testing other gmail account

ignore!

...OK, scratch that!

...as those old posts weren't that great anyway.

So here I am in Kansas. The sun is shining (typical for this part of the country) but it's chilly...but it has been a relatively chilly winter in Florida so I'm not really that cold.

Devon arrived last Wednesday, and I arrived here Friday. This has been an exciting time as I've gotten a foretaste of what being a Grandma will be like. I'm trying to be as helpful as possible and at the same time trying not to hover and to give the new parents some space...at least as much space as they can have while we are in the same house. On the other hand I just LOVE the little guy and would be happy to hold him all day long. I'm sure that I will get choked up when it's time to leave. I am sad that we live so far away and that we won't be here for all the milestones to follow.

I'm sure we will be back in KS some time this summer so that K can visit birth family. But we have to keep it to small doses - it's a difficult transition for her to leave them behind.

Of course K thinks that she is old enough and responsible enough to hang out here with family, but I disagree for two reasons.

First, her siblings are all college-age and have their own lives - they can't be responsible for a 13-going-on-14-year-old girl when they are just learning to be entirely responsible for themselves. It's too great a burden, and I'm not sure any one of her siblings are up for it. I won't leave her with cousins or aunts/uncles as it is not fair to burden them, either...plus they already have things going on in their own lives. And the last time we were here, K wanted to dress and act way older than she is.

The other reason is that K is not mature enough to trust with little supervision. Each child matures differently, and I would say that while K is mature about some things, she isn't ready to be without supervision. We have had to take her phone and block her picture mail due to poor judgement on her part. K is high-maintenance.

So while I understand her desire to hang out in KS without us, she isn't mature enough.

OMG...how long has it been??

...I can't believe it has been so long since my last post . The other thing I noticed - I created some posts and saved them as drafts..so maybe I'll post them now.

I read somewhere that blogging is somewhat on the decline as Facebook use increases. That makes sense, as it is much easier to post a change in status than is is to think of some actual verbiage to populate an online posting.

For those of you who have Facebook, you can ask to friend me if you have not. My security level is relatively high so please drop me an email with your FB-associated email and I will friend you.

As far as FB goes, in general I try to stay away from friending work associates. There's nothing embarassing about my posts, but with only one or two important exceptions I like to separate work and home life.

OK, so what have we been up to since our last post? A New Years cruise to the Bahamas, lots of soccer...and of course the arrival of baby Devon. I'm posting this now from Kansas as I have come here to cook, clean, do laundry, and generally enjoy being a new grandma (kinda-sorta) to Monica and Gary's little angel.

I'll post a link to some pictures on Picasa:

Devon

It's Labor Day Weekend...

...and school started this past week.

• We booked the after-Christmast cruise - yay! It's a five-day trip to the Bahamas...and according to Carnival we leave in 114 days...
• Soccer practice started in August. Miss K is on the field three times a week (including conditioning)...
• Yes, we make a point of "dating" more, although I'd like to find a local piano bar!
• Trips to Kansas and to Ohio were very emotional. That's about all I can say here. One of the Ohio highlights - visiting with my friend Joyce - we met when I was nine and she was eleven.

I've been reading more, but for some reason every book I pick is depressing: illness and death, rapes and murders...I need some ideas for LIGHT READING...can anyone help with suggestions?

It's half-way through summer...

...and I can't believe how time is flying! Travel completed and travel to come:

• The cruise was a BLAST. We didn't want to leave the ship! Spouse and I learned two things about ourselves - first, that we need to go on vacation more...and second, we need to get out more! K. had a great time as well, and it was nice that we were able to do some things together, some things apart. The excursions were terrific, although I wish we had spent more time on Isla Roatan and less in Belize. Nothing against Belize - it's just that heavy rains the day before we arrived caused flooding in the caves, so we were not able to go cave-tubing. We hung out at the piano bar most evenings...
• We are flying back to KS for a quick trip to see family this month. Next month it will be Ohio.
• Copper is a real sweetie...and he remembers us. He is fitting into our little family very and he is being spoiled with lotsa lovin'.
• I am in love with my iPod Touch. But I'm not craving an iPhone - my Diamond is fine. Spouse has a shiny new Palm Pre, and it's terrific.
• K will be on a different soccer team this year. It could have been a sad story, but it may well turn out to be a good thing for her.
• Did I say that we need to take more vacation? We are thinking of an after-Christmas cruise...

Wassup?

So it's officially Spring...and this is what we have been doing lately:

• We have booked our very first family vacation - a seven night Carnival cruise to the Western Caribbean! We have never taken a family vacation before - it's always been a visit to this family up North or that family out West...so this should be fun. There are lots of activities for tweens, so Miss K. should be plenty busy while we adults have our own fun. We do plan to book a dolphin encounter and at least one long, lazy beach day.
• Spring break is next week - and that's when I'll be picking up Copper (see prior post).
• Soccer continues...and K. continues to have fun and do well on the field.
• Many new challenges ahead at work. Mostly good stuff!

I'm sure there is more going on...so I'll be adding to this post when I remember : )

I suppose I can try to figure out how to delete the Backward Bush countdown...

Copper comes full circle...

Last weekend we received sad news. Due to a set of unfortunate circumstances our friend Cathy is no longer in a position to keep her retired guide dog Copper. Copper is the dog we raised for Pilot Dog while Mark was in seminary. I immediately agreed to take him in, so I will be driving up to North Carolina to pick him up next week. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears to go around.

It's been nearly nine years since we have seen our (not so little) Coppermonster - he will be eleven years old next month. Kirby is 4 1/2 years old and fairly mellow -- I think she will enjoy Copper's company. I wonder if Eureka kitty will recognize him? Our hope is that he will enjoy a peaceful and happy retirement with our little family.

Advent 2008...

…is upon us. So as we say “goodbye” to 2008, here’s a quick update:

• Yes, we ARE in a BLUE STATE! YAY!!!!
  
• K’s reading and writing has improved noticeably since she started with the speech pathologist. Although the ride has been bumpy, she made honor roll at school this past term. Public school has pluses and minuses; in many ways I wish we could send K back to private school, but I think she is in the right place. Oh…and she is playing the TUBA in band!
  
• The tutoring goes well at K’s school – I like being able to help out, and Pre-Algebra is fun. I’m on my second student as the first was so truant that I could not help her. Unfortunately Student #1’s family is having a lot of issues.
  
• The soccer team is doing well again – K is having a great time. She is taking private lessons with one of the coaches on top of regular practice & Saturday games. Her team nickname: “The Beast” because she is so fast and so strong! Of course we call her that at home because she is a TWEEN.
• K got her braces just before Thanksgiving; next comes a second round with the palate expander as well as dental surgery to remove a rogue baby tooth that is displacing an adult tooth.
• Speaking of Thanksgiving, we flew up North for the first time since seminary to visit family during the holidays. Seeing both sides of the family was great, but I really did not enjoy the cold weather.
• We have stopped talking about another adoption. I feel too old : )