, this time we both "got our act together"

There have been more times this week, when the mindfulness is paying off....chug, chug, chug, chug.

#ETC15

In a little town in the eastern part of PA we dreamed of holding a Karyn Purvis 

Empowered to Connect seminar.

Thing was....the office space was still not painted

the floor was still "messed up"

the potties were still in the boxes

and the lighting wasn't finished.

AND there was no internet connection in the building.

BUT!

Some very energetic men

finished the last of the painting

on Thursday night.

A son who was willing to try some set ups and a lady who said "well if it doesn't work, 

we will watch the Karyn Purvis videos."

A dad who hadn't thrown away that old lamp yet.

We received the internet from across the street at my son's house via that beige box on the old lamp post. If the dumpster would have been moved back 12 inches or the pile of rubble had been 12 inches higher,or if our windows would not have opened, OR if my son's router had gone out on Saturday instead of Monday... We would have had no internet connection. (his router did go out on Monday morning and he quickly replaced it and borrowed a backup.)

 Below is a better picture of the little house across the street.

I think 20 families were represented in the 28 people that attended.

We were part of an audience of 20,000 according to the simulcast folks.

So much stuff to process and remember, this second time around was good for us.

 This afternoon we took advantage of the sunshine.

The girls picked some bluebells on the hill.

Motherhood is the Necessity of Inventions

So I thought I was so smart when I came up with the perfect hostess gifts for Zeke to 

take with him this weekend...

The school's Gospel Team is going on tour for five days and the students usually take a gift for the host/hostess. I usually am scrambling the night before because this is one thing we forget.

This year Zeke reminded me early, I ordered "hand poured soy candles" from our local soy candle manufacturer (otherwise known as son#1 and his wife)

I thought I would quickly find some easy gift box on Pin*rest....did I say quick?

So I dug out some burlap,

crumpled up some grocery bags for the lining

 Then decided they need something extra

 Even re-used the handles from the grocery bags

Then for some more inventions...

You would think we are adopting again, for all the crazy things that have been happening this week

We are helping to host a Karyn Purvis seminar this Friday and Saturday.

The wheel bearing on the van gave out AGAIN...

thankfully it was 3 weeks before the warranty was up.

We all came down with a wonderful-stick-around cold

The main drain for the gray water clogged and our bathtub has filled up with washing machine water three times now. We have hit the clog with some powerful stuff, but it is stubborn.

So am I

Zeke needs his clothes washed so he can go on the aforementioned tour.

I decided that the wash water can just get pumped out into the backyard via a garden hose

BUT

you can't just connect those two hoses.

So I spent 45 minutes wandering after a helpful hardware clerk

came home with $11 worth of connectors and clamps.

BUT

Their universal washer drain hose was a different size than mine

of course it was

so nothing fit.

So I found some stuff that was on the sink and managed to keep the two hoses together long enough to finish two loads of laundry.

Now hopefully the high powered stuff that hubby brings home does its thing.

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

Resurrection Sunday!

The whole reason that Christians can face tomorrow. 

In the last week we had some additions to our family.

The post office called early and I went to pick up the babies. Put them in their cozy home but first I needed to remember to dip their beaks in the water in their waterer so they know where to find it.

Parker and Shekinah were highly entertained.

Then while I was doing book work Shekinah decided to play Apples to Apples. I figured it wouldn't get too bad....yeah, well there are 900 some cards in that box.

So I told Shekinah to help clean up...she didn't want to. I told her that is OK but, we won't be able to go see the peeps later if she can't help. It took her awhile to decide but she decided that it sorta looked like fun to clean up after all. Even Parker got in on picking up.

This is the snow we had left on Thurs afternoon. I am happy to say that it is all gone now.

On Saturday the cousins came! Faith told me she is glad I wasn't an only child.

Parker was impressed by the youngest of his daddy's cousins.

He said "arf, arf".

On Friday, dad and Zeke decided to used car shopping. Zeke's car was older than he was and was coming apart at various places, and needed weekly infusions of various fluids.

They settled on a 16 y.o. car instead.