Happy New Year

I wrote down a 13 for 13 way back on the 13th of January - I shan't revisit the 13 since I'm fairly certain the only thing I accomplished on that list was to learn to knit. I'd give a 14 for 14 but that's a ton of things to think on and knowing me it would take me until the 14th of February to finish and post given my track record. It was bound to be a banner year since I ended 2012 with winning the 5000th Twitter Fan Carmike Contest which remains the coolest and only thing I ever did win. And now I give you . . .

Thirteen Things From 20-13:
 * Thanks to our movie pass for a year we saw way more movies than I think I've seen in one year in my LIFE. It has been a blast to have dates and to see things long before they come out on regular TV!

* We frequently heard how Awesome The Boy was "because it's just so hard to think of another adjective." He continues to keep us on our toes and ask Big Questions, some of which we have to Google the answers.

* We visited old friends. The zoo and lunch after was a blast and the surprising was even more awesome. We spent time with our good friends, spending summer nights at Sweet Frog even when it started to sprinkle. And we swam, visited Six Flags and seriously rocked a pick-up baseball game birthday party

* We got a new puppy! We thought she was deaf but she was just a punk. She ate homework, 239487234 pairs of headphones, rolls of toilet paper and boxes of tissues, the box of plastic spoons and let us not forget the baking soda. Maggie (better known as Petunia Picklebottoms) brought some spunk back to old Mildred Louise - she's keeping her young. And by young it sometimes means escaping the back gate and running through the creek.

* The Boy continues to crack us up with Jethroisms. My favorite quote from The Boy this year: So are you born a vegetarian or vegan or is it a choice? Because I didn't know if the doctor passes you the baby and says 'it's a boy and he's a vegan' or something.


* The Boy learned to ride a 4-wheeler. He crashed nearly every time he rode. Thankfully he did not break anything.

* We played a lot of baseball. Spring the weather was awesome, we came in 4th place and it was fun. Fall we played every single Friday and learned to play every position and it was fun. Now we are getting geared up for B-Ball in the Spring and well it might not be too fun in the way t-ball isn't always fun. Like watching paint dry? Maybe not but B-Ball seems to be a game of Walking and Stealing.

* The Boy finished 3rd Grade and had many accomplishments. The Boy started 4th grade and has learned a ton about space. He's also back to reading again. We may just get that Balloon Walk yet! This is the year for Real Grades and we couldn't be more proud of how Awesome The Boy is doing

* We went to our first Braves game together! It was just as awesome as we thought it would be. And in honor of Father's Day The Boy and Dave were able to run the bases together after the game!

* Got rid of the motorcycle, added on the Explorer. Dave and The Boy were sad for the loss but I Hate Motorcycles So I'm All Good.

* I joined a book club - and I swear I'm not just in it for the adult interaction but HELLO what a plus. I joined a co-op and am loving learning new recipes for the different veggies we have here. And I bought my first pair of cowboy boots.

* Dave stopped working at the shop. And quit dipping. I don't think I've ever been more proud of him. Ever.

* We began the foster care process and felt led to do Resource Parenting instead of Straight Adoption. It's a scary decision but we hope that God has a special child He plans to stay here forever. We attended class every Thursday. We survived two home inspections. We waited not-so-patiently for approval. And then we had a respite weekend and a weekend with two little boys that I thought were going to do me in. I'm happy to report we finished our required hours to stay active in the nick of time (read: last night) and we are good to go for starting back in January.

There were hard parts to the year - I was pretty sure November wanted to destroy me between losing my friend Carla, the tough time with the foster kids, the hot water heater exploding and a bunch of other stuff. I could have done without all the health stuff we had going on. And my ever-present being behind on all things paperwork. I wish I would go to bed earlier and exercise more - drink less coke, more water - learn to like running. But thinking back on all the things we did in 2013 - I'm glad for my family and friends. And memories. And laughs.


So in looking forward to 2014 I have a few hopes - to laugh more & cry less; to work hard and do my best; to read the entire Bible; to visit with friends, to spend time with family. I want to start taking pictures again. And keep my room clean. Hahahahaha yeah I'm just joking on that last one.

I'm hopeful 2014 will be our Best Year Yet and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. Much Love ~ Shan. 

Nine Whole Months

Remember that one time I blogged Not-Resolutions? And then I posted them all and didn't come back again for 9 months? Yeah me either. We'll all pretend like I've been blogging all along with this nine month update yes?

