I'm sure you're wondering why I posted that poem yesterday. Well, I'll tell you. Someone sent it to me and I just loved it. It brought back memories of when I was working at the hospital. Most of my patients were older men. All alone, facing open heart surgery, no family, some were confused and some just mean, and some didn't make it. I remember thinking, while taking care of them, or wrapping their body, this was someones baby, this was someones "love of my life". This was a baby boy with his whole life in front of him. This grumpy old man was probably the cutest little guy when he was just a boy. How sad to be all alone now. How sad not to have someone with you that loves you. A mom loved this man many many years ago. A mom hugged and kissed his face and told him she loved him. And here he is now, all alone.
That poem just brought back all those memories and I needed to share it.

Crabby Old Man

• What do you see nurses? .What do you see? What are you thinking.....when you're looking at me?

• A crabby old man, ...not very wise, Uncertain of habit .......with far away eyes?

• Who dribbles his food.......and makes no reply. When you say in a loud voice.....'I do wish you'd try!' Who seems not to notice the things that you do. And forever is losing, A sock or shoe?

• Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding......The long day to fill? Is that what you're thinking?......Is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse......you're not looking at me.

• I'll tell you who I am,.........As I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding, ....as I eat at your will I'm a small child of Ten.......with a father and mother, Brothers and sisters .........who love one another

• A young boy of Sixteen.......with wings on his feet Dreaming that soon now........a lover he'll meet. A groom soon at Twenty,.......my heart gives a leap. Remembering, the vows......that I promised to keep

• At Twenty-Five, now .........I have young of my own. Who need me to guide ...And a secure happy home. A man of Thirty, ...........My young now grown fast, Bound to each other .......With ties that should last.

• At Forty, my young sons have grown and are gone, But my woman's beside me.......to see I don't mourn. At Fifty, once more, Babies play around !my knee, Again, we know children .......My loved one and me.

• Dark days are upon me. My wife is now dead. I look at the future .............I shudder with dread. For my young are all rearing......young of their own. And I think of the years....... And the love that I've known.

• I'm now an old man.........and nature is cruel. 'Tis jest to make old age look like a fool. The body, it crumbles..........grace and vigor, depart. There is now a stone........where I once had a heart.

• But inside this old carcass ..A young guy still dwells, And now and again .......my battered heart swells I remember the joys........... I remember the pain. And I'm loving and living.............life over again.

• I think of the years all too few......gone too fast. And accept the stark fact........that nothing can last. So open your eyes, people ......open and see.. Not a crabby old man. Look closer....see........ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.....we will all, one day, be there, too!

I GUESS WE'RE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL

Austin woke up screaming at 4:30, something normal for him, so, after I got him back to sleep I decided to check emails. I DID end up writing to Ms Russell at the US EMBASSY in HCMC yesterday afternoon. Well, I got a response back already! And it wasn't the form letter. That was nice, someone actually took the time to email me personally. BUT...It wasn't what I wanted to hear. They said because Hannah isn't in a serious health condition, we will wait the 60 business days for approval.
NOT what I wanted to hear, but at least I know now. I feel worse for Hannah than us, she's known she has a family since April, and has been asking for us for a LONG time.
Looks like I will spend THANKSGIVING in Vietnam. Funny, Mike and I were on a plane to Vietnam on THANKSGIVING DAY in 2006. I never would have imagined I would be doing that again!

We're BACK

Amy met Ms. Ruth. What a nice teacher she has, and the teacher's aide is Ms Daisy, very nice too. Amy's class is pretty small. Amy makes 6, 4 girls and 2 boys, all 4 yr olds. Seems everyone was absent today for one reason or another. There was only 1 little boy there today so Amy got lots of attention from Ms Daisy while I got to speak to Ms Ruth. As soon as the bus gets figured out, Amy will be on her way!

Amy will be meeting her teacher today at 1. Miss Ruth can't wait to meet Amy. Mike was at Amy's IEP meeting this AM and she will be in the afternoon class. 3 girls and 2 boys. Should be a nice little class. She goes by bus, so they said it may take 10 days. I could bring her to school, but I can;t pick her up. I have to be at Ryan;s school at 2 to pick him up, and then back home for Austin's (Amy's too) bus at 2:20. So, she must wait to start school. I don;t think that will be a problem. You should have seen the look of Sheer TERROR on her face when I told her I was taking her to school after lunch.
I think afternoon class will work perfectly. She will get on the bus at 10:45 ( ya right, think Austin, who's bus still isn't on time) and home at 2;20 with Austin. I'll have an entire 3 HOURS with just Paisley. We can grocery shop, Christmas shop, go out to lunch, or just have fun at home, ALL BY OURSELVES. She will finally get some one on one time with mommy.

