Off to Green Acre

 Vayda- 17- is taking this year to do her year of service at Green Acre Bahai school. We got up in the middle of the night...hense the faces...to drive to Maine. Made for a long, but really fun trip together :)

We made it. Heres Vayda with her friend and Green Acre in the background.

http://www.greenacre.org/

A little Good-bye gathering

As Vayda got ready to go to Green Acre Bahai school for her year of service...
she had a small going away gathering with the kids, cake and soda....at the lake.

The next weeks

Over the next weeks things calmed down. After the boys went home I was able to move the 4yr old into her own room. This helped quiet a bit. The hardest part for me was being so black and white with the rules. Its been sooo easy over the last years with Maya Rae that we have really loosened up. These 3 munchkins really forced me to tighten the reins. It was beyond shocking to see how much distress these ladies had, how they played off each other and what that triggered in me.

We were looking at 2 months of summer...with little to do. This is the hardest part of the year for many families, let alone ones in transition. The bigger girls went to summer rec, we went on a few field trips, we did projects and 'lived' at the beach. Thank goodness for the free beach where we ate dinner nearly every night all summer until it was too cool to do it.

They started out sick and unhappy and by the end of August they had made major strides!

The two older girls went home to dad and the little one is still here with us. Though they are sisters, they are on different legal tracks. The day I sent the big girls home I waved goodbye as we watched they drove away and then went inside and sobbed!

Foster care/ adoption is the hardest thing in the world I think. You have to be kinda loosely invested. Its much like a job...you have a boss overlooking and you have 'clients' but because you are human- you fall head over heals for the very people you are supposed to let go.

Its an amazing adventure. It forces you to grow or die.

So- we are adopting the youngest as she came to use Free for adoption.

In Feb I will be able to post pics of her adorable little face :)

This will be Norton #8. (kids that is)

Going to Haleys grad party

 Vayda went to her friend, Haleys graduation party.
Above is how she works on a custom portrait or Haley.
Below is what she can miraculously complete like that. :)

Adam visits

Vayda's friend Adam came for a visit and brought his little dog toooo :)

Boys back to Mass.

At the end of that long week I put the girls into respite care and Vayda, Maya Rae and I took the boys back to Mass. We stayed a day and celebrated their birthdays. Our gift was this cool blue sand. (I do not know how color makes sand any more fun than it naturally is...but thats all we could find. City sand I guess :) So, this little porch is their yard and the sand is their beach :)

Vayda, Maya and I hit Haul Beach in Mass for a long, much needed, wonderful visit were we walked in the sand, played in the ocean, ate fried clams and stayed till after dark. :)

The first week with the girls.

 That first week was crazy with 5 kids ages.... 2, 3, 4, 6, & 8.
(The 3 girls were in foster care remember. This was not an easy or fun time for them...living with strangers with unbelievable uncertainty)

Thank goodness for my friend Donna who really stepped up and helped- above and beyond!
Our friends, Abby and Victoria, came and helped me by cleaning and cooking while I meditated.
Our house was TRASHED!!!!!!! beyond tollerance.
I really couldnt have done it without their help. Vayda and Maya Rae were pullin extra weight too.

When I look back at that first week if feels like it was months long! Crazy time. Thank God it calmed down.

Let it begin!

We had the boys for a full week when the case worker came to finish your foster care registration.
As she was headed over she called and asked if we would be interested in 3 girls....that very evening!
We kinda panicked...for a moment. So, 1 1/2 hrs after we were registered as a proper foster care home...we were placed with these 3 ladies- ages 8, 6, and 4. We spent that 1.5hrs at Walmart buying rubber sheets, pull ups and tooth brushes.

This pic is the next morning. I am sure it comes across as very civalised....oh it wasn't. We all had alot of adjusting to do. It was crazy...busy.
(The girls' faces are blurred for their privacy.)

Maya Rae early summer :)

 Maya Rae so cute in the early summer :)

Boys come for visit

 Javari (almost 3) and Jayden (almost 2) came for a visit in July. We had them for two weeks.
We took them hiking in the woods, swimming a million times!, to the parks, to the zoo.
The first week was really fun. The second week was too much for them. They were ready to get back to mommy :)

After Chemo

 I finished six months of chemotherapy in June.
I really wanted to go on a little vacation with Jody but it was so fussy trying to manage the budget and find child care so we just did a day trip. We went hiking together. This was the first big effort I put forward following my winter long ordeal and it was fantastic. :) Good time with my ma-annnn!

Oh- by the way...I came out AOK! All is well with my health :)

Painting this and that

 I was livin in my art studio this past summer. I painted a number of paintings for around the house. Mosty they ended up in the foster care bedroom/s. I was in the groove for months. :)

Washable TP

Washable TP that my mom made for me.
Two layers flannel with serged edges. Before you freak- this is for pee only. We do not use it for #2 or when its 'that time of the month'. I am only being so graphic because this has raised a ton of questions. This has saved us a bunch of $ ! We girls love it. I wash a load of wash a day so we wash some of these pee wipes every day....about 24 of um. We use them so much that I recently had more made. I recommend this green product!

Massaging Feet

 Maya Rae loves to massage feet. Haley came over and paid Maya to do hers.

Flowers around the yard

 The yard is so pretty in the early summer with all the flowers.

The reality of this summer was that the goats were out ALL THE TIME! and they mowed down every last flower....and my garden....and hosta...and.....and.....and....everything and anything pretty up to 5 ft high. It was very stressful and upsetting to watch all that is beautiful go away.

I saw it as a lesson in detachment. Release and let go.

 The nice thing about flowers is they will be back :)

Getting Ready for Foster Care

In the spring of 2010 Jody and I decided that we were ready to adopt. We were seeking two girls ages aprox 6 & 8. In Sept 2010 we began our MAPP classes through Tompkins County. We made a start but then had to delay classes due to my surgeries. I was supposed to have missed one class but in the end I missed the entire fall. The folks at DSS were very kind and let us jump back into the class in the winter of 2011. So in May we finished our classes. Along the way we decided we wanted to try foster care before we jumped into adoption. I worked hard to get the house ready for foster care.
I prepped an empty bedroom for the coming girls. It was hard to do not knowing what ages we might end up with. Here is the 'blue room' before I added some art to the walls.

Yard in June

In early summer (2011) I spent alot of time painting this and that.

I painted the garden gate purple, the bench swing pink, the chicken house strawberry blast, etc.

Made for a cheery yard.

Elanee is 19

In June Elanee turned 19!
She had a couple of friends over for a low key party.

Rabbits in the yard

Rabbits in the yard.

Harvey is our old man so he stays inside in the art studio. He goes out to his play pen on sunny days. Pasha, and all the other outside bunnies, got out over the winter and have either moved in with the neighbor gipsy ladies (wild bunnies) or romp our yard freely. They have done really well. They are healthy and safer than the confined chickens which have been systematically being picked off by a predator.

I love rabbits! This scene makes me so happy!

More soup

Still pluggin away at the tomato soup. One more round to go and all of last years pulp will be used up. Maya Rae is eating it as fast as I can make it! LOL

Jody biking home

We went to the lake together and Jody took the opportunity to bike the 13 miles home. He looked very handsome with his new and shiny bike.

He thought he was all alone but we caught up with him and were very impressed that he was going 2o mph UP a hill! DAMN!!! Not too shabby for an old guy :)