The Boy got a new pet - Al G. A great deal of sadness resulted months later when in a freak accident Mildred Louise was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for knocking over the aquarium and ripping down the blinds upon being trapped in The Boy's room. Al G was buried in a private ceremony. He will be missed by the now-empty pineapple under the sea and his dear owner. 

 

Christmas gift for The Boy - a trip with his BFF from K & 1st Grade! Proclaimed one of the Best Days Ever

Baseball tryouts in 40 degree weather. Our standard "you will hope it is this cool in May" was not to happen when we had gloriously wonderful weather for the entire season

 

Drafted by the C-Ball Phillies The Boy had an awesome season playing 1st Base. Their team was #4 in the league. We learned a lot this season, like sometimes the umpires will get it wrong, Mom means it when she says she will buy Crying Panties, and baseball at American Little League isn't nearly as horrible as we were led to believe (except for that part about parking sucking - that was crazy true)!

 

 

And then you realize time is going too fast and The Boy has his Last Ever C-Ball At-Bat

The Boy was chosen for Science Olympics. His team placed 1st in Estimania! (The Boy was chosen for this area after the teacher asked how he would determine the number of paper clips it would take to go the length of a football field and not missing a beat he asked 'the little paper clip or the big paper clip? because one is only an inch but the other is a couple of inches')

 

Meanwhile we (and by we I mean *I*) got a new puppy. She was cute and so fluffy I was certain I was going to die. Then we got her home and found out just how much she likes to get in to mischief - like eating 2394729873487 sets of ear phones. I reminded Dave of the fact that at least she eats $10 headphones and not $30 trailer wires like her predecessor. And lest you think we dumped Mildred - nope. We rocked her world and brought her the most vile thing in the world - a sister.

We named her Maggie but more often than not call her Petunia Picklebottoms. I tell people all the time I love her but I probably won't really like her until she's 3 because of things like digging in the nastiest puddle ever, ripping up my toilet paper, barking Every Single Morning at 3 a.m. and jumping up at the sink.

Mother's Day came and I received the best note ever from my favorite son

 Then The Boy got in his Balloon Walk just under the wire. We were super proud

And all too fast he graduated 3rd Grade

We prayerfully made the decision at the end of May to expand our family through Resource Parenting (previously known as Foster-to-Adopt). We spent our Thursdays all summer attending class. We had drug tests, TB tests, fingerprinting and got writer's cramp from the mountains of paperwork we filled out, which The Boy agreed with on his own sheet. 

The Summer also found The Boy turning 9 and one of his dreams coming true when we took our Father's Day trip to see The Braves

Then we got rid of the motorcycle after One Last Ride

And spent a soggy 4th of July at The Property camping. I found my Happy Spot with a little time in the hammock with a book

The summer was not complete without our Annual Six Flags Trip

And then all too quickly summer was over and The Boy started FOURTH grade

 

Fourth Grade, while the class talks and gets in trouble which drives The Boy batty, has already taught us awesome stuff. We spend many nights out in the front yard looking up at the stars. Here we are psyched to have watched yet another amazing space-thingy (note my strength was math not science and most certainly not social studies *ahem*)

 We've revisited our love for all things Duck Dynasty and channel our inner-Jase frequently

 Plus The Boy learned how to ride a four-wheeler. Granted there was that one time he crashed face-first in a tree but he learned the most important thing in the world - in a turn you turn right to go left can't always do the same thing a bigger four-wheeler can do and should Slow Down

And the fall finds the most awesome thing - the return of baseball. We were blessed to get to be on the team of a coach I said at the end of C-Ball I wanted The Boy to have. He's learning a fat ton and will be better prepared for baseball come spring

We're loving the fact that we're learning new things but hate the fact that B-Ball seems to be all about getting on base (read: walking) and trying to score (read: stealing). We've yet to finish more than 3 innings each game. But Dave and I count our blessing it's not nearly as horrible as watching t-ball!

Lest you think it's all Sunshine and Roses - Mags grew even more and is even more sneaky. Here we find her just after shredding an entire box of baking soda all over the living room. She subsequently puked all over my Red Chair and was banned to the backyard for a bit so I could attempt to clean. Thankfully the looks-like-crack-on-my-floor took place *after* our home visits for foster care

 Regardless we're trucking along finding the balance of work/school, keeping the house picked up and spending our Thursday and Friday nights at the ball field!