Day 23

And no approval yet. I know I said I would keep my fingers off the keyboard, but I just can't. It's toooo sad. My friends are loosing their referrals, children they have pictures of, children they love, and their hearts are breaking. The children are loosing the love of a mommy and daddy, they are loosing a family. Vietnam is closing to the US quickly, Province by Province. Is it too far a stretch to think maybe, just maybe, the entire country will close to the US soon, and even those of us with hard and fast referrals, just waiting for our I-600 approval, or a G&R date, may never see our children? No one is safe. Our Embassy needs to move quickly to get the approvals done so the children can find their forever families before all fails.

I just spoke with my agency. I am keeping my mouth SHUT and my fingers off the keyboard and will wait for my I-600 approval. Then I will THANK GOD for my daughter and fly as fast as I can to get her. Vietnam is getting really, really crazy right now. Referrals are falling apart as Sept 1 draws near, and provinces are refusing to work with the US. Oh how sad for all these children waiting for families. And how sad for the families loving these children.

DAY 22

And still no word from the US EMBASSY in HCMC about our I-600 approval. COME ON!!!
I'm still waiting to hear from our agency. Did they call HCMC? Did they email them? What have they heard from the Embassy? Tonight I will do it myself! During our last 2 Vietnam adoptions I emailed the Embassy a lot! I kept them up to date on my 2 adoptions ( I was using 2 different agencies at the same time) and they were wonderful and helped me every step of the way. I will be emailing Mary Russell at the Embassy in HCMC at 10 PM tonight if I don't hear from my agency by then. Maybe I'll do it sooner!!!
Hannah will be 6 on Monday. She needs us and we need her!

Monday Update

No approval again today :(
My agency was expecting our approval last week, so they'll be checking to see if there's a problem. I'm lucky they're pro-active and on top of things. I hope to hear today what they found out.

Hannah's Birthday is Sept. 1, Labor Day. We thought she would be home by then, or at least I would be with her in Hanoi. Now she'll spend her 6th Birthday with no family :(

Austin had his 3rd birthday on Sat. and Amy is also 3, I now have two 3 yr olds. Everyone wanted Austin's new trucks! I should have bought more, they just don't understand the concept of Birthday presents yet. Next year we'll do Disney for his birthday. We'll have Austin, Hannah and Paisley's birthdays all within 3 weeks of each other...so, I think LABOR DAY weekend for a big Mickey Birthday Party is a perfect idea! Then we have Amy and my birthday at Halloween, so there's another good time to visit the Mouse. Oh, and Mike's Bday is Dec.29...Christmas and NYE at Mickey's House! Then there is Meg ( Jan) and Ryan (Feb) Valentine's Day, another good weekend for Disney. I feel better already. My life's coming back to normal. Disney every 8 weeks, always puts a smile on my face :) I NEED A DISNEY FIX! Maybe I'll make some reservations today!
Austin's bus came on time today!!! He was ready and waiting, and all smiles. He took his lunch today. I thought it was safer since he got that huge egg on his head while walking to the cafeteria to get his lunch last Friday. He had bent over to look at a pencil sharpener someone had dropped on the sidewalk and cracked his head on the wall of the school! Since he's in Early Intervention, they bring their lunch back to the room to eat. Now he can stay in his room and wait for the buyers to get back. Anything to make it easier on Miss Sue. AND ME!

TS FAY is finally out of our area for good! GOOD RIDDANCE! Yeah for sunshine!!

Wed. is Amy's IEP and Thursday she can start school. However, we have to wait for the bus dept. to put her in the system. ( and we ALL know how they are) So who knows when she will really start. I was told they have 10 days to add her to the bus schedule. Now, isn't this silly? The bus already stops at the house for Austin, and they're in the same school.

No School tomorrow, it's a teacher work day. YEAH! I can sleep till 7!!

YUM! CAKE GOOD!!!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!!!!!

