My poor truck

So ... this is going to surprise everyone: we own a lot of cars.  We have the big 15 passenger van (currently laid up until I can replace the serpentine belt) named "Bertha".  We have the minivan, which is "blue" or "periwinkle" or just "the van".  We have the Mercury Mystique which is "Misty".  We have the 91 Ranger named "Strider".  And then there's my truck -- the 89 F250 affectionately known as "Fugly" ... yeah ...

New Toys!

So ... Ethan got his drum set ... and earlier this week HE snapped this picture of Kaleigh playing the drums with his good drumsticks ...

Bees!

Where do you find a bee at the end of March in Oregon?  Apparently at my kids' school!  And who would find it?  Kaleigh, of course!  And ... who is allergic?  Until this weekend, we didn't know it, but: Kaleigh, of course!  It all started when Rick called me Friday Morning.  You see, he and Kiwi decided Thursday night to come up and visit for a couple days (Sat night through Tues morning).

TGIF

So ... I've been trying to figure out how to wrap up my week in my Friday Posts, and I think I'm going to start making a list, every Friday, about what my kids are doing or have done in the last week.  It can be special, funny, or just normal ... depending on the week and the kid.

Since last Friday:

The definition of Insanity:

Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".  My carpool driver listens to NPR, and so I've been hearing a LOT of listening to the latest shenanigans of both parties over the recently passed Health Care Reform Act.

Throwing it all away!

To the tune of Genesis: Throwing it all away, it's time for:




 

What are the Top 3 things you should have thrown away... like, yesterday?

Getting the laundry done

So, a while back I posted that I would never encourage my wife to take a truck load of laundry to a laundromat and do it there.  Well ... now that is pretty close to true!  Up until last week, we owned an aging Maytag Neptune washer/dryer set that we had purchased when we lived in CA.  Christina must be reading This Daddy's Blog, because I swear she channeled his wife "T" when our taxes came back ...

Randomness and Cynicism

Stealing my title from Juggling Eric ... thanks, my friend ... it's how I feel today.  Nothing prepared to write about, and lots of little thoughts running through my head ...

The perfect babysitter

Sortof ... anyway, it’s time for:



This actually happened a couple weeks ago, but I've been waiting for the perfect time to share, and today seemed like it.  We were in the process of closing down the shop, so we were rushing around on a fine Sunday, getting to Church, getting back, headed to the shop to clean-up, etc.

Hair Deux

Not to be outdone by Topher’s hair experiences, Adam and Ethan decided it was time to attack theirs.  The biggest difference here: they weren’t as timid boring normal as the latest addition to the family.  Instead of black, they decided for blue and bright pink respectively.  I know it’s not Wordless Wednesday.  Not sure what to say to these, though …

A Musical Fantasy

Last night, the fourth grade classes at our local school presented their play.  Going in, the sum total review I got was “Douglas’ play is really cute.  You need to see it Wednesday nite” from Bammy.

Understatement.  This was a production of monumental proportions (at least for a group of 4 graders, that is).  How did this happen and I didn’t know about it ahead of time?!?!

Me? Quirky?

 

What are your Top 3 quirks?

And the award goes to:

On Monday, Sylvia’s Girl Scout group had an awards ceremony.

Someday, I’ll post about all the little things that bother me about the differences between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  I have enough experiences with both to have some pretty strong opinions.  But today, I just want to be one proud daddy.

It's only hair, right?

He was celebrating being home.

Nothing more ... this is just a Wordless Wednesday ;-)

UPDATED -- Praying for Topher!

So ... after talking with Topher, and talking to his mother, DHS called me to confirm the Friday decision.  Topher is to remain home with me.  He is to call his mother, with supervision, and if she pressures him to come home we are to call DHS.  The official desire is for long-term reunification.  I would not place money on that, as I don't think she has that much self control.  I will be getting him into counseling, and we will go from there.

Thanks for all your prayers.  As I said Friday, I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

Original post follows:

The Prodigal Son

Last Sunday, I taught, and was taught, a lesson about the Prodigal Son.  If you don’t already know the biblical version, go see it here.  My version starts out differently, because he wasn’t originally my son, so I didn’t hand him 1/2 (or even 1/10) of my fortune.  Instead, he was born into a bad situation.  I guess that doesn’t make him “prodigal” by the definition of the word.  But that’s OK, because the lesson is the same.