 And with that I'm all up to date. Maybe I'll blog again today - or maybe I'll blog again in three months - but at least that feeling of too-far-behind-to-even-post can be shed, right? Feels good to be back.

Make good choices and be good listeners friends ~ Shan.

The Not-Resolutions Post

I don't normally make resolutions but I do usually make a list of things I want to achieve in the coming year - except last year the only thing I achieved was having a family photo taken and hanging pictures on the wall. Truth be told, the family photo was for a family gift and otherwise I bet even *it* wouldn't have been accomplished. And the picture hanging took place On The Last Day Of The Year.

I decided to again make a list of things to achieve in the coming year and then I looked around and here it is the 13th and I've yet to put pen to paper. I could claim that I've been too busy listening to stories of Creepers and Skeletons from Mindcraft War Stories (TRUE STORY). Or that I was cleaning (bwahaha!). Or that I was busy taking pictures (yeah haven't used the camera in forty forevers I've again lost my pho-jo). In the interest of honesty I will just say that I am lazy and decided to just sit in the red chair and *think* about doing it. And then I was all in the red chair with the laptop watching a little TMNT the animated series while hearing creeper stories and thought Why Not Now.

So here 13 days in to 2013 I give you my Not-Resolutions in random order:

1. Have a Me Night at least once a month. Go to dinner with a friend, take myself to a movie. Just at least one night each month I do something that is not feeding pigs, making tea, washing clothes or sweeping.
2. Lose 30 pounds. I'm in a competition with Dave. I know that guys tend to lose fast and he may start off strong but he always struggles more with the last 10 so I'm not counting myself out just yet. To work on my achievement I am drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper. And since I lack motivation I have very little other headway to push me to winning. Note to self - more work on #2
3. Complete a Bible Study. I start them all the stinking time but never finish them. I'm beginning to see a common theme of accountability in my Not-Resolutions.
4. Stay caught up on paperwork. This was totally on last year's list but it's one that needs to be brought back. That said - Hey! Lookit me! I am actually sticking with this one so far this year. I go in to work tomorrow with no outstanding casenotes or reports. I believe this is the first time I've been this caught up since the day before I had surgery. Rock On.
5. Do a 5K. Even if I walk most of it and only run a bit I want to attempt one. I've walked one in the past but I finished it with the man with a cane. I had a blast, mind you, but it was more of a 'stroll' than a race.
6. Get together with family more often than holidays. And take more pictures when we're together. I'm making right on this one so far, as we got together on New Year's. And there is already have a gtg on the books for February. 
7. Learn to knit. I'm making progress on this one as I have the circle peg thing, some yarn and a tiny bit of patience. You can tell I'm going to be an awesome knitter since I've already failed at it three times, I don't know the names of the stuff, and I've been at it for a day. Edited to add: Yeah I'm failing miserably at this one. Spent 2 hours THE ENTIRE AFTERNOON trying and messed up every time. At least I have a whole year to do it, right? Ugh. Edited again to add: I'm giving it one last shot for tonight and then I am going to bed. I've now watched a video where a guy did it, a child did it and an old lady in a nursing home did it. Surely there is hope I can figure this out. SURELY
8. Plant a garden. We didn't do this last year and it was depressing. Even if I have to do it by myself, there will be tomatoes and peppers planted. I can't make any promises about weeding the garden though.
9. Drink more water and eat breakfast. This ties in with #2 but really if we are sticking with the being smart this would be two choices I shouldn't have to put on a list and should Just Do. I just suck at breakfast and would rather sleep an extra 15 minutes. What can I say I like to sleep.
10. Blog More. This should be a given but I just choose to instead play Words With Friends or watch Duck Dynasty. And read more. Books, Kindle, whatevs. Blog More & Read More.
11. Be a better Bible Fellowship teacher and Awana leader. No explanation needed. But I guess I would add that if we do another musical and I'm helping to be better at that, too. 
12. Send more snail mail. I know I enjoy getting all those cards at Christmas and why wait until then to drop a note? Need to be better about this.

I left this up the entire day trying to think what I wanted my #13 to be. I think instead I shall make it Pray More, Laugh More, Listen More. And Have Fun.

So there it is - my Not-Resolutions. Here's to an awesome 2013!