Love
Mommy & Daddy

FRIDAY UPDATE

This will be LONG, so grab a cup of coffee if you're following along.
Everyone but Amy has started school now. Amy should start in 10 days or so.
Austin's bus was only 40 minutes late today. I'd like to know how these drivers keep their jobs??? Don't they go over their route BEFORE school starts? And after the FIRST day of missing the stop ENTIRELY...wouldn't you think the driver would LOOK for the house on her own time??? I guess not if you KNOW you won't be fired. I am totally DISGUSTED with the BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOL BUS SYSTEM!!!!!! And YES, I spoke with supervisors everyday!!! I'm getting chest pains so let's talk about something else.............
Our ADOPTION of Hannah!!! well...I just erased everything I wrote about that!!!! Just in case someone reads it and I wait even LONGER for approval.. But after she's home..I'll fill you all in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE biting my tongue!!! I'm not good at it. I want to say SO MUCH... it's such BS!!!!
So............................
The girls are playing in their room..NOT...they are constantly in the freezer and fridge looking for food! They already had eggs, bagels, cheese, milk, juice, pudding,and cereal and it's only 11:00 AM.
Back to our sweet Hannah. She's doing well and has gained some weight back.. She is now happy and has chubby cheeks again I'm told. Since we haven't received our I-600 approval yet, we're on day 18, I think we'll be waiting a LONG time. This isn't what we were expecting. We thought, since Hannah is SN (older) we would have a quick approval like the other SN kids have had...NOPE! not for us. The SN kids from our agency had their approvals in 6 days! Not us. Looks like all the cute clothes I bought for Hannah to wear in Hot, Hot, Hanoi in Aug/Sept. will now be worn by Amy here in Hot, Hot, South Florida. At least someone will wear them. Too bad they're all sleeveless, now Amy can't wear them to school.
Miss Sue met the "real" Austin yesterday. He cried and screamed for quite some time she said. She also said she needs to bring herself an extra shirt to school now...She was soaked with tears and snot from holding Mr. Austin!! Poor Miss Sue. She'll need and EXTRA nice Christmas gift this year. I shouldn't laugh, but I told her he was a "challenge". He sure isn't Ryan, the dream child, who she had for 2 years.
OOPS..just got a call from Miss Sue..Austin hit his head on the wall at school and has a huge bump!!! They are putting ice on him now! Oh Austin!!
This post has taken 2 hours to write with all the interruptions I've had....I gotta get some laundry done before we drown in it...Talk to you later!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

HERE SHE IS!!! ISN'T SHE BEAUTIFUL???

IT'S OFFICIAL.

My sister Jan and her DH Bruce have just adopted this beautiful little girl. Originally from Belarus, Christina will be 13 in Sept. Jan and Bruce are SO BLESSED to have this little girl join their family. We all can't wait to meet her.

WELCOME CHRISTINA!

FINALLY

School started yesterday AND I had no internet most of the day due to all the rain, thank-you FAY.

SO...let me fill you in :)

YESTERDAY...

Austin's school started at 8AM...Bus was due at 7:22. It arrived..after NUMEROUS calls...at 10:10.( different bus and driver) Austin is only 3 ( well on Saturday he will be 3) and uses a harness for the bus ride to and FROM school and he gets it in the AM with the first bus ride, so we couldn't drive him to school because there would be no way for him to come home without the harness, since I have to pick up Ryan at a different school at 2 PM, same time Austin gets out. ( that sentence was TOO long) I can't be in 2 places at once.

**** INTERRUPTION.....THE BUS JUST NOW CAME FOR AUSTIN....IT'S 9:28. Mike took him at 8:15 this AM. ******

OK...So, the bus driver was very apologetic. She couldn't find our house for 2 days. We live in a PLAN...not in a rural area. Target, Walmart Neighborhood Grocery, Bed Bath & Beyond, Athlete's Foot, Fresh Market, Publix, Movies, Office Depot, Blockbuster, K-Mart, Steinmart, Baskin& Robins, Wendy's, McDonalds, Ruby Tuesday's, and many more stores are less than 1/2 mile from my house!!

So, you have an idea of how my day went from there. I got nothing done all day yesterday.

Austin LOVED school when he finally got there.

Ryan LOVED school :)

Meg LOVED school although she got lost during the day finding her last classroom and was crying, ACTUAL TEARS RUNNING DOWN HER FACE, finally after asking 3 teachers for directions, she found her room ( got lucky, the last teacher she asked where Ms. Adam's room was, WAS Ms. Adams)

Meg said the 8th graders on the bus all sat in the back and told the 6th graders coming on, "if they wanted to live, stay away from the back of the bus" The driver heard them and yelled at them. Then Meg said she realized, "why are we afraid of 8th graders? they're only 13"

Today, Mike drove Austin to school, no bus again, Ryan and Meg left on time, Ryan wanted to use his McQueen lunchbox, so he took his lunch for the first time in 3 years of school. He was SO excited. At $2 per child for lunch, maybe this will save some $$$...