Chaos Unleashed

subtitled: What happens when Christina is sick.
or: Yes, Emily, I lose it more often than I care to admit.

Today’s post was inspired by Emily at Mothers of Brothers, who left the following comment on my Friday blog entry:

I honestly don't know how you handle everything that comes your way. Do you lose it evey now and then? Do you bury our head in a pillow and scream? DO you have a mantra to repeat? I am humbled by your sensibility and generosity and ENERGY to come out the other side. I get overwhelmed with one kid who doesnt have any of these issues. I'm just so fascinated and wondering if you were born cool, calm and collected or it was something that you acquired over time? And can I get some?

and by Julian, who read the above and commented:

Dude:  Cool, calm, and collected !?!?  You’re a loud, arrogant, annoying a**hole!  What are you blogging?  Fiction ?!?!

Yeah … thanks for the support, kiddo.  So, read on to hear about my weekend:

I hope Grandpa was right!

My grandfather used to say: Trouble comes in threes.  If that’s true, yesterday was my perfect trifecta, as we handled each problem in turn, and came out the other side!

A day late

 

What are your Top 3 favorite things about being a parent?

So ... Yesterday was a BAD DAY (tm), but today is better, so I'm doing my Top Three Thursday on ... well ... Friday.  Because yesterday was all about fostering, I'm going to twist the answers to specifically address being a foster parent.

Victories

So … this week has been hard for Topher.  It’s been a rough week emotionally, and he’s struggling with a lot of things all at once.  Yesterday (why does this always seem to happen on Tuesdays?) it got to him, and he had a difficult evening.  Read on to share in his victories.

Not feeling guilty

Despite the title, this is not a Not Me Monday post.  Mostly ...

Like many of us, I've been reading the posts on MckMama's blog, on We Are That Family, and in other places about Compassion International's Kenya trip.  I freely admit to crying when appropriate, and sometimes when not.  It scares me that people in today's world live in such poverty when it takes so little from us to make it better.

Watching through the windows

So ... my deadbeat friend Mark called last night.  He wanted to offer curse words support over my post yesterday.  He’s going through something very similar, and is not having nearly as easy a time (if you can call it that) as I’m having with Topher.  He called while I was helping go over what’s left in my shop, trying to get the last of it cleaned out and ready to turn back to the landlord.  I left the building, not wanting to discuss this in front of the kids.  Standing out there, in the cold, on the phone, I got a different view of everything going on.

On Lenten Promises and Broken Hearts …

I said, in my post about Ash Wednesday, that Topher dropped a bomb on me and that I couldn't blog about it.  Today, he gave me permission to drop it on my readers.  This morning he said I should let it out, that he no longer wants to hide, that getting things out in the open is the only way to heal.
 
Actually, after last night (described below), I texted him this morning asking if I could blog about it ... he texted back "Idc" ... those three letters mean a lot, though.
 
What follows is what broke my heart.  You've been warned.

Top 3 Thursday ...

 

What are the Top 3 things you like about Spring?

Brothers are forever ...

Sadly, this is not Topher's first time around the block when it comes to being fostered.  He's told me several times about his former foster family, where he lived for a year about 8 years ago.  He tells stories about his foster-parents and their kids often.  It worries me sometimes that his favorite memories are about his foster family.  I've never heard a cute story or a fun story about living with his mom.  So, with nothing but a picture of his foster-brother, a misspelled name, and a phone number, I set out to find these people who had made such a difference in my son's life.

Camping with Cub Scouts

So, this last weekend I went camping with 10 screaming little monsters adorable young Cub Scouts and 3 louder bigger monsters helpful Boy Scouts.  I've already recapped shopping for the trip and how my weekend started.  Read on for the rest of the comedy adventures!

How to be a total jerk to your wife

Sorry to say it but I screwed the pooch last week.  Anyone who knows me knows that this never happens to me (wait, is this still not me Monday?).  Tonight is my first chance to make it up to her … any suggestions?

Not Camping with the Cub Scouts ... Not Me!

This weekend I DID go camping with the WEBELOS.  All ten of them.  Ranging from 9-11.  And 3 Boy Scouts ages 12 to 14.  In the spirit of MckMama's Not Me Mondays, here's the story of Friday Night.