The Unexpected Housewife

Many of you know I am TRYING to write a book about the past three years and how it has rocked our world.  Because of that my blog posts have been fewer because I am working on that manuscript. Here's an excerpt of what I am working on....this takes us back to when the kids were here for the weekends only and we were transitioning to them living with us.  Feedback is welcome and feel free to be critical.  I am sure the publishing world will be. Bob and I had planned to go to Hilton Head for Columbus Day weekend but I canceled our fancy hotel reservations several weeks prior because we had the kids that weekend.  I was kind of disappointed because I loved nothing more than the beach with Bob, but it had to be done. I was sitting in a bubble bath on Wednesday night, having just flown in from a business trip.  Bob walked in and handed me a sheet of paper. “For you”, he said. I opened the paper.  It was a confirmation for a condo rental in Hilton ...

 Last fall, we bought a travel trailer.  We had dabbled with the idea for a few months, saw a used one that was a reasonable deal, and bought it.  Bob still can't believe that I agreed to it that quickly.  I hate to spend money. We got a couple trips in before the weather turned cold, but we were eager to have adventures as soon as the weather became warmer.  So, this spring, we became road warriors.  We went from Tennessee to West Virginia, and all over North Carolina.   Turns out I loved it.  Truly. The camper is simple.  It's got plenty of room for us to be comfortable but it's totally uncomplicated.  I can't make it complex, even if I try.  My favorite parts are sitting by a creek in the morning drinking a cup of tea with Bob, or all of us by the campfire talking and I'm holding my little dog-who, by the way, now gets to come on all my adventures.  It's peaceful.  We've camped so close to a river that I coul...

 I typically write about the children and Bob on this blog, but Felicity has been gone about eight weeks, and I feel like I can finally write about her.  And I think I need to…. Bob found Felicity through a Bulldog rescue, about 8 months after the kids came to live with us.   He still missed having a bulldog, and would say he had a hole in his heart in the shape of a bulldog. Oh dear. Bob approached me about adopting another bulldog.  At the time, I was overwhelmed.  When the kids came to live with us, I took a week off, but then headed back to work.  Suddenly a new mom, working in a quick paced organization had found me realizing that all the freezer meals in the world had left me grossly unprepared. So, when Bob found a photo of Felicity on a rescue site, I told him “my cup runneth over”.    He smiled and told me it was about to overflow. Felicity’s foster parents brought her to our home to meet us in the yard.  She was f...

We recently discovered Ciera needs glasses.  We noticed that the type on her Kindle was rather large, and even while reading with her grandparents, they noticed she had to look closely at the screen. If you have read my blog before, you might recall that the kids have Medicaid until they are eighteen as a result of being adopted through foster care.  In some ways, this has allowed us to have great services at no cost, and allow us to redirect the funds we would have had to spend on insurance and copays to the other needs they have-and to build a college fund that is starting quite late. Great news-the Target Optician takes Medicaid.  Bob took Ciera there for an appointment, and low and behold, our girl needs glasses for reading the board and for a book. Upon getting the prescription for glasses, Bob began the search to get the lenses made.  Turns out, this is a way different experience. After about ten phone calls, we finally found a place about fifteen minutes f...

I often forget that there was a time when my kids were not living with me-and that they have had this life that I was not a part of.  I also feel like we spend so much time talking as  family that I naively think “I know everything”….but I don’t.  And they are funny in the ways that they let me know that.  Ciera has spoken on occasion about how she loved going to Golden Corral when the kids were living with their foster parents.  In fact, she’s gone on and on about it.  The chocolate fountain, desserts, and Isaiah has joined her in his love for buffets and choices.  I can’t recall if I’d ever been to a Golden Corral…Not going to lie, I do recall a visit or two to Ponderosa.  And while it was a childhood memory that is hazy now, I didn’t remember it in such a way that I was running back. But, this summer, on our way home from a trip to the mountains, Bob looked at me and with a twinkle in his eye, he said “let’s do it, let’s go.” I had just ...

Last weekend, Bob and I, along with many friends, attended a fundraiser to help prospective families adopt through scholarships.  It was a fabulous evening, full of love, support, and a community of people doing the right thing.  It got me thinking about adoption more than I have in a while…while I am almost three years into knowing my children, I’ve been reflecting on the period of time when we were in the daunting process.   It reminded me of the many people who are searching to build their families and the challenging task that it is to do so.  In many cases, it’s so costly it feels insurmountable, thus the fundraising need.  However, I wanted to put pen to paper about my experience because, as a result of public adoption, my experience may seem different. I believe I have written about the fact that we found a not for profit agency that provided training, a social worker and many resources to support us through the process of creating our home study...

Been so long since I drafted a blog...but I am thrilled that I am.  I'll recap a few headlines to catch up.... The kids, mercifully, are on summer break.  Isaiah is officially going to 4th grade and ended the year well---not to say we didn't have moments of tremendous doubt.   Personally, I hated third grade.  For starters, I got to intimately friend the teacher staff and I am not kidding when I tell you that I have given them all hugs and end of year gifts as a parting farewell.  I am sure they are very comfortable with the good bye.  Isaiah did win 3rd place in the science fair and we ran right to Michael's and got that puppy framed.  No messing around and take no prisoners where the accolades show up. Ciera had a great year in school.  Didn't get to know her teacher as well, blessed, because I was busy communicating with the third grade staff.  However, Ciera was happy for the most part, has a true bestie, and from what I can tell, effec...