Paisley and Amy are playing Polly Pockets in their room...amazing!!

It's QUIET...can it be???? Oh My Goodness...This might be nice after all.

Next week we have Amy's IEP and she will start school within 2 weeks.

Next Post???? ADOPTION UPDATE :(

IN 8 HOURS

They will ALL be in school except Amy and Paisley! Oh Happy Day! No fighting over trucks and trains! No crying! No Hannah Montana or Suite Life! No more 5 TV's all playing something different at the same time! No more in and out of the pool! No more kitchen open all day long! AHHH... Peace and Quiet. And in 10 days...Amy will be in school too!

TROPICAL STORM FAY

No school again tomorrow :(
I went to bed last night with the computer models edging FAY west into the gulf and woke up to the original models, FAY hitting the West coast of Florida. We're on the East coast, outside of Ft. Lauderdale.
We've had lots and lots of rain since this morning but things are supposed to go downhill from here for the next 24 hours. BET THERE IS NO SCHOOL AGAIN WEDNESDAY! When I look at the radar, I swear FAY is coming straight up the middle of Florida.
Shelters are now opening for low laying areas because we may get over 8 inches of rain. Our pool has another 2 inches before it floods... I guess that will happen sometime tonight.

We woke up under a Tropical Storm Watch. Meg is upset that school may be cancelled tomorrow so she keeps checking the computer models of the storm on "Weather Underground" hoping FAY'S track moves west. She has been counting down the days till 6th grade since the last day of 5th grade. She LOVES school.

Me on the other hand, am dreading waking at 6 AM and having to actually function!
Ryan wore his new school shorts to church today...well, he started out wearing them...until they fell to his ankles!!! They are size 2. Now what do I do? Where the heck will I find size 18 months in Khaki and Navy today???
AND, I forgot to buy the boys sox!

Do you realize what a madhouse the stores will be today? Between school starting tomorrow, and people buying their hurricane supplies, the lines will be tremendous! And I thought I was SO prepared!

BRAVE DADDY

Daddy is a brave boy! He took everyone to church this AM, ALONE, while I stayed home with the contagious Mr. Austin. Even Paisley went along. I told him to SIT IN THE BACK!!!

BIRTHDAY TIME AGAIN!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!
Today our beautiful Kimberly Sue turns 40!
I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. How could 40 years have gone by so quickly?
Happy Birthday Sweetie! Have fun in Vegas and win lots of $$$$$
Love and Kisses
Mom and Dad

It's IMPETIGO
Why didn't I think of that???!!!
NO SCHOOL for Austin.
and now I'm itchy all over :(

WHERE'S THAT WALL TO BANG MY HEAD AGAINST?

Daddy has Austin at the ER now. Seems that "cold sore" is popping out all over my poor little boys body. His backside, hips, knees, legs, back of his hands, etc. I don't know what it is and late Sat. afternoon, the quickest course of action is the ER. I would say it's chicken pox, but they start on the back and chest, and aren't this big, and he's had his immunizations. But they sure LOOK like GIANT, and I mean GIANT, Chicken Pox! Oh, I guess they would...cold sore, chicken pox...all the same herpes virus. CRAP CRAP CRAP!
OI VEY!
I don't think it matters if TS/HURRICANE FAY makes a stop here...I don't think Austin will be in school Monday.

48 HOURS TO GO

And my plans are falling apart FAST...First we have that darn tropical storm FAY churning south of us. Who knows where it will go? Probably not here, but while we're in that famous "cone of uncertainty" we are uncertain if school will start on Monday as planned.
And then there's Austin. Last Sunday I said to Mike.." Is that a cold sore on Austin's lower lip?" " No", he ASSURED me, "he's only 2". WELL.....it IS a cold sore and Mr. Austin has been rubbing it with the back of his hand ALL WEEK...from ear to ear, across his chin. This morning he has about 60 tiny cold sores starting on that rubbing track!!! Now, how do I send him to school like that?
Thursday we had gone to Austin's school and met his teacher Miss Sue. Austin is Dev. delayed so will be in the PLACE program at school. Ryan had been in Sue's class for 2 years and is going to kindergarten Monday. Austin played in his new school room and screamed and cried and had a MAJOR temper tantrum when we had to leave, POOR MISS SUE. I was SO looking forward to little Mr. Austin getting on that yellow school bus Monday morning. He's been walking around the house all week with his McQueen backpack and McQueen shoes on.
And Amy? Amy is registered for school too. Had her testing done last April and qualified for a half day with Austin ... Thursday, while at orientation for Amy, I found out they "forgot" to have the IEP...now Amy has to wait for 2 weeks before we can have the IEP and she can start school. Amy is 3 and has been walking around with her Cinderella backpack on all week.
She and I will BOTH be crying when that bus leaves without her and Austin Monday morning.
I just want to bang my head against a wall!!!

2.5 DAYS

TILL SCHOOL STARTS!!!!!

NEED I SAY MORE?????

I woke up to an email from the US Embassy in HCMC. We have our "Acknowledgment of Receipt" now. Next email should be our approval. Now, I wonder when that will be? Anytime in the next 60 WORKING days it says.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!
Our baby is 42 today. Where has the time gone? And YES, she was named after the Beatles song "MICHELLE", And a beautiful Michelle she is :)
Love,
Mom and Dad

OH WOW!

Three families have posted today they received their I-600 approvals in record time. In 8 days or less!!! 2 submitted their I-600's the same day as me....So, Maybe when I wake up I'll have my approval waiting on my computer. Or, maybe before I go to bed! I think I'll stay up REALLY late tonight!

IT'S BEEN ONE ENTIRE WEEK!

Of waiting for our I-600 approval! I've been so busy with the painting and making a few hair bows, we hardly noticed a week has gone by. This week I'll get everyone ready for school so it should fly by too. Come next Monday, after everyone's in school, things will calm down around here and the waiting will start to sink in. I've heard the DOS has added more employees to handle all the I-600 apps. they're expecting, so maybe, just maybe, our wait won't be so long!!

I'm tired! My age is catching up with me. We spent the entire weekend painting bedrooms and moving furniture, getting ready for Hannah's arrival. What a job!
The boys went to the girls room and the girls are now in the boys room. The boys had the bigger room to accommodate their train table. That train table will have a new home...out on the patio.
The 3 little girls have Cinderella toddler beds. Yes, even though Hannah is almost 6, she's tiny, so for a little while longer the toddler beds will work. We already had 2 for Paisley and Amy. I just joined FREECYCLE.ORG and someone was giving away a Cinderella toddler bed!! How perfect was that? Saved me some $$$. 3 beds in a row, reminds me of the 3 little bears story. It looks so cute! Today I'm decorating the room. I'm off to find a little chandelier and I saw the cutest curtains with sequins and glitter at K-Mart for $10, it's their Disney Line.
Ryan wants me to put a train border in his room again, but Austin had pulled it down, not only theirs, but all the wallpaper throughout the house. I told him daddy would put a REAL train around the ceiling of the room instead. He was happy with that. OK, and when will daddy have the time to do that??? Probably NEVER! But he has wanted to for a long time now. Maybe I'll put the train border up at the ceiling where Austin can't reach it, if I can keep him off the top bunk!
I think I need a house with more bedrooms so they can all have their own decor! If this real estate slump ever goes away, that's the first thing I'm going to do...MOVE TO A BIGGER HOUSE!!!

PAISLEY GOT A HAIRCUT

I thought I was being SO careful with the scissors. I guess she has now joined that special little girls club with members all over the world. You know that special club. The one where you have to cut your own hair to be a member! And I was planning on growing out those bangs!! Not for a few months now. She took a nice big chunk right out of the middle, I don't know how she didn't scalp herself!

ANOTHER HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!

Today is our grandson Dylan's 16th Birthday! Wish we were there to celebrate with you!!!
XOXO
Grandma and Grandpap

DOUBLE HAPPY DAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TABITHA!
Today our granddaughter Tabby is 12! She's in the red shirt. Of course you all know Meg. The purple shirt is our granddaughter Luci. Today is her Mom's anniversary.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Kim & Roger!
It's such a shame our family is now spread out all over the country :( We all miss celebrating with everyone. Thank goodness we have the "eyeball" camera.

SOMETHIN'S CUMMIN, SOMETHIN' BIG!

I'm getting a BLOG makeover by
TINA at THE STORY OF YOU
and it's going to be FANTASTIC!!
Stay Tuned!

We're Officially Waiting!!!

Our I-600 is on it's way to the U.S. Embassy in Saigon!! Let the Countdown begin! I put up a new ticker to count down the days! We're praying this part goes fast :) We know the wait can be up to 90 days..or longer :( but we have faith Hannah will be home SOON!